Medicaid Fraud Exagerration
03/30/2010 | 09:08 AM |
Permalink
Gov. Beverly Perdue has loudly proclaimed her new
initiative to stop Medicaid fraud. The heart of
her claim is the use of new technology by IBM to review
claims before they are paid. This is a great
idea.
But her press release is highly misleading. As Lieutenant Governor from 2003-2008 she was culpable in not supporting this technology.
In 2003 Republican Senator Robert Pittenger introduced SB 985 titled Medicaid Fraud Detection Pilot Funds to finance and use this technology. The bill was referred to the Committee on Appropriations/Base Budget and never heard on the Senate Floor. However, on April 29th 2003, Senator Pittenger offered a floor amendment to the Budget Act which passed 49-0 and further expanded direction relating to fraud software. Meanwhile, in the House Republican Representative John Blust offered the same bill. Legislative leadership refused to let it be heard, even though it had passed 49 to 0 in the Senate. Read More...
But her press release is highly misleading. As Lieutenant Governor from 2003-2008 she was culpable in not supporting this technology.
In 2003 Republican Senator Robert Pittenger introduced SB 985 titled Medicaid Fraud Detection Pilot Funds to finance and use this technology. The bill was referred to the Committee on Appropriations/Base Budget and never heard on the Senate Floor. However, on April 29th 2003, Senator Pittenger offered a floor amendment to the Budget Act which passed 49-0 and further expanded direction relating to fraud software. Meanwhile, in the House Republican Representative John Blust offered the same bill. Legislative leadership refused to let it be heard, even though it had passed 49 to 0 in the Senate. Read More...
Exaggerated Budget Deficit Exposed
09/25/2009 | 06:33 PM |
Permalink
A recent report by the State
Controller provided an accounting for the total
spending by North Carolina for the 2008-2009
fiscal years. In a surprising revelation,
the “gap” between the expenditures
last year and the anticipated revenues for this
year, without tax increases, was only $338
million. This is in stark contrast to the
Democrats’ constant assertion of a budget
hole exceeding $4.5 billion for the current fiscal
year. Democrats increased taxes almost $1
billion to cover their exaggerated imaginary
shortfall.
Read More...
61 House Democrats Vote for Racial Quotas on the Death
Penalty and for a Moratorium on Executions of First
Degree Murders
07/16/2009 | 06:49 PM |
Permalink
On July 15, 2009 61 House Democrats voted for the
“NC Racial Justice Act” SB461. Federal and
State law already prohibit racial discrimination in
imposing death sentence for first degree murder (and
any crime). This bill goes far beyond that by allowing
use of statistics in a particular county or district to
prove that since some other person was possibly
discriminated against, that this murderer may not be
subject to the death sentence for first degree murder
notwithstanding lack of real evidence of actual
discrimination. And since there is not a single county
or district in the state with enough numbers for a
valid statistical study, the evidence presented will be
complete nonsense (based on population proportion
rather than offender proportion).
Read More...
Auditor Recommends Executive Oversight of State Health
Plan
05/05/2009 | 07:11 PM |
Permalink
The Office of the State Auditor released its audit of the State Health Plan
this past week. The plan insures 667,000 teachers,
state employees and retirees. Among several good
recommendations in the Auditor’s report is
one that demands immediate implementation.
Read More...
Republicans United on Key Issues
04/21/2009 | 07:16 PM |
Permalink
Legislative Republicans hosted a news conference today
highlighting differences with Legislative Democrats on
the State Health Plan bailout, changes to the sex
education curriculum and public financing for municipal
campaigns.
Read More...
Large Bipartisan Majority Sponsors Private Property
Protection
04/13/2009 | 09:01 PM |
Permalink
A bill providing a referendum on a constitutional
amendment to protect private property rights was
introduced today in the NC House of Representatives.
House Bill 1268 was sponsored
by a large majority of the Members of the NC House
of Representatives, including all 52 Republicans
and 31 Democrats – more then two - thirds of
the House.
Read More...
It's Time to Stop Playing Games with Criminals
02/11/2009 | 08:38 PM |
Permalink
The Exclusionary Rule requires that some relevant and
material evidence against murderers and drug dealers be
suppressed. In 1914 Federal Courts started hiding
evidence from juries. In the 1960s they forced this
rule on the states. In 1984 the U.S. Supreme Court
decided that if the police in good faith obtained
evidence that for some technical reason was acquired
illegally the jury should still hear and see it. On
January 14, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the
“Good Faith Exception” in Herring v. United
States.
Read More...
Voucher Confusion by Bev Perdue
09/16/2008 | 07:37 AM |
Permalink
Every year Bev Perdue served in the state Senate, and
later as Lieutenant Governor, she supported private
education vouchers at the preschool level and at the
college level in the form of Legislative Tuition
Grants. She has never claimed this was bad policy or
that this drew money away from public education.
Read More...
Durham County Meals Tax
07/25/2008 | 04:53 PM |
Permalink
It has been a long time since a local meals tax has
been approved by the General Assembly for a
metropolitan area. This year there was a renewed
attempt by the City of Durham for such a meals tax to
fund “cultural amenities” such as minor
league baseball.
Read More...
Protecting Private Property Rights: Involuntary
Annexation
07/25/2008 | 04:44 PM |
Permalink
North Carolina is one of only four states which allow
property to be involuntary annexed by a city without
meaningful consultation with property owners.
Tremendous growth in recent decades has caused the
issue to become more and more contentious. In many
instances cities have involuntarily annexed high-value
neighborhoods in order to boost municipal revenues.
Research shows tax increases ranging from 60 percent to
more than 100 percent for properties brought into
municipalities through involuntary annexation. Current
law provides citizens with very limited recourse when
their land and homes are about to be involuntarily
annexed. Homeowners are relegated to speaking before a
city or town council made up of members not answerable
to them.
Read More...
Bullying Bill
07/25/2008 | 04:38 PM | Permalink
The House and Senate passed very different versions of
House Bill 1366 in 2007. The House version of the
“School Violence Prevention Act” included
language specifying students who identified themselves
by “sexual orientation” and naming in state
law, for the first time, groups of people based on
“gender identity or expression.” The Senate
version amended the bill by removing this language,
focusing on bullying of any public school student.
Read
More...
State Health Plan
07/24/2008 | 04:58 PM | Permalink
After the General Assembly passed its 2008 Budget,
Democratic leaders announced they had discovered a
quarter billion dollar deficiency in the State Health
Plan for teachers, state employees and retirees.
Read
More...
Republicans Call on Congress to Lift Last Ban on Ocean
Oil and Gas Exploration
07/17/2008 | 05:08 PM |
Permalink
NC House Republicans have introduced a Resolution
urging Congress to lift the ban on ocean oil and gas
exploration. House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake)
said strong support for lifting the ban should have
persuaded Democratic House leaders to allow the
Resolution to be heard before adjournment.
Read More...
Repeal the State Gift Tax
06/17/2008 | 07:55 PM |
Permalink
The purpose of taxation should be to raise revenue to
fund important government services. There are several
taxes that are counterproductive to that purpose.
One is the vestigial North Carolina gift tax. North
Carolina is one of only three states (Connecticut and
Tennessee) with a state gift tax (and Connecticut taxes
only very large gifts).
Read More...
On the Record: Land Transfer Taxes
06/10/2008 | 08:00 PM |
Permalink
Last Thursday fifty-nine Democratic House members*
voted to allow counties to impose a tripling of Land
Transfer taxes from .2% to .6% if approved by the
voters in a referendum, despite rejection of the tax in
all twenty county elections since last year.
Read More...
Involuntary Annexation Moratorium Needed
05/20/2008 | 11:02 PM |
Permalink
Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and
House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) today
discussed proposed legislation for a temporary
moratorium on involuntary annexation. The House
Select Committee on Municipal Annexation voted
yesterday to move forward with a bill that would impose
a statewide temporary moratorium on involuntary
annexation through June 30, 2009.
Read More...
Sex Ed Bill Guts Abstinence Education Standards
02/14/2008 | 10:48 PM |
Permalink
More than a decade ago, the General Assembly passed
landmark legislation setting abstinence until marriage
as the expected standard taught to public school
students in sex education curriculum throughout North
Carolina. Federal lawmakers used North Carolina's
legislation as a model for the federal Title V grant
program, which provides $50 million annually for
abstinence until marriage education in the states.
Read More...
Republican Leaders: Illegal Aliens Should Not Be
Admitted to State-Supported Community Colleges Colleges
11/28/2007 | 10:24 PM |
Permalink
Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and
House Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) today
expressed their displeasure with a decision issued by
the legal counsel of North Carolina's Community College
System requiring admission of illegal aliens to all 58
state-supported campuses.
Read More...
The Great $60 Million Giveaway
09/14/2007 | 05:44 PM |
Permalink
To hear audio of
Paul Stam's speech against House Bill 1761, click the
link below.
HB-1761-Paul-Stam
New Athletic Scholarships and the Budget Rules
09/06/2007 | 09:05 AM |
Permalink
The press has reported on the private athletic
scholarships that were slipped into the conference
report on the budget at the request of Senator
Dannelly. The News and Observer has editorialized
against it (August 17, 2007).
Read More...
Tax Credits for Special Needs Children
09/04/2007 | 01:18 PM |
Permalink
State House Republican Leader Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake)
addressed a meeting of the Wake County commission,
Tuesday, urging its support for a house bill offering
tax credits for parents of children with “special
needs.”
Read More...
Transportation - A Failure of Priorities
08/29/2007 | 08:09 AM |
Permalink
This year, General Assembly appropriations for
transportation were virtually the same as last year.
The total: not enough to meet needs; in fact, the
Department of Transportation estimates that unmet state
transportation needs will continue to grow. It is
obvious to anyone, from daily commuters to school bus
drivers, traveling on North Carolina's roads that we
are no longer the "Good Roads State" and are falling
further behind in road construction and
maintenance. The problems in transportation are
serious and getting worse every day. In
November 2006 the American Society of Civil Engineers
gave North Carolina a “D” on the condition
of its roads and a “C-” on bridges.
Similar studies give North Carolina poor marks on a
wide range of infrastructure measures.
Read More...
Why the Land Transfer Tax is a Bad Idea
08/15/2007 | 01:50 PM | Permalink
The new state budget for 2007-2008 (HB 1473) allows
counties to impose a tripling of the land transfer tax
from .2% to .6% if approved by the voters in an
advisory referendum. But there has been little
discussion about the merits of this tax and why it is a
particularly odd choice. I hope you enjoy my reasons
for opposing this tax. Read
More...
Congressional District Apportionment of Presidential
Electors
07/25/2007 | 03:50 PM |
Permalink
The House Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform
Committee is scheduled to consider Senate Bill 353
“Presidential Electors by District.”
If enacted, the General Assembly will be
apportioning 13 Electors to the winner of the 2008
presidential tally in their respective
Congressional Districts, with the remaining 2
Electors allocated to the statewide winner of that
same national contest.
Read More...
Republicans Offer Budget Solution
06/28/2007 | 09:42 AM |
Permalink
A two-year fiscal plan, introduced Tuesday by Senate
Republican Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House
Republican Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake), proposed
increases in education spending for dropout prevention,
vocational education and community colleges.
Read More...
National Popular Subversion
06/26/2007 | 09:22 AM |
Permalink
Eighteen months after the November 2000 presidential
election even the New York Times, after an exhaustive
audit, conceded President Bush had defeated Vice
President Gore in Florida’s presidential popular
vote. Despite winning a plurality of the national
popular vote Vice President Gore was ultimately
defeated because George W. Bush won a simple majority
of the Electoral Vote. Though rare, it was not the
first time in history the Electoral count had been won
by a presidential candidate who failed to win the most
popular votes.
Read More...
Eminent Domain
05/24/2007 | 12:18 PM | Permalink
Just in time to meet “crossover”
requirements, the North Carolina House has given final
approval to a state constitutional amendment protecting
private property. http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=h878"
target="_blank">House Bill 878 would place
the amendment before the voters statewide November
and would protect owners from having private
property condemned by state and local governments
for anything other than a “public
use.” Read
More...
Recall of State Marriage Amendment from Rules Committee
to House Floor
05/17/2007 | 11:33 AM |
Permalink
Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) and Linda Johnson
(R-Cabarrus) gave notice today they will move to recall
the state Marriage Protection Amendment, House Bill 493, from the House
Rules Committee, which has not acted upon it since
its introduction, to the House Floor for a vote on
May 23.
Read More...
House Republicans Reject Democrats' Budget
05/14/2007 | 08:18 PM |
Permalink
Late Thursday evening the House passed its
Appropriations Bill for the next fiscal year (H.B.1473) on a vote of 68 -
51. All Democrats voted for it, and all
Republicans voted "no." Republican Leader Paul
Stam of Apex summarized many of the reasons for
the opposition of the GOP caucus.
Read More...
Imminent Key Decisions on Tax Policy
04/24/2007 | 01:29 PM |
Permalink
In 2001 Gov. Easley and the General Assembly imposed
two “temporary taxes” – a higher
sales tax rate and a higher income tax rate. Despite
their “temporary” nature Governor Easley
and subsequent Assemblies have repeatedly extended them
- even last year when there was $2.4 billion above
projected revenues available to allocate.
Read More...
The De Facto Moratorium on the Death Penalty
03/13/2007 | 11:28 AM |
Permalink
From the Joint Republican Press Conference on Tuesday,
March 13th, 2007.
Read More...
New Photos
03/08/2007 | 08:54 AM | Permalink
New Photos from the week of March 5th - March 9th at
the Legislature. Read
More...
Joint Republican Press Conference
03/02/2007 | 08:47 AM |
Permalink
Comments from Republican Caucus Leader, Paul Stam, from
the Joint Republican Press Conference
Read More...
Election of Caucus Officers
12/20/2006 | 08:38 AM |
Permalink
On Sunday a unified House Republican Caucus met in
Greensboro and elected a new leadership team for the
upcoming session of the General Assembly.
Read More...