Long Legislative Session May Have Stalled Bills

The N.C. General Assembly adjourned Thursday after staying in session since late May -- three months later than scheduled. Members voted in August to extend the session.

In the two months since, both chambers have been under increased pressure to push all legislation to a final vote.

But some legislators raised concerns that the unusual session led to some bills not leaving committee due to time constraints.

Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, said the rush has not had any unusual effects on legislation but emphasized that some bills have not made it out of committee because the General Assembly has not had adequate time to debate concerns.

He cited a bill proposing a ban on video poker as one such example.

Lee said he thinks it is possible that more bills would have made it out of committee if there had been more discussion time.

Rep. Phillip Haire, D-Jackson, also said he thinks legislation has has been handled with due prudence. "There is always a rush towards the end of the year."

He added that the speedy votes did not cause legislation to be handled haphazardly. Haire said the legislature has had enough time to debate legislation because much has existed for months.

Officials said rushing legislation to a vote at the end of a session is normal and that bills often do not suffer from an expedited vote.

"This happens often at the end of the session," said Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life. "It's natural human tendency to wait to the end to push things through."

Guillory said that although legislating at the end of session is more frantic than at the beginning, legislators must still use their good judgment. He said the content of the considered bills matters more than the speed which with they are passed.

He attributed the lengthy session to a narrow political divide between Democrats and Republicans, as well as a severe budget crisis, both of which made it difficult to conduct a normal session.

Legislators faced a $2 billion budget hole when crafting a budget for the 2002-03 fiscal year.

Some legislators expressed concern that the unusual length indicates a need for session limits.

"I'm disgusted by being in session this long," Lee said. "The legislature needs to come to grips with a need to have session limits."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.