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Six statistics Carolinians should know

Posted on April 5, 2018 by admin in Budget, Economy, Education, Education Reform, Employment, Jobs, Tax Reform, Taxes, Transportation, Unemployment

Since 2010, when voters put Republicans in charge of most state governments across the United States, North Carolina became one of about a half-dozen states where conservative reformers have frequently — and sometimes spectacularly — faced off with progressives in ways that have attracted significant national attention.

In 2011, the new GOP-majority General Assembly defeated then-Gov. Bev Perdue’s attempt to re-impose a massive sales-tax increase. Two years later, Republican lawmakers and then-Gov. Pat McCrory initiated a multi-year process of reducing and reforming North Carolina’s tax and regulatory burdens.

At the same time, North Carolina leaders began changing the way the state budgeted its dollars, funded its roads, delivered education, and administered public assistance. Most conservatives here and around the country cheered. Progressives fought, fumed, and forecast doom.

There isn’t enough space here to adjudicate all the resulting policy disputes. But I can give readers a peek at how North Carolina conservatives tend to evaluate our policies. Specifically, here are six key statistics we’ve been watching, and why:

Rainy-day Reserves: No matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on, you should want state politicians to budget against worse-case scenarios, rather than count on rosy scenarios. Both meteorological and fiscal storms are inevitable. According to the latest Pew Research Center study, North Carolina has a full month’s worth of state spending saved in our rainy-day account, ranking us 14th-best in the nation.

Highway Cost-Effectiveness: While progressives seem to equate the value of government programs with how much taxpayers are forced to spend on them, conservatives place a higher priority on getting the biggest bang for the buck. They know that empirical research doesn’t show any consistent link between state expenditures and economic progress, but the latter is often associated with higher levels of service quality or outcomes.

So, for example, we want North Carolina to have good-quality roads and bridges, not necessarily to spend the most tax money on transportation. According to the Reason Foundation’s latest state-by-state comparison, North Carolina ranks 14th in the cost-effectiveness of our highway system. Thanks in part to policy reforms, we best the national average in both rural pavement condition and urban congestion.

Education Cost-Effectiveness: I wish there was a similar set of rigorous, annually updated national comparisons on school spending and outcomes. According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study published in 2014, however, North Carolina ranked 8th in the nation when it came to the ratio between student performance on independent tests and per-pupil expenditures.

Tax Competitiveness: North Carolina’s tax reforms have yet to be fully implemented, but their effects are already evident. According to the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index, North Carolina currently ranks 11th, up from 41st before tax reform began in 2013. Conservatives follow this statistic because, unlike state spending, state taxes do exhibit a statistically significant (and negative) relationship with economic growth.

Economic Growth: Since 2012, the price-adjusted annual rate of growth in North Carolina’s gross domestic product has averaged 2.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s the 13th-fastest growth rate in the nation. Some of our regional competitors have outpaced us here, at least so far, but keep in mind that they have usually been governed by conservatives longer than we have.

Labor Market Improvement: When it comes to unemployment, most people tend to look at the “headline” rate — which is 4.5 percent in North Carolina at the moment. That measure leaves some important people out, however: discouraged workers who’ve given up looking for jobs; marginally attached workers who are currently moving, getting retrained, or tending to family emergencies; and part-time workers who’d rather have a full-time position but can find one.

If you count them all, North Carolina’s “U-6 unemployment” rate is 8.2 percent, down from 16.3 percent in 2012. That’s the biggest improvement in a state labor market in the South, and the 6th-biggest in the nation.

Conservatives recognize that North Carolina continues to face many challenges. But we see progress, and celebrate it. Now you know why.


The preceding article was written by John Hood, chairman of the John Locke Foundation, and first appeared at the Carolina Journal Online on April 4, 2018. It is reposted here with the kind permission of the author.

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Employment Increases by more than 85,000

Posted on March 15, 2018 by admin in Economy, Employment, Jobs, Tax Reform, Taxes, Unemployment

Employment figures released earlier this week by the state Department of Commerce show that the number of people employed in North Carolina increased by a total of 85,879 throughout 2017, while the number of people unemployed decreased by 20,263 over the same year-long period.

The employment growth data follows a positive revenue outlook released by the state legislature’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division in January that shows tax collections on track and an economy in a stable growth pattern.

“The General Assembly kept a commitment to North Carolina families to put their needs first,” said House Speaker Tim Moore.  “The result is sustained economic success and a state on solid financial footing. It’s more good news that tens of thousands of new jobs opened across North Carolina over the last year.  We will maintain our proven approach to building a state economy that benefits working people and businesses.”

The North Carolina General Assembly enacted historic tax relief this decade to save state taxpayers billions of dollars, encourage economic growth and spur job creation.

Since 2011 the General Assembly has levied a lower sales tax rate, income tax rate and corporate tax rate on North Carolina families and businesses, while raising the standard deduction for low-income earners.

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Safeguarding Emergency Equipment

Posted on March 2, 2018 by admin in Crime, Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Public Safety

Legislation passed unanimously during the long session makes it a serious crime to destroy or intentionally damage emergency equipment used by first responders.

House Bill 98 automatically imposes a Class 1 misdemeanor charge on someone if they intentionally injure, destroy, remove, vandalize, tamper with, or interfere with machinery, equipment, or vehicles of a local fire department or the North Carolina Forest Service that’s used for fighting fires, protecting property, or protecting human life, like ambulances and other EMS vehicles.

State law already made it illegal to willfully damage another person’s personal property. If the dollar value is under $200, the perpetrator would be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and if the dollar value of the damage is more than that, the charge becomes a more severe Class 1 misdemeanor.

One may recall that in 2015, CNN reported that rioters in Baltimore, MD, looted, ransacked, and set fire to a drug store, and then sabotaged the efforts of responding firefighters by cutting holes in the fire hoses.

According to Thom Goolsby, a former state senator and practicing criminal defense attorney, a misdemeanor “is a criminal violation of the law punishable by no more than six months in jail. Misdemeanors are divided into four categories (A1, 1, 2, and 3), depending on the seriousness of the offense. These cases usually result in detention in the county jail, a fine and/or community service. Possession of drug paraphernalia, DWI and disorderly conduct are examples of misdemeanors.”

In FY 2015-16, 31% of Class 1 misdemeanor offenders received active sentences and 69% received probation; active misdemeanor sentences of less than 180 days are served in local jails and do not require any post-release supervision. The average length of probation imposed for Class I Misdemeanors was 15 months.

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LEO: No Need to Get Angry

Posted on February 28, 2018 by admin in Crime, Law Enforcement, Public Safety

A law passed unanimously during the long session adds a new section to the North Carolina Driver’s Handbook. House Bill 21 requires that the 2018 edition of the handbook issued by the DMV include a description of traffic stop procedures and a set of tips for drivers on how best to interact with the police during routine stops.

The law also requires the Department of Public Instruction to incorporate these topics into the driver education curriculum offered at public high schools, beginning this school year.

The curriculum and the additions to the Driver’s Handbook have been developed in consultation with the State Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Association, and the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police.

Advocates say the proposed changes to driver education materials will help reduce violent or deadly encounters between motorists and officers.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics says a traffic stop is the most common reason for contact with the police. Knowing what to expect and how to respond during a traffic stop can help the driver and the officer feel more at ease in what could otherwise be a stressful and even dangerous situation.

“It’s just a public safety issue,” bill sponsor Rep. John Faircloth told the Charlotte Observer. “I think all of us want to do anything we can to make the public safer out there, and to not put our officers in a situation where they might make the wrong decision.”

Driver education materials in the future could include some of these recommendations from AAA on what to do and what not to do during a traffic stop:

  • Follow the officer’s instructions, slow down, use your turning signals and pull your vehicle well off to the side of the road when being stopped;
  • Stay in your vehicle and turn off the engine and radio;
  • Keep your seatbelt fastened until the officer has seen you wearing it.Take a deep breath and don’t panic. Remain calm while the officer explains why you were stopped;
  • Turn on your interior lights or dome light if stopped at night;
  • Be on your best behavior, and always be polite to the officer. Don’t be argumentative;
  • Cooperate with the police. It could make all the difference between a ticket and a warning;
  • Be honest with the officer. If you really didn’t see the stop sign, or were unaware of the speed limit, let the officer know;
  • Keep hands in plain view of the officer. Avoid reaching or making sudden movements. Never reach under your seat;
  • Avoid provoking the officer or showing off in front of other occupants;
  • Always carry proper identification: a valid driver’s license, proof of vehicle registration and current proof of insurance. Do not retrieve or reach for documentation until instructed;
  • If you are asked to exit the vehicle, do it slowly; and
  • If you receive a traffic citation or ticket, accept it calmly. Contest the traffic citation in a court of law.

North Carolina joins several other states that have proposed or enacted similar laws. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, “lawmakers in Alaska and Arkansas focused on training materials: Alaska’s new law requires motor vehicle instructional manuals to cover drivers’ rights and responsibilities when stopped by an officer; Arkansas also requires the written driver’s license test to include questions on stops.”

Legislatures in Louisiana and Texas also passed legislation this year requiring police stops to be part of driver education. Texas’ new law goes a step further than the others by requiring traffic stops to be part of police training and public high school coursework. The curriculum must include the duties of police, the rights of the public, the proper actions for civilians and officers, how to file a complaint and more.

Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island have also considered bills.

In 2016, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation requiring driving schools to teach students how to react when stopped by the police, and the 2017 Illinois Rules of the Road handbook contains a new section entitled “Being Pulled Over by Law Enforcement.”

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The Pharmacy Patient Fair Practices Act

Posted on February 27, 2018 by admin in Consumer Protection, Healthcare

Doctor and patientA healthcare bill passed unanimously during the long session creates additional protections for people covered by health benefit plans. The bill also contains protections designed to help smaller pharmacies compete with large pharmaceutical companies.

“This bill will assist independent pharmacies by allowing them to provide more information to their patients regarding the amount of the insured’s cost share for a prescription drug,” said Representative Brenden Jones, the legislation’s primary sponsor. “Pharmacists will also now be permitted to sell lower-cost alternative drugs to consumers. Overall, the aim of this bill is to provide a more level playing field for small businesses which play such a vital role in our economy.”1

The Pharmacy Patient Fair Practices Act [House Bill 466] provides the following reforms:

  • Allows pharmacists to discuss lower-cost alternative drugs with consumers, and sell lower-cost alternative drugs to them;
  • Prohibits Pharmacy Benefits Managers from using contract terms to prevent pharmacies from providing direct store delivery services;
  • Prohibits Pharmacy Benefits Managers from charging insureds a co-pay that is greater than the total submitted charges by an in-network pharmacy; and
  • Allows Pharmacy Benefits Managers to charge pharmacies a fee for costs related to claim adjudication only if the fee was set out in a contract or reported on the remittance advice of the claim.

The role of the Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) resulted from the passage in 2003 of the Medicare Modernization Act and the creation of Medicare Part D, which offered new prescription drugs benefits. Medicare Part D created the need for a middleman between the insurer and the pharmacy. PBMs identify eligible patients, negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and reduce the administrative burden on the benefits provider.

PBMs create a list of medicines covered by a given benefit plan, called formularies, and press for discounts on the manufacturer’s price in order to include their prescription drugs on their lists. Unless a prescribed medicine is included in formularies, insurers won’t cover it and physicians won’t prescribe it — giving PBMs more leverage for negotiating prices.

The Pharmacy Patient Fair Practices Act was signed into law in July and applies to contracts entered into, renewed, or amended as of October 1, 2017.


Endnotes

1. Bladen Online, April 28, 2017: “Rep. Brenden Jones’ HB466, The Pharmacy Patient Fair Practices Act Passes House“

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