Friday, February 23, 2007

Greetings From Raleigh 02-23-07

On Monday night, Governor Mike Easley delivered his fourth, and likely his final, State of the State address at the General Assembly, which was broadcast live across the state. The governor focused largely on education and gave us a sneak preview of his budget, which was unveiled on Thursday and will be discussed by legislators next week.

On Tuesday, former Speaker Black pleaded guilty to two felonies, offering a bribe and obstructing justice, in state court, further darkening the cloud that hangs over the legislature.

On Thursday, we were honored with a visit from a delegation of members of the British Parliament to our legislative commission on global climate change.

Members of the House and Senate have introduced close to 700 pieces of legislation during the first month of the 2007 session, which started on January 24. I introduced bills this week dealing with farmland preservation and state investments in Sudan. Other highlights include bills focused on providing affordable health care to North Carolina’s more than 1.3 million uninsured, banning smoking in public places, and reducing gang violence.

Please remember that you can learn more about the General Assembly by visiting www.ncleg.net. Our newly updated website allows citizens to listen in on each day’s legislative session, committee meetings and press conferences, learn more about introduced legislation, and view each day’s schedule and list of bills to be voted on. The House will be back in session on Monday at 7 p.m.

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