MAY 28, 2004	ISSUE No. 4	2004 SHORT SESSION
Published every Friday during legislative sessions exclusively for NCCBI members

House, Easley working to resolve
differences in spending priorities

he House Commerce Committee gave a favorable report to House Bill 1443, sponsored by Rep. Stephen A. LaRoque (R-Lenoir), which would establish a new Business Service Center in the N.C. Department of Commerce. The recommendation was one item in a package sent forward by the Joint Select Committee on Small Business Economic Development. The Business Service Center would be a clearinghouse for state business information and do the following:

provide the business community with an information resource center;
respond to business inquiries;
disseminate information regarding state statutory and regulatory requirements;
work with the business license coordinator designated in each state agency to determine the status of requests for information or assistance and to resolve any disputes that may arise between agencies and businesses;
make recommendations to agencies and the General Assembly regarding proposed policies, rules or laws to improve the dissemination of information to small businesses regarding statutory and regulatory requirements;
improve licensing procedures affecting business undertakings, including alternatives such as eliminating, consolidating, simplifying or expediting particular licenses.

The bill also directs the Business Service Center to designate a small business ombudsman to work with the small business community to identify problems in state government related to unnecessary delays, inconsistencies between regulatory agencies and the inefficient and ineffective use of state resources. The bill now goes before the full House for a vote.

H 1642 Study Tax Preferences (Glazier). Requires the Revenue Laws Study Committee to conduct a review of all tax expenditures at least once every 5 years.
 

McColl named Wilmington’s
Corporate Citizen of the Year

tate GOP Chairman Ferrell Blount of Pitt County will lead the 259-member North Carolina delegation to New York City in August to the Republican Presidential Nominating Convention. The delegation will stay at the Warwick Hotel near Madison Square Garden, the convention site. Among the delegates former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth of Clinton, state Sen. Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville, state Rep. Ed McMahan of Charlotte, state Bush chairman Jim Culbertson of Winston-Salem, and Raleigh attorney and former state Rep. Ward Purrington. Elected to the platform committee were Linda Daves of Mecklenburg and state Sen. Woody White of New Hanover. North Carolina's representatives to the Rules Committee are Marshall Hurley of Guilford and Martha Jenkins of Orange. On the Resolutions Committee are state Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston and Nancy Mazza of Guilford, and on the Credentials Committee is Pearl Floyd and Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory. Re-elected to represent North Carolina on the Republican National Committee were Linda Shaw of Greensboro and Raleigh attorney Jim Cain.

House Republican Speaker Richard Morgan was ousted from the 550-member executive committee of the North Carolina State Republican Party. Rep. Danny McComas (R-New Hanover) resigned from the executive committee in protest. The executive committee adopted a resolution that found Morgan guilty of "disloyalty" for cooperating with Democrats last year to form a coalition with Democrat Jim Black. It’s unclear how Morgan’s removal from the executive committee will impact his bid for re-election in Moore County. His primary opponent is Peggy Crutchfield, a former president of the Moore County United Way.

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt (D-12th) is likely to become chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus when Congress returns in January. Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, said the Charlotte Democrat is running unopposed for the post. The group has 39 members and is among the most visible caucuses in Congress. Watt, a 12-year veteran of the House, faces an opponent in both the Democratic primary and the fall election.

John W. Thomas III of High Point was appointed by Gov. Easley to the North Carolina Museum of History Associates Inc. board of directors. Thomas is president of Riverwood Casual Inc., an outdoor furniture manufacturer. Until 2002, he was the president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses Inc. He received a bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University and a master’s of business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Freelon Group received the Durham Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year award during the chamber’s annual awards breakfast Thursday. Phil Freelon, the principal in the architectural design firm, is a member of the NCCBI Board of Directors.
 

Executive Committee members David Brody of Kinston and Jordy Whichard of Greenville with NCCBI Chair Barry Eveland

Senate Rules Committee Chair Tony Rand (D-Cumberland) with Alex McFadyen of First Citizens Bank Transportation Secretary Lyndo Tippett, Duke Energy’s John McAlister, Commerce Secretary Jim Fain. Mark Fleming, Rep. Keith Williams, UNC System President Molly Board, and Sen. Kay Hagan   Bronze: Association for Home Hospice Care; Dominion North Carolina; Grant Thornton LLP; Hunton and Williams; Piedmont Natural Gas

NCCBI News Seen at the Legislative Reception Business leaders and legislators renewed friendships at NCCBI’s Legislative Reception on May 12. Several hundred people attended the reception, which has come to be regarded in Raleigh as the unofficial kick-off of each legislative session. Attending were dozens of legislators and other state officials, Cabinet secretaries and judges. NCCBI Chair Barry Eveland, the IBM executives, led the entire day’s activities, which began with the Legislative Conference. He and the staff then moved to the Capital City Club in downtown Raleigh to greet an estimated 300 guests at the reception. Several NCCBI board members attended and helped Eveland carry the flag for the business community. NCCBI wants to thank the member companies whose generous donations helped offset the cost of the Conference and Reception: Gold: Bank of America; Belk Inc.; Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC; Georgia-Pacific Corp.–NC; Metro Magazine LLC; PepsiCo Inc.; Progress Energy. Silver: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated; Duke Energy; ElectriCities of NC; First Citizens Bank; IBM Corp.; NC Northeast Partnership; Wachovia Bank.

Cabarrus leaders receive special magazine profile
Cabarrus County was praised for its effective economic development and diverse economy by NCCBI President Phil Kirk at a breakfast on May 20 held at the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce for the official presentation of the Cabarrus community profile in the May edition of the NORTH CAROLINA magazine.

"You have suffered thousands of job losses in the past couple of years," Kirk said. "However, you have exhibited a 'can do' attitude. Rather than complaining about the job losses, you are working to bring in new industries and to enhance the ones which you have."

"Contributing to your economic success are a number of fine educational institutions," Kirk said. He particularly cited the role that Rowan-Cabarrus College is playing in the training and re-training of the workforce and said the Kannapolis and Cabarrus schools are continuing to improve. He urged the audience to continue to advocate for high standards and high expectations for all students.

Kirk said, "Cabarrus County is known as the Center of American Motor Sports and NASCAR and the many connected industries have been a tremendous asset for Cabarrus and surrounding counties. The tremendous number of people who visit Lowe's Motor Speedway and Concord Mills leave a huge amount of money in Cabarrus County. That helps to keep your tax rate relatively low.: He also praised the quality of health care and transportation, including the Concord Regional Airport, as contributing factors to successes in Cabarrus County.

Ketners host membership recruitment event in Salisbury
Glenn and Susan Ketner hosted a membership recruitment/retention reception in their Salisbury home on Wednesday night. More than 40 members and prospects attended. Ketner, a member of NCCBI's board of directors, opened the meeting by urging the prospects to join, indicating that his company, Rowan Investment Co., had been a member of NCCBI for 38 years. He praised the organization's track record in representing business and industry and gave a special commendation for its effective involvement in public education at every level.

Chuck Harriss, a member of the NCCBI Small Business Advisory Board, also spoke and discussed NCCBI's role in the legislature and in leading successful bond campaigns, such as the $3.1 billion campaign for the University of North Carolina System and the North Carolina Community College System.

NCCBI President Phil Kirk closed the formal part of the reception by introducing the members of the NCCBI staff who were present and who worked on the event. They were Rosemary Wyche, vice president of development; Kela Lockamy, director of membership services; and Angel Sutton, manager of membership services.

Report finds higher education bond projects on schedule
It has been nearly four years since the people of North Carolina overwhelmingly approved the 2000 Higher Education Bond Referendum. The referendum authorized $3.1 billion – the largest capital bond issue for higher education in U.S. History – to benefit the state’s public universities and community colleges. A recent report, Responding to a New Imperative, released by the North Carolina Business-Higher Education Foundation Inc., charts the progress of the bond program to date and shows that the progress has been substantial.
 
Of the 316 total projects planned for the university system, 41 are completed, 86 are in design and 154 are under construction as of Dec. 31, 2003. As of the same date, the community colleges completed 31 projects with more than $134 million expended and approved more than $425 million for future projects.  Nearly 85 percent of all UNC design contracts and nearly 96 percent of all UNC construction contracts were awarded to North Carolina firms.
 
“In the first three years of the bond program, more than 33,000 new jobs were created throughout the state by the construction of bond-financed buildings in the UNC system alone,” said Phil Kirk, who serves as NCCBI president and as chair of the foundation which published the report. “In addition to the educational impact, this has been a tremendous boost for the economy all across our state at a time when the state was suffering job losses in many other areas,” Kirk said. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that over the life of the UNC bond program, this capital investment will generate about 88,000 jobs.
 
Overall, the bond program is progressing on time and on budget. As of Jan. 1, 2004, almost 90 percent of the university projects were in design or under way. And as of that date, four campuses had achieved a significant milestone: all of their projects were either in progress or completed.
 
Following approval of the bond issue by the General Assembly, NCCBI led the effort, working closely with the university and community college systems, to secure passage by voters across the state. Support for the bonds cut across political, social and economic lines. The progress report provides an update on the Higher Education Bond Program to the people of North Carolina, who voted overwhelmingly in support of this important capital investment in our state’s future.


Economy Watch

N.C. stays below national average in unemployment
North Carolina’s unemployment rate stayed below the national average for the second straight month, with April’s jobless figure at 5.3 percent. That’s up from 5.2 percent in March but still below the U.S. rate of 5.6 percent. North Carolina’s economy has added 35,000 jobs since January.

Professional and Business Services added 9,400 jobs in April, primarily in administrative and support services, and 19,500 since January. Also higher were Educational and Health Services (+3,800 jobs), and Government (+2,600). Employment in manufacturing decreased slightly, shedding 100 jobs since March.

The manufacturing sector grew nationally in April, but lost 100 jobs in North Carolina. Since January, manufacturing has lost 1,400 jobs in the state. This is a significant slowdown in job losses from 2003, when the state lost an average of 3,150 manufacturing jobs per month. Textiles led the job losses in the manufacturing sector, with 12,300 jobs lost between April 2003 and April 2004. Apparel manufacturing lost 17 percent of its workforce over the year (down 5,300 jobs). The furniture industry also had 5,500 fewer jobs (down 8.7 percent). Pharmaceutical jobs were down by 700; computer and electronic manufacturing were down 2,400. On the plus side, transportation equipment added 500 jobs over the year, while food manufacturing gained 1,100.

The state paid out a total of $72.3 million UI benefits in April to 102,435 claimants. The average benefit check was $245.48. For the 12-month period ended April 2004, employers paid in roughly $794 million in UI taxes; that together with the state’s share of extended benefits amounted to $1.1 billion in assistance checks. At the end of April, the state’s UI Trust Fund owed $352,056,787 in federal loans that have been used to pay benefits as of Jan. 1, 2004. 

Transportation

The NCCBI office will be closed Monday for Memorial Day Memorial Day Traffic Alerts: The DOT reports that most work zones along interstate and U.S. routes across the state will be inactive during the holidays. However, watch for these trouble spots: I-40/85 in Alamance County Reduced to three lanes in each direction between Exit 139 and Exit 141. I-77 in Mecklenburg County The left northbound lane from north of LaSalle to I-85 is closed. I-85 in Mecklenburg County The outside lanes are closed in each direction between mile markers 29 and 30. U.S. 29/N.C. 49 in Mecklenburg County The right lane is closed between North Tryon and Graham Street. U.S. 421 (I-40 Business) in Forsyth County Reduced to one lane in each direction between U.S. 52 East and U.S. 158. Special Alert: I-40 in Haywood County Reduced to one lane in each direction between Exit 15 and Exit 20.

Legal Beat

High court signs off on expansion of  workers’ comp awards
The N.C. Supreme Court has let stand a ruling by the state Court of Appeals that, in some cases, attorneys who successfully represent workers’ comp claims can get paid a percentage of the medical claim paid for treating their client. The payment would be in addition to the usual 25 percent of the disability award made by the Industrial Commission. Observers said the case could lead to higher insurance premiums for doctors and hospitals. The case revolves around a Mexican farm worker who was awarded $24,000 for injuries he received when he suffered a heatstroke while working on a Sampson County farm in 1998. His treatment at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill amounted to $363,307.29, plus $44,256.00 to the doctors, none of which was paid. Attorneys representing Fuentes won on every issue before the Industrial Commission, which ordered Fuentes to receive $24,000 in workers comp benefits. But the commission denied the attorneys’ claims that, because their exceptional work had persuaded the hospital’s insurance company to pay the roughly $410,000 cost for treating Fuentes, they were entitled to 25 percent of that, too. The Appeals Court sided with Fuentes’ lawyers, and the Supreme Court this month denied an appeal.

Portfolio Salary survey  shows medicine is in the money The medical profession is the place to be if you’re looking for good earnings potential. That’s apparent after glancing at these charts, which were gleaned from a new report from the state Employment Security Commission. Entitled “Occupational Employment and Wages in NC, First Quarter 2004,” the report relies on UI data the ESC receives from employers to determine salary. The $168,980 average salary for CEOs – tops in business – ranks eighth in the medical field, behind dentists, psychiatrists and pediatricians.

Average annual incomes for top business jobs in NC # of  Jobs Medium Income Chief Executives 8,500 $168,980 Natural Sciences Managers 2,720 $130,290 Marketing Managers 5,770 $111,670 Sales Managers 9,960 $107,930 Computer and IT Managers 7,880 $104,990 Engineering Managers 5,000 $104,280 General and Ops. Managers 68,900 $99,220 Financial Managers 17,050 $94,410 Managers, All Other 13,810 $84,570 Industrial Production Managers 6,520 $83,540

Avg. annual incomes for top medical jobs in NC # of Jobs Medium Income Obstetricians and Gynecologists 600 $209,570 Surgeons 1870 $209,490 Anesthesiologists ** $199,270 Physicians and Surgeons, All Other ** $197,310 Internists, General 2020 $193,790 Dentists 3090 $175,220 Psychiatrists 630 $174,930 Pediatricians, General 890 $173,030 Family and General Practitioners 4010 $160,140 Optometrists 630 $134,820

u Executive Exemption: The employee must be compensated on a salary basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week. The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise. The employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent; and the employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight.

u Administrative Exemption: The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week. The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers; and the employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

u Professional Exemption: The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week. The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which includes work requiring the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment. The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning; and the advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

u Creative Professional Exemption: The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week. The employee’s primary duty must be the performance of work requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.

 U.S. Chamber questions accuracy of EPA data on chemical properties
The EPA’s databases of the properties of various chemicals used in industrial processes contain several errors that could lead to misguided rulemaking, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce charged this week. Depending on which EPA database is consulted, widely contradictory numerical values for chemical properties — differing in some instances by a factor upward of 10 billion — are assigned to the same chemical, the chamber found. There are multiple instances in which a chemical is listed twice in the same database with the two entries specifying completely different numerical values. "This is analogous to consulting two different tables for the boiling point of water, only to find two entirely different numerical values. It makes no sense at all," said William Kovacs, chamber vice president of environmental affairs. In an Information Quality Act petition, the chamber asked the EPA to clean up its data. Erroneous information leads to varying, unreliable, and ambiguous determinations of risks to human health and contaminant cleanup goals, such as for removing PCBs in sediment. Such erroneous information can translate into the imposition of many tens of millions of dollars in unnecessary cleanup costs, said the chamber.