Greetings from Raleigh June 2006 

This week the Senate members focused their attention on the newly released House budget. The House budget is expected to be passed by the end of the week, and this will initiate negotiations between the two chambers on differences in the two budgets.  We are committed to the priorities of improving mental health care, improving education, salary increases for our state employees and improving public safety. 

On Flag Day this week, our military veterans were honored during session.  Members and veterans met during the day to hear about the concerns most important to our veterans. 

Also on Wednesday, the Senate voted to support a proposal that will allow educators to create programs to teach our students the importance of Memorial Day.  These programs will ensure that the sacrifice and dedication of our veterans will never be forgotten and will always be honored. 

Small Business Day was held on Tuesday in Raleigh.  Members were able to converse with small business owners. Helping small businesses is a top priority in the Senate, which has already approved small-business initiatives this year that include: 

• Reducing taxes for more than 30,000 small businesses. More than 85% of small businesses pay their taxes via personal income taxes, not through corporate taxes;
• Providing $5 million for the One NC Small Business Fund to help small businesses leverage federal innovation grants; and
• Protecting funds for Small Business Centers at community colleges to enhance skills and opportunities for our work force and owners.
•  

We are working in the Senate on plans to make health insurance more affordable and accessible for small businesses and their employees.  More than 60 percent of uninsured North Carolinians either own or work for a small business, or are family members of small business owners or employees.

As always, please feel free to contact me to share your ideas about these initiatives or any other issues you feel are important, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Senate.  I hope you have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,

Walter Dalton

Newsletter from Senator Walter Dalton, August 2005

Greetings from Raleigh,

We are continuing our work on the budget and last week made great progress in negotiations. We are still meeting daily to iron out the details of the budget. As Co Chair of Appropriations in the Senate, our team has seen the pace increase, striving to finalize a budget within the next week or two. Other critical needs receiving attention are public safety and economic development, both integral to the state's progress. Toward the end of the week, other legislation was passed that focused on the elderly, election reform, sex offender registry and military support.


The following are highlights from non-budget legislation last week that have been pass! ed by the Senate and referred to the House:

* The Senate approved legislation this week to toughen criminal penalties for caretakers who exploit older or disabled adults in order to rob them (HB 1466). People should not abuse their positions of trust to rob the elderly or disabled of their savings, property or other financial assets, and I am hopeful that these tougher penalties will deter incidents like these from becoming more widespread.

* All voting equipment in North Carolina will be required to generate a paper ballot or backup record (SB 223). This will serve as a backup means of counting votes, as well as provide voters with a means to verify choices before casting their vote. I am pleased to see this increased accountability in our states system, as it will bolster the faith citizens have when going to the polls in the 2006 election.

* Penalties for second-degree rape and sexual offense will be increased for perpetrators (SB 1039). This bill also moves mentally disabled and mentally incapacitated (including the use of date rape drugs) victims into first-degree rape sexual offense statutes.

* A portion of military gas tax proceeds will be directed to provide morale welfare, recreation programs, services for military families, and to protect bases from encroachment (SB 1117). For example, armed services personnel and their dependents will be allowed in-state tuition at State universities and community colleges and eligibility for NC School of Science and Math.

Also, last week the House passed my bill regarding the control of the sale of ephedrine and pseudo ephedrine products, to help curb the manufacture of methamphetamine. The bill is headed to a conference committee to resolve any remaining differences, and hopefully, the bill will be finalized and passed into law within the near future.
As always, please don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts on these initiatives or any other issue you feel is important. I ! hope you have a good weekend, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Senate.

Sincerely,
Walter Dalton

Newsletter from Senator Walter Dalton, July 2005

Greetings again from Raleigh,

The big news last week was that the House of Representatives put forth its budget plan, setting the stage for lawmakers to begin negotiating a final budget for our state. I expect that House and Senate negotiators will start meeting this week to work through the differences between the House's proposal and the Senate's. I have been named Co-Chair of the Conference Committee on the Budget and look forward to negotiating the final plan.

Two key differences are that the House budget invests less in public education than the Senate budget does, and that it does not include the Senate's proposed business tax relief to spur economic growth. Education a! and the economy must continue to be our top priorities if we are to keep our state moving forward.

I hope, though, that we can resolve our differences quickly and agree on a final budget that protects our core priorities - education, health-care, public safety and economic growth - while continuing the fiscally responsible budgeting practices that have helped North Carolina become ranked fourth in the nation for good money management.

In non-budget news, the Senate approved legislation banning a gasoline additive called MTBE that has been found to pollute groundwater and, in some cases, drinking water supplies. It is estimated that MTBE contamination is present at 2,054 of the 9,079 active underground storage tank sites in North Caroline, and that 245 water supply wells have been contaminated. This legislation will help make North Carolina the first state in the southeast to take this step to protect its water supply.

A Senate proposal to crack down on Internet predators is also moving forward. The Child Exploitation Prevention Act toughens penalties for those who use the Internet to entrap or pursue children, requires convicted online predators to register with the state's Sex Offender Registry, and improves law enforcement officials' ability to investigate child-related computer crimes. The House has agreed to our proposal, and next week the Senate will send the legislation to the governor to be signed into law.

In closing, I hope that you will not hesitate to let me know if I can be of assistance to you in any way. As always it is my pleasure to serve as your state senator.

Sincerely,

Walter Dalton