As state lawmakers file bills and prepare for budget work, John Locke Foundation experts speak out on topics likely to generat debate this year on Jones Street. President John Hood offered his expertise for a recent Carolinian/Wilmington Journal article on Gov. Beverly Perdue’s balance between tackling budget woes and addressing social policy needs. (John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh-based conservative think tank, sees Gov. Perdue’s “policy priority” as balancing the budget without a big tax increase. “That also happens to be her political priority,” Hood told The Carolinian/The Wilmington Journal. “Gov. Perdue realizes that she kind of lucked herself into office. If Obama had not been on the ballot, I think Perdue would have lost. I think she knows that; I think most of the people around her know that. So, she has to make sure that the defects of Democratic politics in North Carolina that made her vulnerable need to be addressed, like scandal and openness in government.”) Hood also offered his thoughts for a Winston-Salem Journal story on legislative efforts to ban cell phone use among North Carolina drivers. Meanwhile, Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti served as a panelist for a recent N.C. Bar Association event focusing on state government’s role and the budget process. Vice President Chad Adams used his latest appearance on Whiteville’s WTXY Radio to discuss the potential impact of a federal “stimulus” bill on the state budget. Another hot issue on Jones Street involves annexation reform. Legal and Regulatory Policy Analyst Daren Bakst issued a new Spotlight on the topic this week; it emphasizes the need for legal provisions guranteeing legitimate oversight and meaningful services in connection with forced annexation. Meanwhile, the N.C. Property Rights Watch blog highlighted Bakst’s recent forced annexation question-and-answer guide.