As the N.C. House prepared to unveil its budget plan, JLF Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti explained in the Burlington Times-News and other Freedom Newspapers that lawmakers had no need to pursue 7 percent salary increases for public school teachers; that salary figure was based on the governor’s mythical pursuit of the “national average” for teacher pay. Lawmakers could also consider additional protection for property rights in North Carolina. Legal and Regulatory Policy Analyst Daren Bakst outlined in a Fayetteville Observer opinion piece his support for a constitutional amendment limiting government’s eminent domain power. State lawmakers have allowed county governments across North Carolina to pursue increases in the local sales or land-transfer taxes. Mecklenburg County is considering a quarter-cent sales tax hike, and Research Director and Local Government Analyst Michael Sanera shared his concerns about the idea with The Charlotte Observer. North Carolina’s certificate of need (CON) law has generated an in-depth critique from Vice President for Research and Resident Scholar Roy Cordato. This week, Investor’s Business Daily cited Cordato’s work in an article about Florida’s CON controversy. JLF analysts also took their expertise on the road this week. John Hood; Executive Vice President Kory Swanson; Vice Presidents Chad Adams and Becki Gray; policy analysts Coletti and Terry Stoops; and N.C. History Project Director Troy Kickler all shared information about the Locke Foundation in a public presentation at the Duplin Winery.
