Back Benchers…
2011-05-19 - by
There’s a story floating around the legislature: A couple of weeks ago when the House budget writers sent their budget over to the Senate Leadership the minute Senator Richard Steven’s saw it he saw red.
Stevens, the rumor says, erupted over how much the House was cutting UNC’s budget and grabbed Speaker Thom Tillis and Tillis not wanting to offend the powerful UNC alumni any more than Stevens went to the House Republican Caucus and told them they had to cut the public schools to give more money to UNC.
But Tillis miscalculated.
The sixty-six House Republicans staring back at him in that caucus didn’t represent hardly a single state university and not one of them was elected in a district anywhere near Chapel Hill. But they all had plenty of public schools in their districts. So Tillis’ own Caucus told him no and passed their budget and sent it to the Senate where Senate Leader Phil Berger promptly announced he was cutting $87 million out of the public schools and community colleges to give to UNC.
Which drops the hot potato back in Thom Tillis’ lap.
Because now Tillis has either got to tell Phil Berger, No way, or tell his own Caucus, Boys, I’ve got bad news – again.
‘Again’ because the House already had one run in with the Senate over making state employees pay for part of their own health insurance. The House said they shouldn’t. The Senate said they should. And instead of telling Phil Berger no, Thom Tillis got his people into line and passed the Senate Bill.
Of course the back benchers in the House may be more stubborn when it comes to cutting public schools to give more money to UNC – than they were about making state employees (most of whom live in Raleigh) pay a little more for their health insurance.
Back Benchers…
2011-05-19/
There’s a story floating around the legislature: A couple of weeks ago when the House budget writers sent their budget over to the Senate Leadership the minute Senator Richard Steven’s saw it he saw red.
Stevens, the rumor says, erupted over how much the House was cutting UNC’s budget and grabbed Speaker Thom Tillis and Tillis not wanting to offend the powerful UNC alumni any more than Stevens went to the House Republican Caucus and told them they had to cut the public schools to give more money to UNC.
But Tillis miscalculated.
The sixty-six House Republicans staring back at him in that caucus didn’t represent hardly a single state university and not one of them was elected in a district anywhere near Chapel Hill. But they all had plenty of public schools in their districts. So Tillis’ own Caucus told him no and passed their budget and sent it to the Senate where Senate Leader Phil Berger promptly announced he was cutting $87 million out of the public schools and community colleges to give to UNC.
Which drops the hot potato back in Thom Tillis’ lap.
Because now Tillis has either got to tell Phil Berger, No way, or tell his own Caucus, Boys, I’ve got bad news – again.
‘Again’ because the House already had one run in with the Senate over making state employees pay for part of their own health insurance. The House said they shouldn’t. The Senate said they should. And instead of telling Phil Berger no, Thom Tillis got his people into line and passed the Senate Bill.
Of course the back benchers in the House may be more stubborn when it comes to cutting public schools to give more money to UNC – than they were about making state employees (most of whom live in Raleigh) pay a little more for their health insurance.