NCCBI Committee
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Transportation
Secretary Tippett
tells committees that maintenance
is the department's top priority
 Addressing
a joint meeting Monday of NCCBI’s Transportation and
Economic Development committees, Secretary of Transportation
Lyndo Tippett (left) said highway maintenance is his top goal for the
DOT. “To keep up with our growing population, we must better
maintain our highways that we build,” Tippett said.
“It’s common sense to protect our investments and to plan
for the future.”
Tippett said
he also considered it a priority to improve mass transit in
North Carolina to help relieve traffic congestion; to address
challenges that rural areas face in providing the
transportation infrastructure necessary to help these
communities attract business and industry; and to sustain
North Carolina’s natural resources.
The NCCBI
committees also heard from the Dye Management Group, which was
commissioned by the General Assembly to study the increase in
cash balances in the Highway Fund and Highway Trust Fund.
North Carolina has a large backlog of highway needs yet there
is a balance of some $850 million in the Highway Trust Fund.
There is concern that the balances in the Highway Trust Fund
and the Highway Fund have arisen because DOT is not using
current revenue sources effectively to meet these needs.
The Dye Group
said the growth in cash balances has been the result of
project delivery delays related to obtaining environmental
permits, public consultation activities, right-of-way
acquisition, and utility installation/relocation on new
construction projects specified in the Highway Trust Fund.
Statutory requirements such as the Equity Distribution Formula
and federal allocations limit the ability to alter the timing
of projects. The Dye Group presented a cash-flow financing
model that would accelerate spending and then keep the cash
balances at more reasonable levels. Legislation would be
required to implement the recommendations.
HHS
Secretary Hooker Buell
addresses Health Care Committee
 Carmen
Hooker Buell, (left) secretary of the state Department of Health and
Human Services, laid out her goals Wednesday to the NCCBI
Health Care Committee. Her top four priorities are to develop
a plan to target assistance for at-risk children from birth to
3 years of age; to improve the state’s mental health system;
to study long-term care options for citizens; and to look at
the problems of health disparities among whites and minorities
in the state.
Alan Hirsch, chief policy
advisor to Gov. Mike Easley, reiterated how adamant the
governor is about passage of the Patients’ Bill of Rights
during this session of the General Assembly. He commended
business leaders for participating in discussions regarding
the legislation to reach many compromises.
The HMO liability piece of the proposed legislation is still
opposed by NCCBI because it will drive up premium costs for
businesses. While Hirsch said these costs would be minimal,
committee members contended that the cost estimates should be
studied before the legislation moves forward. NCCBI has a
long-standing position that opposes all proposals that would
expand medical liability to include health plans.
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Mark Your
Calendar
See the complete NCCBI master calendar
Several
NCCBI membership
recruitment events on tap
Continuing
the successful pattern adopted by association leaders during
last year’s record-setting campaign, NCCBI has planned a
number of membership recruitment events around the state this
spring and summer. Seven such events already have been
planned, including five in June. Although the events are
primarily aimed at recruiting new members, all current NCCBI
members are welcome to attend.
A Thursday, May 21, reception will be held in Linville Falls
at Spear’s BBQ and Grill hosted by John Blackburn, NCCBI
Second Vice Chairman Sue Cole, Dr. Phyllis Crain, Martha Guy,
Betty Huskins, David Huskins, Hugh Morton, Myers, Bun
Perkinson and Dr. Tommy Williams. The event will be from 6 to
7:30 p.m. A Friday, May 22, breakfast will be held in Marion
at Countryside BBQ hosted by Tommy Boyd, Van Boyd, Cole, Joe
Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Huskins, Myers, Ed Rankin, Jed Rankin and
Phil Tate. That event will be from 6:30 to 9 a.m.
Upcoming events include a June 7 reception in Asheville in the
Vanderbilt Room at the Inn on the Biltmore. Local hosts for
the event, which will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m., are NCCBI
members Dr. Ray Bailey, Dale Carroll, William A.V. Cecil Jr.,
Scott Hamilton, Richard Lutovsky, Sen. Steve Metcalf, Stephen
P. Miller, Dr. James Mullen Jr., NCCBI Chairman Gordon Myers,
Helen Powers, Rep. Wilma Sherrill, and Dr. David Sink Jr. Also
on the calendar is a June 13 reception in High Point, a June
14 reception in Greensboro, a June 25 reception in Murphy, and
a June 26 breakfast in Franklin, all at locations to be
determined soon. Check the master calendar below for more
details.
Labor
Commissioner to address
Small Business Advisory Board
State
Secretary of Labor Cherie Berry will address the next meeting
of NCCBI’s Small Business Advisory Board, and members of
that group are asked to submit OSHA and labor-law questions
they would like her to answer. The meeting will be held
Friday, June 1, at Jungle Rapids in Wilmington, a theme park
owned by board member Robert Rippy. Wilmington Mayor David
Jones will provide a welcome message. NCCBI President Phil
Kirk will provide a legislative overview. Rippy has invited
Small Business Advisory Board members to bring their children
and spouses for a free day at the park. Members wishing to
pose a question to Commissioner Berry should e-mail them in
advance to Rosemary Wyche at rwyche@nccbi.org.
The meeting will be preceded by a reception for early arrivals
at the Landfall Hampton Inn on Thursday, May 31, from 6-7:30
p.m.
Young
Executives Forum
to examine high-tech companies
NCCBI’s
Young Executives Forum will hear a panel discussion featuring
representatives of the state’s high-tech start-up companies
during a June 27 meeting at the N.C. Biotechnology Center in
RTP. The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jeff Benson,
with the Kilpatrick Stockton law firm and a member of the YEF
Steering Committee, organized the meeting, which also will
include an overview of technology issues being debated in the
General Assembly. YEF members will break into small groups to
talk about how technology has impacted their businesses.
Later, they will hear a discussion among representatives of
some long-time North Carolina businesses that have
successfully rode the technology wave into the 21st Century.
YEF members are invited to bring a guest to the meeting.
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