MAY 16, 2003	ISSUE. No. 17	2003 LONG SESSION
Published every Friday during legislative sessions exclusively for NCCBI members
Other stories below: Budget talks bog down as conferees ponder revenue gap....  House approves loosening phone company regulations.... SUTA dumping bill clears last legislative hurdle.... Bills of interest introduced this week.... German semiconductor maker receives first job development grant.... HHS admits more Medicaid overpayments to hospitals.... Easley calls for constructing new youth detention centers... Easley sounds alarm over more harm to textiles.... Jobless rates drop in 9 of 11 metro areas.... Names in the news.... Washington Report....Kirk speaks at three college graduations.... Please welcome these new NCCBI members...

Legislation calls for fall referendum
on line-item veto power for the governor

Legislation was introduced in the House on Wednesday calling for a fall referendum on amending the state constitution to give North Carolina’s governor line-item veto power. Gov. Mike Easley immediately applauded the action and called on the General Assembly to quickly consider the measure. He had touted the line-item veto in his State of the State speech on March 3. NCCBI strongly supports the concept.

Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Montgomery), vice chair of the House Finance Committee, offered H. 1325 Line-Item Veto, which would allow the governor to strike out specific items in appropriations, tax and bond bills passed by the General Assembly. If that occurred, the governor would have to specify in writing to the legislature the item or items disapproved and the reasons for that action. The remainder of the bill, without the specific section or sections struck out by the governor, would become law.

The line-item veto is one of three major overhauls the governor has proposed. Two other initiatives he launched were the cap on state spending and session limits (see March 7 Bulletin). Many details about how the line-item veto would work remain unclear. What particulars that can be determined about how the line-item veto would work are described below, as excerpted from Rep. Gibson’s bill:

Line-item vetoes of tax and bond bills: If a bill contains any item or items enacted to raise money on the credit of the state, to pledge the faith of the state directly or indirectly for the payment of any debt, to impose, amend, or repeal any tax upon the people of the state, or to allow the counties, cities, or towns to do so, and the governor does not return the entire bill with objections, the governor may disapprove any item or items of such bill embracing distinct items, and the part or the parts of the bill approved shall be the law, and the item or items disapproved shall be void. The governor shall in writing state specifically the item or items disapproved, setting the same out in full in the message, together with the reasons for such objection. If more than one item is objected to in a bill, the General Assembly may reconsider the items separately or together.

Line-item vetoes of appropriations bills: If a bill contains any item or items of appropriations and the governor does not return the entire bill with objections, the governor may disapprove any item or items of any appropriation bill embracing distinct items, and the part or the parts of the bill approved shall be the law, and the item or items disapproved shall be void. The governor shall in writing state specifically the item or items disapproved, setting the same out in full in the message, together with the reasons for such objection. If a bill contains any item or items of appropriations and the governor does not return the entire bill or the item with objections, the governor may submit an amendment to reduce or increase any item or items of any appropriation bill embracing distinct items, and the part or the parts of the bill approved shall be the law, and the item or items reduced or increased shall be void. The governor shall in writing state specifically the item or items reduced or increased, setting the same out in full in the message, together with the reasons for such reduction or increase. The enrolled bill shall not be returned with the governor's objection. If more than one item is objected to in a bill, the General Assembly may reconsider the items separately or together. The governor cannot object to the appropriation without also objecting to the condition or limitation. Conversely, the governor cannot veto the condition or limitation without also disapproving the appropriation.

Budget talks bog down as conferees ponder revenue gap
House and Senate budget conferees continued looking for ways this week to resolve differences in their spending plans while also searching for roughly $300 million to fill a revenue shortfall developing in the current budget. These are relatively minor problems but they are slowing down what had been the legislature’s breathtaking speed toward adopting a budget for the coming biennium.

Step one is for the conferees, plus Gov. Mike Easley, to agree on an exact number for the revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year. Although an exact figure won't be known until June 30, the leaders could estimate a number and use it as the basis for their negotiations.

Step two is for the conferees to settle on a revenue plan for next fiscal year that both chambers can agree on. The House’s revenue plan involves continuing for two years two taxes that are set to expire soon – the additional half-cent sales tax and the higher state income tax rate on wealthy individuals, measures that would raise $384 million in revenue. The Senate went whole hog by continuing the two taxes the House proposes to continue plus delaying implementation of two new middle class tax breaks to expire – the end to the marriage penalty and the higher standard deduction for child care. Together those four measures would raise $468 million.

Observers say the Senate, whose spending plan is roughly $110 million more than the House, probably will have to give in on the middle class tax breaks. They say there just aren’t enough votes in the House to pass a compromise budget if those two measures are included. That likely means that the Senate conferees will have to accept additional spending cuts. Where those cuts would come from is anybody’s guess, but state employees fear their pay raise for next year (1.8 percent in the Senate budget, 1.6 percent in the House plan) is on the line.


House approves loosening phone company regulations
The House on Tuesday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 814 (Rand) Clarify Competitive Telecommunications Statutes, a measure that supporters say will allow the larger local-service phone companies to compete with the many bypass providers. The vote was 109-4. The bill would give BellSouth, Sprint and Verizon flexibility over price plans but bar the state Utilities Commission from considering company earnings when reviewing rates. Opponents complain that the legislation will strip the Utilities Commission of needed power to protect consumers. The legislation declares that the state now believes that intraLATA long distance service, interLATA long distance service and long distance operator services are sufficiently competitive and “shall no longer be regulated by the Commission.” The bill now goes back to the Senate for consideration of House amendments.

SUTA dumping bill clears last legislative hurdle
The General Assembly gave second- and third-reading approval Wednesday to S. 326 (Hoyle) Deterring State Unemployment Tax Avoidance Dumping, a measure that makes it a felony to  move employees to dummy companies solely for the purpose of avoiding higher unemployment insurance taxes. The so-called SUTA dumping bill received unanimous approval in the House vote and it now goes to the governor for his signature. The Employment Security Commission has said it’s investigating several companies for SUTA dumping. The ESC said they create a shell corporation and transfer existing employees to that company. Because the new company has no history of unemployment insurance claims by laid-off workers, it would pay a lower insurance rates.

Briefly Noted: The Senate gave second- and third-reading approval Wednesday to H. 126 (Glazier) Evidence In Juvenile Hearings, a measure that overturns a state Court of Appeals ruling in 2001 banning the use of hearsay evidence in juvenile court hearings can be allowed. The bill now goes to Gov. Mike Easley to be signed into law. The bill would allow hearsay evidence in juvenile hearings only when a judge finds it to be "relevant, reliable and necessary." Attorneys say the legislation is needed so that school records can be admitted as evidence in juvenile proceedings without the school official having to appear in person to testify. . . . The House Education Committee on Tuesday favorably reported S. 931 No Portfolio Required/Teacher Certification, legislation that would eliminate a requirement that new teachers compile a portfolio before receiving full state certification. The committee previously approved a House version of the same bill, but it failed to meet the crossover deadline. The Senate version of the bill now goes to the House floor for consideration. . . . .  The Senate on Wednesday gave second- and third-reading approval to S. 676 (Hoyle) Revise the Banking Laws of North Carolina, a measure clarifying the powers of the Banking Commissioner and several regulatory issues governing banks. The measure now goes to the House. . . . The House on Tuesday voted 110-0 on third-reading for S. 825 (Albertson) Protect Certain Reptiles and Amphibians, a Senate-passed measure that would impose a moratorium on commercial trapping of freshwater turtles as of July 1.


Bills of Interest Introduced This Week

Although the crossover deadline for bills not addressing appropriations or taxes passed on May 1, the House deadline for filing bills related to finance issues wasn’t until May 14. The approach of that deadline prompted a flurry of bills to be filed in the House, including the ones below:

 H. 1277 (Munford, Stam) Repeal Gift Tax in 2006 - An act to repeal the gift tax in 2006.
 H. 1279 (Luebke) Farm Facility Tax Refund - An act to convert the sales tax preference for certain farm facilities from an exemption to a refund.
 H. 1280 (Luebke) Present-Use Value Changes - An act to extend the period for which deferred taxes are due when forestland no longer qualifies for present-use value classification.
 H. 1283 (Luebke) Amend Legislative Tuition Grant/Fee - An act to provide that upper tax bracket taxpayers are eligible to receive only fifty percent of the legislative tuition grant, to require the state education assistance authority to document the number of full-time equivalent undergraduate students enrolled in private institutions and the state funds collected by those institutions for those students, to authorize the state education assistance authority and the secretary of administration to request an audit of any institution that fails to adhere to the rules for the administration of the legislative tuition grants, to clarify that the General Assembly does not intend for private colleges and universities to "bundle" the legislative tuition grants and provide those grants to a select few students, and to authorize the state education assistance authority to charge a fee to private institutions for administering the legislative tuition grants.
 H. 1284 (Tolson and Miner) 21st Century Jobs Act – The bill would extend the Qualified Business Tax Credit and the State Ports Tax Credit, now scheduled to sunset in 2007, through 2007. It also would create an R&D tax credit equal to 25 percent of eligible expenses, and eliminate sales taxes on bioprocessing facilities and semiconductor clean rooms. 
 H. 1287 (Alexander) NC Clean Vehicles/Infrastructure Fund - An act to establish the North Carolina Clean Vehicles Program and to establish the Low Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Fund.
 H. 1288 (Ross and Setzer) Expand Historic Preservation Credit - An act to expand the tax credits for historic rehabilitation by removing the sunset on a provision allowing a pass-through entity to allocate among its owners the tax credit for income-producing structures, increasing the amount that may be allocated to an owner under this provision, and allowing both historic rehabilitation tax credits to be taken against franchise tax and gross premiums taxes.
 H. 1290 (McComas) Conform Bank Expense Deduction - An act to conform state income tax on banks to federal income tax on banks.
 H. 1291 (McComas) Subsidiary Dividend Tax Changes - An act to modify the expense attribution law as it applies to deductible dividends.
 H. 1292 (Holliman and Luebke) Target Incentives to Truly Distressed Areas - An act to modify the Bill Lee Act tier designation formula to assure that economic development efforts are targeted to truly distressed areas.
 H. 1293 (Miner) Local Option Project Development Financing - An act to amend the North Carolina constitution to permit cities and counties to incur obligations to finance the public portion of certain economic development projects.
 H. 1294 (G. Allen) Expand Qualified Business Credit - An act to expand the qualified business investments tax credit.
 H. 1296 (Miller) ABC Fee for Urban Redevelopment Zone Fee - An act to require the payment of registration fee to the ABC Commission upon the filing of an application for an ABC permit by a business located in an urban redevelopment area.
 H. 1297 (Glazier) Malpractice Insurance Tax Credit - An act to provide a tax credit for medical care providers to the extent their malpractice insurance premiums exceed an appropriate amount.
 H. 1309 (Bordsen, Parmon, Insko and Womble) Increase Alcohol Excise Taxes - An act to restore the previous rate of excise tax on liquor; to raise beer and wine taxes; and to direct a portion of the proceeds of these tax increases to substance abuse treatment.
 H. 1312 (Gibson and Hackney) Hazardous Waste Fees - An act to require a person who generates, transports, treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste to notify the Department of Environment and Natural Resources prior to commencing the activity, to require generators of hazardous waste to pay a security deposit to the department to ensure compliance with closure requirements, to clarify which hazardous waste fees are payable on an annual basis and which are payable on a fiscal year basis, to clarify when hazardous   waste fees are due, and to impose a late payment fee on delinquent hazardous waste fees.
 H 1313 (Miner and Luebke) Local Option Cigarette Excise Tax - An act to authorize counties to levy a local option excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
 H. 1314 (Carney and McComas) Brownfields Property Tax Exclusion - An act to provide a property tax exclusion for brownfields property owned and rehabilitated by a community development corporation. The exclusion would be 100 percent of assessed value for five years after redevelopment. The exclusion would decline by 10 percent each year afterward until it reaches 10 percent in the tenth year.
 H. 1316 (Earle, Miner and McComas) N.C. Travel and Tourism Investment Act - Establishes a Travel and Tourism Grant Committee in the state Department of Commerce to award grants to the owners of qualified projects for the purpose of inducing the creation of new or the expansion or renovation of existing travel and tourism projects. Grant proceeds may not be distributed to any private individual or entity. The owner of a qualified project is the unit of local government that will own the qualified project in whole or in partnership with a private individual or entity.
 H. 1317 (Luebke) Modified Throwback Rule - An act to provide that in apportioning corporate income to this state for tax purposes, one-half of the amount of sales delivered to another state where they are not taxable will be treated as sales in this state.
 H. 1319 (Luebke) Temporary Income Tax Surtax – An act to impose a 5 percent income tax surcharge through the 2005 tax year. The surcharge would apply to income in excess of $100,000 a year for married couples filing jointly.

State Government

German semiconductor maker receives first job development grant
Infineon Technologies North America Corp., a German company that is the world’s sixth-largest semiconductor company, is the first company to receive a grant under the state’s new Job Development Investment Grant program. The grant was authorized Wednesday by the state Economic investment Committee, a five-member panel composes of the secretaries of Commerce, Revenue and the director of the Office of Management and Budget plus appointees by the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate.

The company, which plans to create as many as 400 new jobs over five years at an $8 million new facility in Cary, could get as much as $9.5 million from the state over the coming 11 years. Estimated salaries for the new positions are more than $75,000. For each year in which the company meets required performance targets, the state will provide a grant equal to 65 percent of the state income taxes generated by the new jobs. If the company creates all of the jobs called for under the agreement and sustains them for 11 years, the agreement could yield maximum benefits to the company of as much as $9.5 million over the life of the grant. Failure to reach job-creation targets or to sustain the jobs in a given year would reduce the grant. If targets are missed two years in a row, the agreement would be terminated. The grant also provides up to $3.2 million for infrastructure improvements in rural North Carolina.

”The availability of the job development grant was a key factor in our decision to locate in North Carolina, along with the state’s pool of trained high-tech workers, outstanding education institutions, reasonable cost of living and quality-of-life considerations,” said company president Robert LeFort.

Under the new program, qualifying companies can get back up to 75 percent of the state income taxes paid by workers in new jobs the companies create. The program is targeted at industrial projects whose benefits exceed their costs to the state and which would not locate in North Carolina without the grant.

The N.C. Department of Commerce estimates the project will generate a cumulative gross state product increase of about $620 million and a cumulative net state fiscal impact of $10.3 million over the life of the grant, as well as 668 jobs from all sources when the company reaches anticipated employment targets.

Infineon employs more than 30,000 people in 22 countries and has operated an R&D operation in RTP since 1999. Infineon’s 70 RTP employees will move to the new Cary facility when it opens early this fall. The company reported second quarter revenues of $1.69 billion, up 13 percent from the year-ago period, and a net quarterly loss of $374 million.

Phipps hangs tough amid calls for her to resign
Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps maintains that she won’t resign her office, as Gov. Mike Easley urged her to do this week, but observers say her political future is bleak. In a blunt letter Tuesday, Easley told Phipps, a fellow Democrat, that "resigning your office at this time is in the best interest of our agriculture industry and thousands of farm families around the state." State Democratic Party Chair Barbara Allen also was quoted as saying Phipps should consider the governor’s advice. The governor urged Phipps to step down a day after Linda Saunders, Phipps' former campaign manager, pleaded guilty in federal court to six felonies. Former campaign aide Bobby McLamb pleaded guilty to two counts in March. Both Saunders and McLamb are cooperating with investigators into Phipps' campaign finances and her handling of the midway contract for the N.C. State Fair.

HHS admits more Medicaid overpayments to hospitals
The state Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed that it overpaid hospitals at least $150 million over the past four years for outpatient care for Medicaid recipients. The error was uncovered in the department’s Division of Medical Assistance. Hospitals eventually will have to repay the money, but for now they have been given what amounts to an interest-free loan. Dave Mosley, the HHS official put in charge of correcting other Medicaid overpayments to hospitals, said the $150 million figure was a conservative estimate. North Carolina’s Medicaid program, 60 percent of which is funded by the federal government, has soared from $2.5 billion in fiscal 1992 to $7.4 billion last fiscal year.

Easley calls for constructing new youth detention centers
Gov. Mike Easley on Tuesday proposed constructing three new youth development centers (YDC) and paying for them using lease-buy financing – the same method the state has used recently to build prisons. The governor called for new centers to be built near the current YDC facilities in Lenoir, Buncombe, and Cabarrus counties. Lease-purchase financing allows the project to be privately financed and constructed, then sold to the North Carolina Infrastructure Finance Corp., a non-profit appointed by the state Treasurer. The YDC will then be leased to the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The governor’s action came after State Auditor Ralph Campbell said in an audit report the facilities are over 60 years old and are in poor physical condition. He estimated that it would cost $44 million to repair and renovate the existing centers, or $90 million to build new facilities. The YDCs house juveniles who have been declared delinquent by the courts because of crimes they committed.

Easley sounds alarm over more harm to textiles
Gov. Mike Easley sent a letter to President George Bush urging him to protect North Carolina's textile industry in international trade negotiations. He requested that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) withdraw its current agreement with Vietnam, reinstate import protections based on previous negotiations and conduct a comprehensive review of all quota categories to determine legitimate levels of Vietnamese trade. The Bush administration announced a bilateral agreement on textiles executed with Vietnam earlier this month. On April 25, the USTR signed an agreement that grants Vietnam new, extraordinary access to the U.S. textile market. This agreement directly puts thousands of additional North Carolina jobs on the firing line, Easley said. In 2002, North Carolina’s textile industry lost more than 6,000 jobs to plant closings and permanent layoffs. In the letter, Easley also urged the administration to keep its commitment to the long-term viability of domestic textile industry as the USTR considers moving forward on the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) negotiations over the next few months.

Jobless rates drop in 9 of 11 metro areas
Unemployment rates dropped in March in nine of the state’s 11 metro areas and in 80 of the 100 counties, according to Employment Security Commission data. Unemployment rates for the Metropolitan Statistical Areas in March, compared with February, were:

 Asheville, 3.9 percent, down from 4.3 percent
 Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, 5.8 percent, down from 6 percent
 Fayetteville, 5.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent
 Goldsboro, 5.4 percent, unchanged
 Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, 5.7 percent, down from 5.9 percent
 Greenville, 6.2 percent, up from 5.8 percent
 Hickory/Morganton/Lenoir, 7.9 percent, down from 8 percent
 Jacksonville, 5.7 percent, down from 6 percent
 Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, 4.6 percent, down from 4.7 percent
 Rocky Mount, 9 percent, down from 9.3 percent
 Wilmington, 5.5 percent, down from 6.1 percent 

Names in the News

 Robert Thomas Speed of Boone, a criminal and civil case attorney in private practice, was appointed by Gov. Mike Easley to the state Board of Education. Easley re-appointed Kathy Arnold Taft of Greenville, a part-time instructor with the health education department at East Carolina University, and John A. Tate III of Charlotte, a senior vice president at Wachovia Bank. The three will serve eight-year terms on the board after being confirmed by the General Assembly.

 David Redwine of Ocean Isle Beach, who served 10 terms in the state House before his defeat last fall, was named by UNC Board of Governors to fill an East Carolina University Board of Trustees seat left vacant by the death of former Sen. Ed Warren. Warren, who had been appointed by the Board of Governors to the seat in March, died last month before having a chance to serve.
 
 Tom Eagar was named chief operating officer of the N.C. State ports Authority and Jeff Strader was named Chief Financial and Information Officer. Eagar had been deputy executive director for operations. He joined the Authority in August 2000. Strader was named CFO when he joined the Authority in October 2001. In addition to all finance, accounting, real estate, administration and purchasing functions that report to him, Strader will now be responsible for the Information Technology department.

 Allyson Duncan, the Raleigh attorney who has been nominated by President George Bush for a seat on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, has received the blessing of both U.S. Sen. John Edwards and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

 Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue was included in the Democratic Leadership Council’s “100 New Democrats to Watch: The Next Generation of Leadership.”

Washington Report
A monthly update on where things stand,
supplied by the National Association of Manufacturers
 
Pension Issues: Lawmakers, led by Reps. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), hope to pass further reforms to encourage pension coverage. Their proposal, H.R. 1776, includes a permanent solution to the problem faced by defined-benefit pension sponsors because of the artificially low interest rate on 30-year Treasuries. A temporary solution expires at year-end and a permanent solution is critical, as the tax code and ERISA require many defined-benefit plan sponsors to use the 30-year bond rate as a discount rate to determine funding and premium liabilities. The failure to pass a solution would cost some companies millions of dollars, leading to inflated pension contributions and variable-premium payments to PBGC.

Class Action Reform: Trial lawyers frequently take massive class-action suits to the most plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction they can find in hopes of hitting the jackpot. Efforts to curb such “forum shopping” are advancing in the Senate, where advocates of S. 274 are close to securing the 60 votes needed to block a filibuster by allies of the trial lawyers’ lobby. S. 274 would shift most major class-action litigation (more than 100 claimants, more than $5 million) to federal court. A “Consumer Bill of Rights” would ensure that all claimants can collect their share of the settlement.

Overvalued Dollar: A report by the Coalition for a Sound Dollar concludes that U.S. manufacturing and agriculture “now risk permanent structural damage from the overvalued dollar’s effects.” Despite a modest decline in the dollar’s value in recent months, it remains overvalued by roughly 15 percent against major currencies. Currency intervention by the largest Asian exporting nations has distorted natural market movements and kept the dollar disproportionately high. To view the report, go to www.sounddollar.org.

Ergonomics: OSHA is targeting shipyards as the focus of its next set of industry-specific ergonomics guidelines. Business groups remain leery of OSHA’s intentions with these guidelines, which profess to deal with only a specific industry, but may affect many more industries in the future. OSHA has designated four industries to receive guidelines since last April. The first set, released on 3/13, addressed nursing homes. Guidelines for grocery stores and poultry-processing industries are in the works.

Comp Time: Wouldn’t it be nice if you could offer your workers the same overtime-compensation options that have worked well for decades in federal, state and local governments? This is what NAM-supported comp-time flexibility bill H.R. 1119 (Biggert—R-IL) does for you. The bill would permit your workers—only by voluntary agreement with you—to take comp time off at the same rate of time-and-a-half as those who receive traditional overtime pay.

Border Security: The Administration wants to increase plans for border/transportation security funding by nearly $2 billion. Lawmakers appear inclined to support the increased funding. Plans call for a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program that increases supply-chain security and expedites the clearance of commercial cargoes and conveyances; expands the Container Security Initiative, which puts personnel in key foreign ports to examine high-risk cargo headed for the U.S.; and more.

Science & Technology: Top scientists—including Nobel Prize winners and industry leaders—are calling for a well-funded Presidential Initiative in 2005 to preserve our nation’s scientific and technological leadership. A 2002 report by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology notes that “R&D investment from the federal government has fallen to its lowest point as a percentage of GDP in over 25 years.” In a letter to the President, the top scientists from industry and academia noted that “Growth in expert personnel abroad, combined with the diminishing numbers of Americans entering the physical sciences, mathematics and engineering … is leading corporations to locate more of their R&D activities outside the U.S.”

NCCBI News

Kirk shares tips for success with college graduates
Spring is time for college commencements, and NCCBI President Phil Kirk has spent lots of time speaking to graduates in the past few weeks. Here is a sampling of the advice he has shared with them. Speaking to the graduates at Lenoir Community College, Kirk told the audience that "much of life is about choices, and education at LCC has hopefully given you the ability to make the right choices." He urged the graduates not "to be afraid to rock the boat. Do not accept the status quo. Look for better ways to do things." He also said, "Take the time to live so that when your family and friends think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you."

Speaking to 250 graduates at his alma mater, Catawba College, Kirk talked about leadership. "Leaders are not born with all the traits necessary to become leaders although family genes and early life experiences can help. A leader develops goals and a vision. Armed with a strong sense of values and high morals, an effective leader motivates and pushes and encourages." Quoting Dwight Eisenhower, he said, "I'll tell you what leadership is. It is persuasion and conciliation and education and patience. Leadership is also the ability to hide your panic from others." He encouraged the students to develop a sense of humor and to never give up."

Kirk spoke to 4,000 persons, including 680 graduates, at the graduation exercises for Guilford Technical Community College in the Greensboro Coliseum. He urged the graduates "to work hard and work smart to be successful. Don't be afraid to make a mistake. That is how you grow as a person." While stating that academics are very important, he added, "A positive attitude-something not easily taught nor easily learned -- will go farther in bringing you success and happiness. Remember attitude determines altitude. How high you fly, how much you succeed in life is by and large determined by you."

Kirk urged all three audiences "to use your ability. Don't let life be a passive experience. Take time to reach out to those who are in need and take time to serve others.  Be a volunteer!"

Speaking to the North Carolina Community College Trustees Association, Kirk said challenges facing educators in North Carolina require tough decisions, strong leadership, and effective communications. He pointed out that all aspects of public education in North Carolina face similar challenges--exploding enrollments, real budget reductions, low salaries, and lack of funding for equipment, repairs and renovations, and new facilities.

Kirk urged the trustees from across the state to continue to involve their graduates, faculties, staffs, and trustees in telling the "fantastic success stories" to public officials. "Put a human face on all the statistics you use. Your programs are the primary tool our economic developers use to sell North Carolina."

Kirk is now an honorary alumnus of East Carolina University. In a banquet presentation on May l0, the East Carolina University Alumni Association recognized Kirk for his "outstanding advocacy and dedication to the mission of East Carolina University."  Layton Getsinger, vice president of the ECU Alumni Association, made the presentation, along with Margaret C. Ward, president of the association, and ECU Chancellor Bill Muse. Kirk was thanked for his service to East Carolina University through his service on the ECU Board of Visitors, his keynote speech at Founders Day, and his advocacy for business and industry throughout eastern North Carolina. He was also praised for his service as chairman of the State Board of Education, a position he relinquished on May l after five and one-half years.

In another ceremony on May l at the State Board of Education meeting, Richard Swartz and Mary McDuffie, representing the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching at Western Carolina University, announced the creation of the Phil Kirk Endowed Educators Scholarship at NCCAT. A minimum of $25,000 is required for a scholarship.

The resolution said, in part, "Whereas, with a devotion that few other persons can equal, (Kirk) has dedicated his time and talents to strengthen public education in North Carolina, and whereas, Mr. Kirk's leadership as a champion of public education, supporter of children's programs, and advocate for teaching of the highest quality in public schools, has inspired the establishment by his friends and admirers of an endowed scholarship in his name."

Greenville Section Unveiled: The Greenville-Pitt County community profile, which appears in the May issue of the North Carolina magazine, was officially unveiled at a Community Leaders Breakfast on May 8 at the City Hotel and Bistro in Greenville. Jordan Whichard, III, publisher of the Daily Reflector, and a member of the NCCBI Board of Directors, welcomed the 75 business and community leaders to the breakfast. He thanked NCCBI for the profile and urged those present who are not members to join the state chamber of commerce.  Jimmy Garris, Pitt County Commissioner, gave the invocation. Susanne D. Sartelle, president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce and an NCCBI board member, introduced Phil Kirk as the keynote speaker. Kirk saluted Pitt County for its "positive, can do attitude." He emphasized several factors that go into selecting communities for profiles in the North Carolina magazine, including strong support for education at every level, co-operation among the various groups in the community, and an emphasis on public service and volunteer activities. He paid particular tribute to the health care industry as the main factor in Greenville and Pitt County's progress, which included a 7l percent growth in population in the past 20 years.  He mentioned East Carolina University, the Brody School of Medicine, Pitt Memorial Hospital, and the University Health Systems of East Carolina.


Please welcome these news members
Companies that joined or rejoined NCCBI in March and April of this year, along with the name of the key executive at each company include: Ad Pro, John Murphy, Raleigh; Aramark, Joseph Neubauer, Philadelphia, PA; Belmont Abbey College, Carol Brooks, Belmont; Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Joe Satterfield, Young Harris, GA; Boise Cascade Office Products Corporation, Brion Blais, Charlotte; Business North Carolina, Ben Kinney, Charlotte; The Capitol Group, Don Beason, Raleigh; Charlotte Regional Sports Commission, Jeff Beaver, Charlotte; Collett & Associates, John Collett, Charlotte; Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog,, L.L.P., Patricia Holland, Raleigh; Craven County Committee of 100, James T. Davis, III, New Bern; Duke Management Company, Thurston B. Morton, III, Durham; Duke/Raleigh/Durham Hospitals, William Donelan, Durham; Duke Realty Corporation, Andrew Kelton, Morrisville; Fidelity Investments, Wayne Douglas, Raleigh; First Health of the Carolinas, Charles Frock, Pinehurst; H & M Diversified Investments, Inc., John McConnell, III, Raleigh; InoVision, Inc., Robert Hall, Matthews; Institute for Defense & Business, William T. Powell, Jr., Chapel Hill; Invest UK, Gayle Sellman, Atlanta, GA; Jackie's Cleaning Service, Martin L. Banks, Jr., Raleigh; Jeffrey Davis, JDavis Architects, PLLC, Raleigh; ; R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company, Leigh Jeffreys Fanning, Greenville; Joe Gibbs Racing, Dean Noble, Huntersville; JRS Properties, Inc., T. S. Royster, Oxford; Lexmark International, Inc., Patrick Brewer, Lexington, KY; Office of John Martin, Hon. John C. Martin, Raleigh; Mountain Top Ventures, Chuck Strum, Franklin; Novozymes North America, Lee Yarbrough, Franklinton;  Nyberg Fletcher & White, Inc., John White, Greensboro; The Orr Group, Glenn Orr, Jr., Winston-Salem; Petra Leadership Solutions, John Grinnell, Chapel Hill; Red Hat, Tom Rabon, Raleigh; Office of Carl W. Repsher, Carl Repsher, Salisbury; Richmond County Government, Ronald Munnerlyn, Rockingham; Rock Barn Golf & Country Club, John Hemmings, Conover; Sandhills Area Chamber of Commerce, Joy Clayton, Southern Pines; Scotland Memorial Hospital, Gregory Wood, Laurinburg; Scottish Food Systems, Inc., Charles Mullins, Laurinburg; SELEE Corp., Mark Morse, Hendersonville; Smith Moore LLP, Danielle Adams, Greensboro; Stabilus, Dave Richardson, Gastonia; Static Control Components, Inc., Charles Taylor, Sanford; Superior Seeding, Inc., Joe D. Carpenter, Sr., Gastonia;  Teague, Campbell, Dennis, & Gorham, LLP, George Pender, Raleigh; Troutman Motors, Wayne Troutman, Concord; Turner Construction, Bill Caldwell, Charlotte; TWT Distributing, Inc., Thomas Tyree, Charlotte; Tyson Commercial Properties, John Tyson, Fayetteville; VF Corporation, George Derhofer, Greensboro; Wagner Murray Architects, David Wagner, Charlotte;  and Wilmington Machinery, Russ LaBelle, Wilmington.