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March Newsletter

Mar 07
Posted by Craig Horn in Newsletter

What a political year 2012 is shaping up to be. Not only is there the presidential election which will be brought up close and personal as a result of the Democratic National Convention being held right here in Charlotte, but also there are a great many candidates running for a great many offices. Almost as newsworthy as the number running for office is the number NOT running for re-election. In the North Carolina House of Representatives, at least 30 current members will not be returning in 2013. There promises to be an even more massive change than in 2011 when a Republican majority took control of the Legislature for the first time in over 100 years. As a result, there will be a huge change in how business is done; new committee chairs will determine new agendas and members with less than 10 years in the Legislature will outnumber veterans.

The North Carolina General Assembly will again convene on May 16, 2012, for their “Short Session” and I am beginning the second year of my first term. I want to tell you what I actually accomplished in my first year of my first term in office.

During my first year, I introduced six bills, three were signed into law. 1) Remove horse barns and equestrian facilities from onerous local regulation, 2) Reduce costs for chicken processors and increase profits for growers by allowing live chickens to be transported in similar amount as fresh produce and 3) Reduce Methamphetamine abuse by blocking sales of pseudoephedrine-containing medications to abusers. I also made major contributions to making artificial drugs like “Spice” and “Bath Salts” illegal in North Carolina. Additionally, I was a key sponsor of 15 bills and a co-sponsor of 45 other bills, twenty-one of these were signed into law.

During Session, I worked on six committees (Agriculture, Appropriations [Justice & Public Safety subcommittee], Commerce & Job Development, Education and Military Affairs & Homeland Security. In this interim period between sessions, I am chairman of the Methamphetamine Abuse Oversight committee and serve on the North Carolina Economic Development Commission and the Child Fatality Task Force. In addition I am also on interim committees on Military Affairs and Economic Development & Global Engagement. Committee work takes me to Raleigh most every week.

Education issues are preeminent on my agenda. I meet regularly with staff, House Members, teachers and administrators to gain better insights into how we can improve education outcomes as well as retain and attract great teachers. I have meetings scheduled across Union County with parents, teachers and administrators to both insure clear and correct communication and to gain further insights. Education issues are not only extremely important but also extremely emotional. It is imperative that we all strive to look closely into every report and critically at every claim. There is a tremendous amount of miss-information in circulation. Ask hard questions of your legislators at every level. Don’t be sidetracked by hyperbole either by the legislators or those that look only out for their own agenda.

I have scheduled a Town Hall meeting for the general public on March 27 from 7-8pm in the Community Room at the new Waxhaw Emergency Center on Providence Road. Please attend, share your concerns and allow me to explain what we are attempting to do. This economy continues to create difficult challenges for us all. There are many things that we must do, some things that we must not do and most things that we can do better. Please help me identify each of them and help us define a way to accomplish them. Please contact Laurie Payne in my Raleigh office at 919-733-2406 or email me at Craig.Horn@ncleg.net. I look forward to seeing you on March 27 at the Waxhaw Emergency Center.

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January Newsletter

Jan 02
Posted by Craig Horn in District 68

Much has been accomplished this past year and much is left to be done. Although the Legislature did not meet as a body in December, committee meetings continue. I also spent much of December meeting with organizations, individual constituents and various interest groups (teachers, business and political) across Union County.

The Governor has called for the Legislature to reconvene on Wednesday, January 4, in Raleigh, to deal with her recent veto of Senate Bill 9 dealing with reforming the Racial Justice Act (RJA) of 2009. The RJA, passed in 2009, allowed for the appeal of certain death penalty cases based on the assertion that a verdict was allowed based on racial bias. Presently, only two states in the USA have such a law, North Carolina and Kentucky. As one might imagine, this is a complex issue and will have a costly and dramatic impact on our judicial system. Although I am sensitive to claims of racial bias, I believe that death-penalty verdicts should be overturned ONLY on the basis of evidence in the case itself and not based on a index created from data that is well outside the case. I plan to vote to overturn the Governor’s veto.

The Legislature will convene again in February and in April before beginning our constitutionally-mandated “short session” on May 16. There is much work that can be accomplished during these interim sessions. We still have the issues of Voter ID and Energy Jobs, among others, remaining on the agenda from the last Session. I continue to hear from constituents about the importance of the Photo ID to Vote bill in North Carolina. I believe that every effort must be made to protect the sanctity of the vote and the integrity of the system. In spite of the recent court decision forcing South Carolina to rescind its Photo ID to Vote bill, 29 of our 50 states require some type of ID to vote and half of those require a photo ID whereas North Carolina has no requirement for a voter to prove eligibility before casting a vote.

Clean, low-cost energy is critical to our nation and our state. We must pursue every option toward energy independence and the jobs that go with it. We still lead the world in technological innovation and we must put that knowledge and ability to work in North Carolina now! I will vote to override the Governor’s veto of the Energy Jobs Act while staying diligent in protecting our environment.

Contrary to press reports, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed a cap on the gasoline tax in November. Unfortunately, the Senate adjourned and went home without acting on this bill.
Consequently, the state gasoline tax went up again on January 1. As a result of a law passed in 1989, the gasoline tax in North Carolina is indexed to the crude oil price. The adjustments are made twice yearly, January and July. North Carolina now has the highest gas tax in the Southeast and among the highest in the nation. I am hopeful that the Senate will act soon to cap the gas tax.

The top three issues in Union County are education, education and education! We are justifiably proud of our public schools and public charter school. We lead the state in achievement but we cannot take this for granted. We must improve teacher pay and benefits if we are to retain top quality educators and we must drive unnecessary costs out of the system, not just shift those costs to another pocket. More of us must be involved in our schools, with our kids and in support of our teachers. We are a generous citizenry. Throwing money at our challenges is not the solution; it is ourselves that must be thrown into the mix. We are frequently reminded to thank a veteran for our freedoms, we must also thank a teacher for showing us the way to take advantage of our freedoms; the freedom to read, the freedom to wonder and the freedom to look more deeply into ourselves.

We must move forward to reform how we do business in this state. Our education system, our tax system and our judicial system need fundamental reform. We cannot continue to implement 1950 strategies and only change the titles, colors and curtains of our systems. Digital learning, vocational education, how we pay for what we do and how we deal with those that won’t play nicely with others must be changed. Most certainly, “What Got Us Here, Won’t Get Us There.” It is time for a change, a real change, a fundamental change and not just new lipstick on the old cow. Your ideas and opinions are important in identifying these necessary changes. Please stay in contact with me. I will again be having Town Hall meetings in my district. Come out and express your ideas, your concerns and your criticisms. We learn much more from those that don’t agree with us than we ever do from those that do. Call my office at 919-733-2406, email me at Craig.Horn@ncleg.net, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and on the internet at www.CraigHorn.com.

We wish you a safe and Happy New Year. Please be involved in your community and your state.

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