This Week with Senator Ford |
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Statement on Veto of Bill Reining in Governor's Emergency Powers |
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"There is no emergency – none – that lasts for nearly two years. At that point, it’s no longer an ‘emergency’ – it’s the new status quo.
"Yet for 19 months the Governor has held onto every iota of unilateral authority he has. It’s unhealthy, unsafe, and undemocratic.
"House Bill 264 would have instituted common-sense checks and balances on the Governor’s executive authority, instead of consolidating power into one office. Every passing day that the Governor refuses to relinquish his ‘emergency’ power is a day that harms our constitutional order."
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Who Paid for the Multibillion Dollar Leandro Budget Proposal Was Secret. Until Now. |
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The Cooper Administration is supposedly a "defendant" in the education funding lawsuit.
But it turns out the Cooper Administration PAID FOR the very plan it's supposedly "defending" against.
Sen. Ballard: "This circus has turned into a bunch of political allies trying to pass a budget plan outside the legislative process."
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Raleigh, N.C. – A group of political allies is working with an unelected county judge to "order" the Cooper Administration to implement a spending plan supported by Gov. Cooper and opposed by the legislature.
The proposed spending plan the court intends to "order" aligns closely with Gov. Cooper's long-standing priorities. In fact, WRAL revealed last night that the spending plan itself was paid for by the Cooper Administration, a supposed "defendant" in the case.
What's Going On
Several years ago, a California-based consultancy was paid $2 million to put together a list of policy and budget recommendations for North Carolina's K-12 education system. The list of recommendations produced by the out-of-state consultants overlapped with a number of Cooper Administration priorities and is projected to cost $6+ billion.
In the coming weeks, an unelected county-level trial judge will illegally order the Cooper Administration to implement the entire multibillion dollar plan over the objections of the legislature. The judge is presiding over an education funding lawsuit that began in the 1990s, commonly referred to as "Leandro."
The judge will order the spending despite the North Carolina Supreme Court ruling as recently as 2020 that "the power of the purse is the exclusive prerogative of the General Assembly."
Who paid the out-of-state consultants to develop the multibillion dollar proposal has been a secret until now.
The bottom line: The "defendants" and "plaintiffs" in this case are political allies. They paid a group of consultants to recommend a spending plan favored by and funded by the Cooper Administration, and they found an unelected judge to order the spending over the objections of the legislature.
Sen. Deanna Ballard (R-Watauga), who co-chairs the Senate Education Committee, told WRAL, "Consider how absurd this is: The Cooper administration is a ‘defendant’ in this case, yet used state dollars to fund the very plan that their political allies are suing to implement."
She continued, "This circus has devolved into a group of politically allied lawyers on both sides of the case convincing an unelected county judge to somehow order into place the governor’s preferred budget plan. It’s a sad mockery of the judicial system."
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NC Ranks #1 for Business Climate |
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"One of North Carolina’s competitive advantages for several years has been its 2.5% corporate tax rate — the lowest of the 44 states that levy such a tax." |
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Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina earned top marks in yet another business climate ranking after a decade of pro-economy, pro-business policies in the Republican-led General Assembly.
Site Selection Magazine placed North Carolina No. 1 in the country in its 2021 Business Climate Rankings. The magazine noted that North Carolina's tax policies in particular helped propel the state to the top of the rankings: "One of North Carolina’s competitive advantages for several years has been its 2.5% corporate tax rate — the lowest of the 44 states that levy such a tax."
Sen. Todd Johnson (R-Union), who co-chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said, "Low taxes, low spending, and reasonable regulations ushered in a boom decade for North Carolina. When a formula is working, we should continue it, and that's what North Carolina Republicans intend to do."
The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina credited the state's tax policies for its competitive business climate: "When I got here in 2015, the state was already a couple of years into the process of reforming taxes and reducing a lot of credits and incentives in favor of a broader tax base but a lower rate," says Chris Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. "The net result of that is a tax climate where, whether it’s an expansion or a new firm locating here, we do very well in just about every imaginable scenario."
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Senator Ford was happy to get a visit from Mr. Flint Benson and Ms. Resha Fortson from the State Employees Association of North Carolina this past Monday. Ms. Fortson even shared that she grew up in Kannapolis, where Senator Ford grew up as well. |
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We Honor All the Veterans who have ever served our Country and we say Thank you for your service. |
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Kannapolis Christmas Parade |
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The Kannapolis Christmas Parade returns on December 11, 2021 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm!
Also, don’t miss this family-friendly holiday tradition, the city’s Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday, November 20th at 6pm at Village Park.
The Festival of Lights will also be featured at Village Park starting November 20th to December 30th. It will be open from 6 pm to 9 pm Sundays through Thursdays and from 6 pm to 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays. However, it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
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Cleveland Christmas Parade |
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Kick off Christmas in Beautiful Down Town Cleveland North Carolina, Saturday December 4th 2021 from 10:00am - 5:00pm!
Location: S Depot St, Cleveland, NC 27013, United States
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Southern Rowan Christmas Parade |
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Now Accepting Applications - click here.
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Albemarle Christmas Parade |
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The Albemarle Christmas Parade will be taking place from Saturday, November 27th, 2021 from 4:00 pm to 8:30pm. For more information, call: 704-984-9420 or email: jalmond@albemarlenc.gov |
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The City of Locust Parks and Recreation Department will begin seeking participants for the parade in the fall. Home designed floats, walking groups, golf carts, dancers, classic cars, equestrian groups, etc. are welcome! For more information, email events@locustnc.com. |
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Take a 360 Degree Virtual Tour of the Legislative Building |
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Can our office help?
If there is an issue with which our office might be able to provide assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our Raleigh office, (919) 733- 5665 or Carl.Ford@ncleg.gov
Of course, if you are ever in Raleigh, please feel free to visit your legislative office, we would love to meet you.
**Our office location has moved from Room 608 to Room 625.**
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Please share this newsletter with your friends and family in the district. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter click here to email us and ask to be added.
God Bless,
Carl
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