Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
Republicans in the state House and Senate are playing “petty politics” and sabotaging meaningful legislation introduced by Democratic lawmakers, bills that address critical issues to Democratic and many Republican constituencies that are sent to committee, never have a hearing, and die.
The myriad of proposed Democratic legislation allegedly ignored includes measures that address higher pay for state employees and educators, improving access to affordable healthcare, and giving underfunded public schools throughout the state more resources to hire teachers and enhance instruction in the classroom.
Democratic lawmakers, many of them Black, from both state houses, shared their frustrations with the media last week saying that because they are the minority, their bills, which would be beneficial to all North Carolinians if passed by the General Assembly, are being deliberately ignored.
Democrats called it a “bill funeral.”
“We are mourning the loss of our ability to truly do the jobs that we were elected to do,” said Sen. Natalie Murdock, (D-Durham). “Mourning the loss of policies that could have saved millions of lives, mourning the loss of democracy the people of North Carolina deserve to have. That is why we are here today, holding this bill funeral.”
Democrats allege that just this legislative session alone, approximately 707 bills sponsored and introduced by Democratic lawmakers have died an unfair and highly partisan death in committee.
“Common sense, community focused solutions to our state’s biggest problems — and they went nowhere,” Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) said. “Republicans didn’t debate or defeat these ideas. They shoved them in drawers, locked them behind doors, and they prayed every single day that the public never finds out how little they’re actually doing with their tax dollars that you will send to this state to run our government.”
What’s worse, the legislative crossover deadline - where a bill must pass in one state house before being considered by the other - has now come and gone on May 8th. So now there’s no chance for those Democratic sponsored measures to get the full consideration they deserve.
“We’re here because this year’s crossover deadline has come and gone, like so many others, with hundreds of bills that provide real, meaningful solutions to some of the worst problems and challenges that we face in North Carolina, dying in the Rules Committee,” Leader Batch continued. “And frankly, we’re here to mourn those losses.”
“This is what a rigged supermajority looks like, one that works not for you, but the people with power, wealth and access. And the result is exactly what we’ve seen play out over the past few months,” Batch continued. “One of the most unproductive, ineffective legislatures in modern memory, and North Carolinians are the ones who are actually paying that price every single day.”
