THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508060017
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Following the lead of GOP congressional candidates, state Republicans on Oct. 4, 1994, in a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol - largely ignored by the press at the time - established their priorities in a document called ``A New Contract.'' Here's how the General Assembly's new Republican majority fared on its contact issues.
Tax cut. Republicans promised a $200 million tax cut and a limit on government spending and, with help from the Democratic-controlled Senate, came through with a tax cut plan that will save taxpayers $217 million next year.
Along with the elimination of the intangibles tax, not a contract item, and other tax reductions, the total tax cut tops $350 million.
Constitutional changes. Republicans promised to push for term limits for politicians and the veto power for the governor. A referendum on gubernatorial veto was one of the first measures ratified by the General Assembly this year but term limits for Congress and state legislators stalled.
Spending reform. The Republicans promised to pass the Taxpayer Protection Act, a bill that would cap future government spending. Different versions of the bill were approved by the House and the Senate and must wait for next year for final approval.
Crime. Republicans called for more punishment and less emphasis on prevention. The House and Senate agreed to $42 million in spending to end the cap on the prison population on Jan. 1 and agreed to spend $75 million to build new prison beds. But proposals to limit appeals by death row inmates and ban televisions and weight rooms from new prisons stalled.
Voter initiatives. Republicans pledged support for a proposal giving voters the power to place laws and constitutional amendments on the ballot like in California. But after some in the GOP-led House discovered this would likely bring a lottery to the state, a convoluted initiative bill died.
Welfare reform. The Republican promise to reform the welfare system and establish workfare programs requiring all able-bodied welfare recipients to work will have to wait to become law. The GOP-led House and the Democratic-dominated Senate couldn't agree on which version of welfare reform would be the best so they decided to wait until Congress acts on the proposal.
Education reform. Republicans promised to reduce the education bureaucracy and return more control to local school boards. The Democratic-controlled Senate beat the GOP to this promise and reform in the state Department of Public Instruction is already under way. But the Republican-led House also voted to impose a number of requirements on local school boards that ranged from mandatory prayer to reciting the pledge of allegiance to abstinence-based sex education that appeared to fly in the face of local control. by CNB