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Thank you for stopping by my website and for electing me to represent
North Carolina's 16th Senatorial District in the General Assembly.
I am honored to serve.
If you are visiting this site in order to learn more about my candidacy for the North Carolina State Treasurer, please go to www.CowellforTreasurer.com. For those of you interested in my Senate and Council service and a recap of the recently adjourned General Assembly session, please read on.
It’s A Wrap
The 2007 session of the General Assembly came to an end on August 2nd, more than six months after convening on January 24th. It was a busy session with over 3,600 bills filed and approximately 550 of those enacted into law. Noteworthy legislation was ratified in the area of election reform, ethics, energy, and healthcare.
Progress in Sustainable Economic Development
As many of you know, I have focused on issues of sustainable economic development both in the General Assembly and on the City Council. Legislation that I filed and was passed into law includes:
| Computer Recycling (incorporated into SB 1492) |
Requires computer manufacturers to provide convenient, free disposal of laptops, desktops, monitors, keyboards, etc. In a little over a year, you should be able to recycle old electronics at drop-off centers closer to your home and see more ads for collection events in your area and across the state. North Carolina is the first southeastern state to establish such a program. |
Use of Solar Collectors (SB 670) |
Promotes solar by preventing homeowners associations and local governments from the outright banning solar devices on detached, single-family homes. Still allows for regulation of location and screening of the devices and is prospective rather than retroactive. |
A Focus on Good Government
Efficiency and effectiveness remain the biggest challenge within state government. While I support increasing investment in areas such as education and cancer research, we need to, at the same time, review programs or policies that have outlived their usefulness (we could take a lesson from the University System, which under the leadership of President Bowles, is following this approach). Without additional discipline, the state budget will grow at too fast a rate. I filed and successfully passed several pieces of legislation in the arena of “good government”:
| Energy and Water Efficiency in State Buildings (SB 668) |
Mandates immediate energy saving measures, including switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, installing water saving devices in sinks, and fine tuning climate control systems. Requires new standards for energy and water efficiency in university, community college and state buildings starting Oct. 1, 2008. Together these measures will result in tens of millions of dollars in savings. |
Data integration across government agencies (SB 1152) |
Enables the State Controller and Chief Information Officer to develop of a plan to integrate data across state government (e.g., detect Medicaid fraud by matching Medicaid claims to reported income). This investment in technology and planning will enhance decision-making, improve services, and save taxpayer dollars. |
Wake County Continues to Benefit from State Investment
Wake County has been the beneficiary of both budget appropriations and authorized debt for construction projects. Direct beneficiaries are North Carolina State University and State Museums (Natural Science and History).
Project |
$ mn |
Details |
Downtown Raleigh |
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Green Square Project |
$25 |
Expansion of Museum of Natural Science and construction of downtown offices for Dept of Environment and Natural Resources |
NC Museum of History |
$6 |
Chronology exhibit |
State Capital Visitor’s Center |
$0.5 |
Capital planning funds |
NCSU |
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Companion Animal Hospital |
$38 |
Debt authorization for hospital on Centennial Biomedical Campus |
College of Engineering |
$34 |
Debt authorization for engineering facility expansion |
Centennial Campus Library |
$17 |
Construction of James B. Hunt Library |
TOTAL |
$120 |
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State Employee and Teachers See a Second Year of Significant Salary Increases
Members of the Senate worked hard on behalf of state employees and teachers in the 2007 session to secure salary increases after years of little or no raises early in the decade. Retiree pay increases lagged behind active employee increases, which is something we need to work to correct.
| Community College Faculty and Staff |
5% |
University Faculty and Staff |
4% |
State Employees |
4% |
Teachers |
5% |
Judges |
5% |
Retiree Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) |
2.2% |
Other noteworthy legislation from the 2007 Session:
Ethics |
Clarify State Government Ethics Act (HB1111) - Opens hearings into ethics complaints to the public.
Legal Expense Funds (HB 1737) – Requires disclosure of contributions to legal defense funds by candidates and elected officials.
Removal of Unqualified Judges and District Attorneys (SB 118) – Allows for immediate replacement of disbarred attorneys and judges.
Officials Forfeit Pensions for Felonies (SB 659) – Elected officials convicted of public corruption or election law felonies lose his/her pension benefits. |
Election Reform |
Registration and Voting at One-Stop Sites (HB 91) – Allows registration and voting on the same day during the early voting period.
Voter-owned Elections Pilot (HB 1517) – Candidates for state auditor, superintendent of public instruction and insurance commissioner will be able to qualify for campaign money from a public fund. |
Healthcare/Mental Health |
Establish Health Insurance Risk Pool (HB 265) – allows individuals with long-term illnesses (e.g., multiple sclerosis) to buy health insurance that otherwise could not obtain it.
Mental Health Parity (HB 973) – Require group health insurance plans to cover treatment for mental illnesses at the same level that they cover physical illnesses. |
Energy |
Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard/ Base load Generation (SB 3) – Requires utilities to generate 12.5% of power via renewables and energy efficiency by 2017. Allows utilities to pass along financing costs of new power plants to customers. |
Please feel free to contact me to express your opinions on issues
coming before the General Assembly. Also, let me know if my office
can be of assistance to you. Your comments and suggestions are critical
to my being the best representative I can be.
Sincerely,
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