Owens & NC budget override

[barbmarz]

Owens to vote for veto override

By Reggie Ponder

The Daily Advance

Sunday, June 12, 2011

State Rep. Bill Owens continued to back the state budget Sunday in the wake of Gov. Beverly Perdue’s historic budget veto.
“I’m still planning on voting for the budget,” Owens, D-Pasquotank,
said Sunday afternoon, just minutes after Perdue become the first
governor in the state’s history to veto the budget.
Owens said he understands Perdue’s concerns and still plans to campaign
for her next year. He said he has had many discussions with Perdue
during the past two weeks and is not surprised by her veto decision.
“We’ve agreed to disagree over this issue,” Owens said. “It’s certainly not going to get in the way of my friendship with her.”
He said the governor is a “close personal friend.”
The support of Owens and four other House Democrats for the
Republican-authored legislative spending plan gives the GOP enough votes
to override Perdue’s veto if at least four of the Democrats stay with
the Republican plan all the way.
The other House Democrats who brokered a budget agreement with Senate
Republicans were Rep. Tim Spear of Washington County, whose district
also includes Chowan; Rep. Jim Crawford of Granville County; Rep. Bill
Brisson of Bladen County; and Rep. Dewey Hill of Columbus County.
Efforts to reach Spear for comment Sunday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Owens called the budget standoff the most difficult situation he ever has faced as a legislator.
“It has been very, very difficult,” Owens said. “I just have to do what I think is right in my heart.”
Owens said he thinks some people who object to his position have been
influenced by “inflated” figures concerning the difference between the
General Assembly budget and what had been proposed by the governor. He
emphasized that the difference in k-12 education is only one half of one
percent — about $43 million.
Most teaching jobs in the northeast region should be safe, he said.
The legislators’ budget originally cut $344 million from the governor’s proposal for k-12 education, he said.
“In the negotiations we got $300 million restored,” he said.
Owens said he and the other four Democrats who negotiated with the GOP
leadership agreed together not to accept less than the restoration of
$300 million for k-12 education and $50 million in Golden Leaf funding.
The budget keeps small schools funding intact, which is very important to northeastern North Carolina, Owens said.
The budget is not perfect, but nearly every budget has some problems, he said.
“In my opinion the difference is too small, being half of one percent, to take a chance on a government shutdown,” he said.
Owens said a government shutdown has been a very real possibility given
the commitment of the governor and the GOP leadership to their
respective positions. Even a one-day shutdown would harm the state’s
bond rating, he said.
“I personally don’t want to take that gamble,” he said.
Both Perdue and the Republican leadership in the General Assembly have
made promises that have led to the budget impasse, he said.
That impasse creates the risk of a shutdown, he said.
“I’m just too scared to gamble on it,” Perdue said. “Both sides feel they have a valid case.”
Owens said he would have preferred keeping the one-cent sales tax in
place, but explained that was never an option as far as Republican
legislative leaders were concerned.
“My word is my bond,” Owens said. “After conferring with the governor,
the five of us went back and told the leadership in the Senate what we
would do.”
Owens said the Senate Republican leadership did what he, Spear, Crawford, Brisson and Hill asked them do to.
Contact Reggie Ponder at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]