THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 10, 1995 TAG: 9504100032
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
When Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. or any of the state's top environmental officials venture east of Route 17, they talk about their coastal agenda - Hunt's four-point, $10.6 million spending package for coastal environmental programs.
In Jacksonville two weeks ago, Hunt sought the support of about 100 environmental decision-makers for his four goals: protecting and restoring water quality, critical natural areas and marine fisheries, and strengthening ties to local governments.
But what does Hunt talk about when he's in Raleigh - a hundred miles from the coast?
Cutting taxes, fighting crime and helping children.
Last week at his first press conference since he unveiled the details of his coastal program, Hunt's opening remarks to reporters focused on meeting his legislative goals.
``It's been eight weeks since I laid out my legislative priorities in the State of the State (address),'' he said. ``I followed up with a budget and my legislative agenda that focused on cutting taxes, fighting crime and, most importantly, helping children.''
Hunt's remarks, made just across the street from the legislative building where lawmakers debated the merits of state spending programs, included no references to coastal fisheries, wetlands mitigation or improved land-use planning.
When questioned, Hunt said the omission did not signal a lack of interest in the program.
``Our coastal agenda is very important,'' Hunt said. ``We need to have an event . . . an opportunity to lay out proposals to conserve our coast in a good, conservative agenda.''
Hunt's coastal package includes about $5.7 million in new spending on coastal and water-quality issues and about $4.9 million for coastal construction projects.
The package is part of Hunt's $20.2 billion, two-year budget, which includes $434 million in tax cuts.
Hunt's budget would cut 99 staff members from the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources, but would give back 31positions through new programs.
Hunt's pet programs have not been received well by cost-conscious members of the new Republican-dominated General Assembly in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago, House members of the Human Resources appropriations subcommittee identified $88 million in cuts for next year - about double the amount Hunt would cut from the Department of Human Resources' $2 billion-plus budget.
On the chopping block were some of Hunt's pet projects: the $5 million after-school program for middle-school children, the $2 million program for family resource centers and the $1.8 million one-on-one mentor program for at-risk young people.
And Hunt's Smart Start program, a public-private partnership that provides day care and other family services for underprivileged children, is under constant attack by Republican legislators and some Democrats who favor cuts in the program.
Given the tough political times for Hunt, one coastal policy-maker who heard the governor in Jacksonville doesn't begrudge Hunt's attention to other issues.
But others wish Hunt would allot more attention to the coastal agenda in his remarks in Raleigh, where the decisions will be made.
``In order to be successful, you've got to be focused only on a few things,'' said Robert V. Lucas, chairman of the Marine Fisheries Committee, the 17-member panel that oversees the state's coastal fishing industry. ``I know what work has got to be done elsewhere.''
``But it does make me nervous to go into a hostile legislature with the new spending requests,'' he said.
Todd Miller, director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, a Carteret County environmental group, said Hunt's support of the coastal program is reflected in his budget requests.
In a year when new government spending will be severely limited, Hunt focused much of that spending on coastal programs, he said.
But, Miller said, legislative approval of that spending would be easier if Hunt would talk about the coastal program more often, and in Raleigh.
``It's going to take a lot of work to get the dollars allocated. It's going to be a tough sell in this climate,'' Miller said. ``It's going to be easier with the governor behind it, but the more that the legislature could hear from him about it, the better.'' ILLUSTRATION: JAMES B. HUNT
by CNB