The ambitious agenda laid out by Senate President Pro-tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, for the upcoming legislative session
made me wonder if the short session will really be short. The session begins on Wednesday.
Berger said lawmakers’ time in Raleigh could be managed well. Here are some of the things he brought out:
— Berger started out by giving his “full support and endorsement” to his counterpart in the House, Speaker Thom TIllis, for his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan… not that there was really any doubt about that.
— He said that the progress made in bring the state’s unemployment rate down wad due in large part because of “tough decisions” made by the Republican-dominated General Assembly.
— He mentioned that a couple of Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposals were a good starting point, including teacher pay increases and a proposal to get Duke Energy to clean up coal ash ponds.
— He wondered if Medicaid reform may have to wait until next year’s long session.
