Carolina Journal Radio No. 916: Truitt to take reins as top N.C. education official

From Cherokee to current tack and the largest city to the smallest and from the statehouse into the schoolhouse Carolina Journal radio your weekly news magazine discussing North Carolina's most of public-policy events and issues welcome to Carolina Journal radio why Michiko got during the next hour, Donna Martinez and I will explore some major issues affecting our state should conservatives put forward their own brand of environmentalism leading conservative magazine recently featured an article that argued yes will discuss the idea with one of North Carolina's leading conservative voices on environmental issues.

Democrats continue to try to turn North Carolina blue will chat with a right of center observer who was monitored their strategy and tactics.

The speaker of the state House of Representatives recently offered clues about how he and his colleagues might approach election mapmaking in the new year plus will discuss some other top 20, 21 priorities for House Speaker Tim Moore.

He's about to tie a record for longest serving how speakers in North Carolina history. Those topics are just ahead. But first, Donna Martinez joins us and she has the Carolina Journal headline in just a few weeks. Republican Catherine Truitt will be sworn in as North Carolina's new superintendent of public instruction, having defeated her Democratic challenger Jan Mangrum in the November election. So what issues will likely to be front and center for the new superintendent Dr. Terry stoops is with the John Locke foundation needs vice president for research. Also, the director of education studies. He has been taking a look at what she will face come January joints now to talk about all of that, Terry.

Welcome back to the shell. Thank you so you said in your piece that she's got staff already piling up on her desk when she walks, sedentary day. One, what's on the top of the pile. What has become a 19 and the issues that surround that not only score reopening, but the will the learning loss that students are experiencing Cove in 19 we have to have a plan in place ready to address the learning loss as quickly as possible. It's sure that's going to be the one who things that she's going to focus on and talking to legislators is that not only are we going to need to have a plan in place to address learning loss, but we need the resources to be able to provide students the type of services that they need to be able to address it. Now I I think that some of those certainly can be done out of Department of Public instruction.

My preference would be to provide some sort of voucher or ESA for students to be able to get one on one patient savings account yes yes sorry and education around the grade 3 or four letters so looking at ways that strategies research-based strategies to be able to address the learning loss has to be the first thing that she starts to tackle what you get to tell us more about that because how will we know we think and it seems likely based on a lot of the analysis and and that you have been writing about@johnlocke.org that we got a lot of kids have been mandated into remote learning and while that may be a great environment for some kids for like kids. It may not be a great environment.

So when Catherine Truitt looks at this issue of learning loss and covert, 19.

How will we know even where we are as a baseline with these kids will really have to triangulate the data, so we know that the remote learning is the inferior instructional delivery methods so we have to realize that that so many of our students in remote learning are receiving inferior instruction that we look at what's happening in other places that have done the kind of testing that we should have done to begin the school year, such as Dallas, Texas, where they found that a significant portion of their students have lost ground in math and reading and then II think that's were probably going to see some the initial data trickle in at the end of the first semester when students take courses because of their block schedule so we have students that take a full year's course in one semester. So while some initial testing data at the end of the first semester that will give us a clue as to how our kids are doing now.

These mostly high school students.

So it really won't get to the elementary and middle school students by then will have to wait to the end of grade and end of course tests, at the end of school year, which at this point have not been canceled. My you mention resources that takes us to another item that the new superintendent to Catherine Truitt will have to face them, tell us about relationships with the legislature with the governor when it comes to resources. Well, she will have to encounter state Board of Education that didn't get along with the previous superintendent of public instruction Mark Johnson so she has to repair some of the relationships there and I think you absolutely do that. I am not really too worried about that and she has a general assembly that is willing to help the Republicans understand what the needs are the understand the within reason. They will provide the resources necessary to address those needs.

We don't know much about what the budget is going to look like for the upcoming fiscal year and this is really the big concern is that if there is significant budget deficit. It's gonna limit what the legislators can do to provide help to our schools, but I trust that they will do everything in their power to be able to help schools address learning loss, and we should also consider the fact that the Congress may provide additional funding for the state as well.

Some sort of aid package may come down sometime next year that will help North Carolina address some of its need Catherine Truitt have formally worked in the governor Pat McCoury administration. She was his education advisor for a time, so I think that means that she knows at least some of the state legislators who are still still there holdovers from that era.

What about her relationship with Gov. Roy Cooper. It seems like every governor, North Carolina wants to be the education governor and as you and I talked about many times we get so many fingers in the pie. It's hard to see the pie. So how does she deal with a governor that may have different policy views them. She's a Republican. He's a Democrat. Catherine has really been reaching out to folks on both sides of the aisle to try to establish some some dialogue and some common ground. She made this really clear in her interview with Carolina Journal that she wants to not only get the best ideas from both sides, but you want to get both sides both sides talking having some some dialogue about what our schools need need and how best to address the issues so I think that she has struck a very hopeful tone that people from the Cooper administration probably have already reached out to her, probably in discussion with some of the problems that were going to be facing the governor is going to have some appointments to the state Board of Education really Catherine has no say over who those appointments will be but you will have to learn how to work with those individuals that are pointed to the state Board of Education by the governor. So I think everyone should be really hopeful with the way that Catherine has really come out and try to establish common ground with both Democrats and Republicans because she has really put kids first. Children are the centerpiece of her campaign there at the centerpiece of the transition of her being superintendent of public instruction and I hope that they will be the centerpiece of her term and hopefully multiple terms as superintendent was thinking of putting kids first in this whole equation. She is a supporter of more choices for parents more empowering options for parents and there are threats to school choice in North Carolina. There are some who don't think that that is a good idea what is what is she facing in that arena will, unfortunately, those who were most opposed to choice many of those who were most opposed to choice were not elected. The lieutenant governor candidates and an superintendent of public instruction candidates on the Democratic side both oppose expansion school choice and really governor Cooper his opposition to the opportunity scholarship program will kind of be muted by the fact that the general assembly has Republican control.

There's really no prospect legislatively of the opportunity scholarship program being eliminated or defunded really the biggest threat right now is in the courts where there is in a lawsuit.

Opposing the opportunity scholarship program that's were the biggest threat is. I think that Catherine Truitt will be a champion for charter schools that she will just have much really to say about the voucher programs because are administered in a different department, but I think shall protect the charter schools which are under her purview and make sure that they have the resources that they need from the state from state Board of Education level and from the Department of Public instruction level to be successful. We been talking with Dr. Terry stoops. He is vice president for research.

The director of education studies at the John Locke foundation. Thank you think you can say with this much more Carolina Journal radio to come in just a moment tired of fake names tired of reporters with political axes to grind. What you need to be reading Carolina Journal honest, uncompromising, old-school journalism, you expect and you need even better, the monthly Carolina Journal is free to subscribers sign up Carolina Journal.com. You'll receive Carolina Journal newspaper in your mailbox each month.

Investigations into government spending revelations about boondoggles who the powerful leaders are and what they're doing in your name and with your money. We shine a light on it all with the stories and angles. Other outlets barely cover but there's a bonus print newspapers published monthly by our daily news site gives you the latest news each and every day lot onto Carolina Journal.com once, twice, even three times a day won't be disappointed. It's fresh news if you'd like a heads up on the daily news sign up for daily email do that Carolina Journal.com Carolina Journal, rigorous, unrelenting, old-school journalism, we hold government accountable for you back Carolina Journal radio I Michiko guy mentioned the word environmentalism and it's likely that most people will think of protesting environmental activists, most of them operating far left of the political center, but you don't have to be a left-winger to care about the environment. A recent issue of national review featured an article titled toward a conservative environmentalism touts the potential of a congressional group called the Roosevelt conservation Caucus is this group on the right track which supporters follow some of the same bad ideas as environmentalists on the left joining us to discuss these questions is Don Vanderburg he's a senior fellow at the John Locke foundation any work for nearly 3 decades at North Carolina's Department of environmental quality, serving as its leader, the departmental secretary under Republican governor Pat Gorrie welcome lecture heavenly. First of all let's talk a little bit about some of the things in this article toward a conservative environmentalism that you agree with the author of this piece really takes it to the folks who were on the left and their approach to environmentalism and you think that he gets that part right. Yes, I think the article correctly identifies the most recent shift in the environmental movement is not that recent thicket is to the author, which is that the impetus is more founded on an anti-humanist approach and for those who don't know what that is that that essentially means that some level of population population control is needed to protect the environment and the Lord simply putting controls on or limiting the kinds of fuels or cleaning up all those typical environmental management tools hard enough. According to this movement and what you really need is a reduction in the number of people and a change of fundamental change in the standard of living really underlying that approach is this more socialist economic framework because otherwise you will have the control that you need and you see some of this in North Carolina's own plans developed in the Cooper administration to deal with environmental issues. I don't think Cooper can take any credit for regionalism, but they have co-opted the national position of these these more left-wing Bible group and most people have heard of the green new deal. The green new deal is really a sort of a manifesto or cultural so it's really an economic manifesto written by the humanist patients. One of the things that we have seen that fits in with the soul pattern is the positive reaction among some of these left of center environmentalists to what is happened since the Coburn IT pandemic. This think fewer people are driving, people are going out about this is great. We need more of this and that's exactly the position that the humanist would pursue, which is we need to change the way we live. We need to.

In fact, direct. We need a strong central government that can actually directors of some of their strategies direct who gets certain levels of energy and who thousand they would have you believe that they would direct more energy. For example, for fundamental manufacturing or needed made for fracturing it a try for the crony capitalism and we can go on about about that. The issue though from a environmental standpoint is that there isn't seem the dozens I've never seen a real nexus to that environmental improvement even this case with the code that you don't see dramatic reductions in certain pollutants. It isn't the case that they would have you believe it is. It's really about changing social norms. We are chatting with Don Vanderburg.

He is a senior fellow at the John Locke foundation and former secretary of North Carolina's Department of environmental quality switch gears a little bit. This article talked about what wrong with the environmental left and that it suggested there some ideas about how conservatives could take on a more active role in dealing with environmental issues and focuses specifically on this Roosevelt conservative caucus or conservation Caucus that was set up in the Congress a little bit more than a year ago what you think about these ideas what one of one of the premises that are totally wrong in an this article and others is that they take is axiomatic that the conservatives of Republican everyone characterize him or somehow anti-conservation anti-environment and that's absolutely false. I've lived through work through many different administrations and I could tell you most the most of the professional staff have a very clear idea of what they need to do and that goes forward. Those are all based on the fundamental structure that was put in place by the EPA which, remember, was started by Richard Nixon. Yes, it's highly efficient and yes there there is a lot of wasted effort.

But if you look back at the time when the EPA began to the time we are now.

It has been a wildly successful effort and that goes across both Democrat and Republican administrations is absolutely false to the political narrative to say that somehow Republicans or conservatives are anti-environment so so that really segues into where we are now. The unfortunate thing for environmentalists as they really have done a very good job and we are very successful are air our water and our solids are ground-level and groundwater. It's amazing how much cleaner they are now than they were 30 and 40 years ago and so now the question is to remain relevant. What we do and and what's happened is they've been sort of hijacked by this and I humanist effort and at the UN level of the global level they been hijacked by socialists and so what this article then goes on about, and they think they get this right they get they they figure out that what I just talked about the fact America's environment so much cleaner now that it was 34 years ago. So much cleaner than other developed nations, but because we've had the good fortune of having a capital system in place and we made it we've been able to create the wealth necessary to implement these costly strategies and so now where are we, we gotta come up with another bogeyman and that is climate change. Yet fact there's a sentence near the beginning of this article it says the formation of this Roosevelt caucus, the commission signaled the beginning of a new era in conservative politics, characterized by a heightened concern for environmental issues such as climate change, I'm sure you read that and cringed. The fact of the matter is, is that to the extent man has a role in global warming. Even the EPA under Obama recognize that it is that we're talking about 100 year manifestation. It's going to take 100 years to get to the point where were seen changes until we have some time and and and and I think that's why you see some some before coated. We had some really rather shrill arguments about how climate change is going to befall us in the next 12 years, and that was passed and it became an increasingly panic stricken. The fact the matter is, the professionals who who do the EPA. Like I said they were working with 100 year timeline and there are things we can put in place to the extent man plays a role that nothing new about this and I think what you really have to look at now is who and how are the adults in the room going after this issue. Nothing is new about it. I think politically, there may be some some some some people who are trying to to straddle the fence, but it is just not realistic to say this is new from as the issue moves forward.

The discussion of what to do if anything about the environment. We hope that one person who will play an active role for years to come is our own Don Vanderburg. He is senior fellow at the John Locke foundation, former secretary of North Carolina's Department of environmental quality.

Thanks for joining us will have more North Carolina journal radio in just a moment. If you have freedom we got great news to share with you now.

You can find the latest news, views, and research from conservative groups across North Carolina all in one place North Carolina conservative.com it's one stop shopping.

North Carolina's freedom movement@northcarolinaconservative.com. You'll find links to John Locke foundation blogs on the days news Carolina journal.com reporting and quick takes Carolina journal radio interviews TV interviews featuring CJ reporters and Locke foundation analysts, opinion pieces and reports on higher education James G. Martin Center for academic renewal, commentary and polling data from the scimitar's Institute and news and views from the North Carolina family policy Council.

That's right, all in one place North Carolina conservative.com that's North Carolina spelled out conservative.com North Carolina conservative.com. Try it today. North Carolina is changing not just day-to-day but outward to our minute to minute. Even 2nd to 2nd, how can you keep up with the changes, especially the ones that affect you, your family, your home, your job, make the John Locke foundation and Carolina journal part of your social media diet on Facebook like the John Locke foundation like Carolina. Journal follow us on Twitter at John Locke in the sea and at Carolina journal news, insights and analysis you'll find nowhere else. Thanks to the experts at the John Locke foundation and thanks to the first-class investigative reporting of Carolina journal. Don't wait for the morning newspaper. Don't wait for the evening news if it's happening now it's happening here the John Locke foundation and Carolina journal. Have you covered with up to the second information like us on Facebook the John Locke foundation and Carolina journal follow us on Twitter at John Locke NC and at Carolina journal.

Who knew you could shop and invest in freedom at the same time it is true online shopping is now a great way to support the John Locke foundation just shop using the Amazon smile program and designate the John Mott foundation to receive a portion of your purchase amount that's right you shop Amazon donates money to pass the John Locke foundation Cura�ao long time to smile.amazon.com Amazon smile is the same Amazon you know same products same prices.

But here's what's better. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon smile purchases to the John Mott foundation to try it. Be sure to designate as the nonprofit you want to support. It's that easy.

So now not only will you enjoy what you buy.

You also support freedom. Don't forget log on to smile.amazon.com today, something nice and help defend freedom, help support the John Mark foundation will go back Carolina journal radio I Michiko got Republican wins in the 2020 election mean that GOP lawmakers will continue to run North Carolina's state House and Senate in the new year that could have a profound effect on redistricting.

The process of drawing new election maps based on updated census information speaker Tim Moore of Cleveland County defended Republicans work on drawing maps over the past decade got been very proud of the way we have done reduced. There's all this talk you hear folks on the Democrat side saying gerrymander gerrymander will the districts in a Republican majority was elected with a history in 2010 is the majority we were elected with maps drawn by Democrats. This year we were elected with the majority with maps that largely were dictated by what a Democratic map drawer had done so, there ought to be the end of this talk about gerrymandering and all that is why Republicans are in charge because now through these cycles proven that is not the case. Reality is voters of this state voters of the state chose to have a Republican majority in the state Senate and the statehouse, and every time these groups will come in and try to attack the really insulting those voters were not respecting the will of the voters in those districts around the state to know their centers who know those House members statewide races is kind of hard to get in and deceive you gently run in the governor just doesn't happen. But the thing about legislative candidates is at the front.

We we are in such small areas where among our constituents on a regular basis. Church school the grocery store wherever it is in those communities. No is that I can't stress that nothing about the out-of-state monies will the end of the day.

Have confidence in the voters and respect their decision that all that talking. But as we move forward redistricting. I do what I don't want to see is another decade of endless litigation. Continual redraws sniping about this. The people want us to get on two important business.

I would, but I would dare be scared to venture a guess as to how many hours and how much money was spent. These cost just was unreal and at the end of the day it was, we drew districts.

The basement way the Democrats will we have a public majority, so hopefully that will be the end of that conversation you were to move on with it next year and maybe this time. Maybe this time North Carolina will not be the top litigator state when it comes to read this recognize that the voters the state decided they wanted majority Republicans and got a majority of Republicans in the legislature. That's North Carolina state house speaker Tim Moore he's discussing the prospects for redistricting in 2021. That's the process of redrawing state legislative and congressional election maps for Carolina journal radio in a moment where doubling down on freedom at Carolina journal radio were proud to bring you stories that impact your life and your wallet. And now get twice as much freedom when you also listen to our podcast headlock available on iTunes and@johnlocke.org/podcast headlock is a little bit different. It's a no holds barred discussion that challenges softheaded ideas from the left and the right, like Carolina journal radio headlock is smart and timely but with headlock you'll hear more about the culture wars get some more humor as well. We guarantee great information and a good time � that's listen to Carolina journal radio each week and listened headlock to remember, you can listen to hemlock@johnlocke.org/podcast or subscriber download each week iTunes Carolina journal radio and headlock just what you need to stay informed and stay entertain both brought to you in the name of freedom by the John Locke foundation back Carolina journal radio on the coca. It's no secret that Democrats and their left of center allies want to turn North Carolina's politics as blue as possible. In a recent online forum. The John Locke foundation highlighted the left long-term political strategy answered from experts like Scott Walter.

He's president of the capital research Center's group is documented.

The left's ongoing campaign. There are three real prongs to this first one is actually the census for years left-wingers have been spending tens of millions of dollars to try to influence the 2020 census because that will affect redistricting both within states, and also the spread of U.S. Congress over all 50 states that wrong one census wrong to most probably put you could call it get out the vote. Geo TV is that political operatives say, but it's much more than just Geo TV which sounds like bussing people to hold its massive campaigns to register voters to change voting rules to get rid of voter ID requirements and other other things that lessen vote fraud by mail and also yes bussing people to the polls the left does this using 501(c)(3) groups to an amazing extent in prong three is for after 2020, namely redistricting both for state legislators and again for the whole U.S. Congress in 2021 and that includes all kinds of lawsuits to fight about these things. It involves creating so-called independent redistricting commission, which my group has demonstrated to be a complete fraud. They actually produce more skewed maps.

Despite being called independent even such crazy reforms as abolishing the electoral college, and you have all kinds of groups in North Carolina doing each one of those three things, you know, our hope once said that the left and the right are better organized in these kinds of fights and then in any other state in the country and I think art was right but I just rattle off a few names here see if they ring bells with people.

North Carolina counts coalition that's part of the national census counts group and blueprint North Carolina and democracy North Carolina there endless.

Basically the way to find it is to go look at the 990 filings by your two biggest to your biggest foundations in North Carolina busy Smith Reynolds foundation and the Mary Babcock Reynolds foundation. Those foundations find all these dozens of groups throughout North Carolina as well, actually, and is also nationally so that's that's the beating heart of this effort to flip North Carolina were much more in-depth report on all this, you can go to capital research.org we have a five-part series on plans to flip. North Carolina is the title and it goes into great detail it shows you how the North Carolina groups are affiliates of national groups running all three prongs.

That's Scott Walter at the capital research Center, speaking during an online John lock foundation for Walter emphasized the money flowing toward left of center political causes. I know somebody who works with Republicans in the redistricting bikes around the country in accordance he was hoping he might be able to raise five $8 million next year. So while explaining to the same audience where he was saying how critical that was that the left has an unlimited amount of money for litigation. There is absolutely no bottom to the well money to fund litigation on every kind of electoral fight, getting I would say connecting North Carolina is that nationals North Carolina.

All of this kind of work is the leader for the left is Eric Holder, who was Obama's Atty. Gen. notoriously corrupt one. He was held in contempt by Congress and after he got out of the administration.

He set up the national Democratic redistricting committee, which has three parts pack it as a C4 nonprofit C3 nonprofit C3 is the national redistricting foundation and and and it focuses the C3 money is focused on litigation obviously being a C3 makes it easier for it to get foundation money or an open society and all the rest of them and it has North Carolina as a favorite target state in 2018. It gave half $1 million to the state Democratic Party in North Carolina gave $5200 to Judge Anita earls successful campaign court and it has raised at least well it's going to raise at least 50% more maybe double in this cycle what it was able raise in the 2018 cycle Scott Walter highlighted a key focus area for left of center activists the left is obsessed with process questions right. They care about who's going to draw those lines or who's going to sue over the lines but who's going to settle the lawsuit over the lines or who's going to be on the independent redistricting commissions. There always obsessed with the rules to the game because they understand that if you get to set the rules, you will probably win the game and the team can matter less than the rules so I the left is much better than our side and appreciating the importance of processing rules yelling. I would say is we did a big study of all three rivers of money that going to government right following the money is a smart thing to do is certainly something Democrats and left likes to do so.

There's three rivers. There's a hard political dollars going to candidates and political parties. There is the independent expenditures or 501(c) four money which is what citizens United affected things like the NRA and Planned Parenthood are famous C4 groups and then there is the C3 money from foundations like C. Smith Reynolds going to nonprofit charities like blueprint North Carolina and the rest that river dwarfs the other two rivers using billions and billions more in the C3 stream, then there is in the expenditure stream of the hard dollar stream and in the first two streams. The hard dollar in independent expenditures. Very roughly, it's about equal on the two sides in the C3.

Nothing close seeks read one of the left most of the last voter registration is done through the party, or even through C4's is done through C3's which to me is a complete outrage as a watchdog for the sector, but the current legal status is as long as you do it in a nonpartisan fashion. It's okay now I had a whole roomful of people know about this in DC and I asked one of them. Can you name me one C3 in America on any side that actually registers voters in a nonpartisan fashion. In the end, the rule erupted in laughter because it's a joke, but sadly the law has not cut up to that, nor has the IRS. What should conservatives do about the political left's ongoing campaign by put everything into one word might you fight very hard and since Sue said in the art of war.

You have to know yourself, but you have to know the enemy. One of the ways to weaken the enemy is to show what a tightknit little band of collusion, folks, you're really fighting on the other side they would have a harder time in the press if all the members, the press and the general public fully appreciated. Just what a small world it is on the left in North Carolina that would greatly weaken their credibility. It would make it harder to be his biased in reporting and things like civic process mapping the last.com and our influence watch.org that we run both do strong job of showing you all those lines that's Scott Walter, president of the capital research Center discussed the political left's efforts to turn North Carolina blue recent online presentation for the John Locke foundation will return the North Carolina journal radio in a moment real influence.

You either have it or you don't and at the John lock foundation. We have it, you'll find our guiding principles in many of the freedom forward reforms of the past decade here in North Carolina.

So while others talk or complain or name call.

We provide research solutions and hope our team analyzes the pressing issues of the day jobs, healthcare, education, and more. We look for effective ways to give you more freedom, more options, more control over your life. Our goal is to transform North Carolina into a growing, thriving economic powerhouse, the envy of every other state research is how policymakers make decisions that ensure you keep more of what you are. Expand your choice of schools for your kids.

Widen your job opportunities improve your access to doctors. The recipe for stability and a bright future for truth for freedom for the future of North Carolina. We are the John Locke foundation.

Welcome back to Carolina journal radio I'm Donna Martinez as the end of the year. New Year's holidays are on the minds of lots of North Carolina and but some elected officials are already looking ahead to 2021.

That is the case with North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, Republican of Cleveland County.

He recently met with reporters to look at key issues for North Carolina's 2021 legislative session, which starts in January. Carolina journal was there and editor-in-chief Rick Henderson joins me now with a look ahead request back to the shell.

Thank you is Tim Moore going to be House Speaker again almost certainly barring unforeseen catastrophe. He will be reelected as speaker of the house. I would imagine the Democrats probably put up a rival candidate to be elected by acclamation, but because Republicans have 69 members of the upcoming Gen. assembly Democrats have only 50 will have only 51, then two more will win. He was unanimously renominated to be speaker buys caucus of there was no dissent. There is also the other supposed to come back in January and before they actually get down to business with public policy that each party elects their leader site. That's right in the again the Republican House caucus reelected everyone who's in the their current positions as of the end of the session there were some changes right before the session had the last few months. The session, but will see the same leadership team in place. This time around, and it's a new will be interesting to see when they actually get back and then they and speaker points of committee chairs. Those people will be as well because those are ones who the leadership team basically sets parameters and and guidelines and goals and then in the case of the whips they've acclamation of the votes there to pass the bills with committee chairs are the ones who really the policy leaders to more I talked with reporters a bit about how he sees the 2021 session shaping.

He talked about redistricting now course that means drawing new legislative maps.

That's an outgrowth of the new census what he had to say. He said that he was pretty happy with the process that took 40 2019, one court ordered status report reported special master required the Gen. assembly to draw new maps and the processes they used at the time was one in which the members of the Gen. assembly met in a large group committee rooms of the most most of the deliberations were open to the public eye and they also the lifestream to our YouTube and had in the chat area people consuming comments and questions email questions they set up a special email address for the redistricting process and generally speaking, with only a few exceptions of the people were very happy with with the results. Under the circumstances, considering that they pretty much had to adhere to districts that they didn't draw the first place, but they ended up passing him and Republicans. He is really happy with how it turned out because they did very well, the election right that's a very interesting point. Just as an aside, that those for the maps that were used for the recent 2020 election right which the Republicans very much cleaned house. They were voters overwhelmingly sent to Republican majorities back to the Gen. assembly makes one wonder what complaints potentially there will be from Democrats this time around. When the Republicans again use that transparent process to redraw based on census yeah that's that's part of the key things because the current GOP majority, which will have held mail for this sixth term came into power in 2010 under Democratic maps so that if they've had the UC have decade of court battles and many times the districts redraw. I think at least twice over the past decade if not more than that and still Republicans have prevailed the I think one thing that that the speaker presumptive said was that was that they were really hoping that they can avoid litigation this time around and and so we all hope that you know I think all the lawyers took the litigation, but the but know that I think that that that there they like that process because the process was much more collaborative and hello to everybody was happy with it and I'm sure folks would like to have everybody in the room that thousands of people milling around silver the last. It was very open and people seem to like the way it turned out, and it did allow enough a lot of interaction between the members of the Gen. assembly. The staff people. The attorneys who were looking at the reality of the maps and members of the public as well.

What we mentioned that voters overwhelmingly sent back a Republicans to have majorities in the North Carolina House and Senate North Carolina voters also reelected Democrat Roy Cooper as governor as it relates to House Speaker Tim Moore did he talk at all about the relationship which during the first Cooper term has been contentious between the legislature and the governor's office.

What about that he was hope he was hopeful that they could actually work together on more issues, a did work together on a number of issues throughout first term of governor Cooper, the problem of course with Medicaid expansion, which was an issue that predated Cooper's inauguration back in 2016 and he was talking about trying to expand Medicaid under the affordable care act through executive order before even took office and that he tried to actually tried to do that after he was sworn in, and that was immediately mixed but that's been the main issue that is divided the governor from the Republican-led legislature.

Since inauguration, and it's something that speaker Moore said he hoped that that they would actually figure out some way to come up with ways to improve access to healthcare but the Medicaid expansion as pure or straightforward, no strings attached proposition was not going to happen and that it really wasn't very productive for the governor to even come to them with that idea because you just want to vote for now.

We also sought last session that there was an contentious debate between the Republicans in the legislature and governor Roy Cooper overspending and budgeting. The governor consistently wanting to spend lots more money than the legislature wanted to spend. We had some vetoes etc. did speaker Moore talk about that what he foresees her 2021, while a part of it is caution because he doesn't really know what the revenue availability is going to be because of the covert pandemic and the affected businesses are still not up to full speed and that there are an awful lot of demands on public services that haven't been there and local governments. Of course, tax collections, why don't for them to so he was very cautious about that.

He did mention that they have the artist come out of this pretty well. Fiscally speaking that we've been pretty responsible overspending. We haven't had to do any massive layoffs, the playoffs of any sort in state government or local governments. Yet as far as we could tell, and also that we are in pretty reasonable shape to get through the fiscal year without having to do any of those sorts of things, barring some sort of calamity so that the challenge is going to be whether or not the federal government comes up with a new covert relief package which includes age of the states or house, and how soon it does and how much it is because there are anticipate this anticipation of the release of budget shortfalls for the fiscal year that starts in July and that's the one that they're going to be working on the budget, but that's role.

Budget negotiators will take place over the next six months is for that next biennial budget and so that's that's were the issues of whether others can be federal relief how fast I will get people vaccinated or the therapeutics together to make sure that we can reopen the economy safely because those are the big issues there will attempt fascinating and and certainly speaker Moore laid out what are key issues. I know Carolina journals convert reporting on all of these when I come back into session in January. Things like redistricting, the drying of the legislative maps based on the new census.

Also, fiscal and budget issues, and that to covert relief from the feds and health insurance and access to healthcare. Rick Anderson is editor-in-chief.

That's all the time we have for the program this week. Thank you for listening time. Donna Martinez come back again next week for more Carolina journal radio related journal radio is a program of the John Locke to learn more about the John Locke foundation donation support programs like Carolina journal radio send email to development John Locke called 66 jail left 166-553-4636 Carolina journal radio is the John line foundation airline is maintaining Carolina broadcasting system, Inc. all opinions expressed on this program are so clearly reflect the station. For more information about the show. Other programs and services of the foundation. John Locke toll-free at 868 JL would like to thank our wonderful radio affiliates across airline and our sponsors. Carolina journal radio. Thank you for listening.

Please join us again next week