North Carolina

North Carolina legislator pay is a problem

Published

11 months ago

September 5, 2023

North Carolina legislator pay is a problem

On the first day of my summer internship at the environmental lobbying group, North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, I walked into the Legislative Building suited up, excited to see our representative democracy at work. As I opened the chamber doors for a House voting session, I went from an ear-to-ear smile to a confused expression. This group should be playing bingo or telling me how things were back in their day. Why did they look like this? I snapped out of my befuddled trance and took a seat on the bench.

After the voting session, my boss and I sat down on some chairs outside the building, waiting for an Agricultural committee meeting. I asked him (very intelligently), “What’s up with all the old people in there?”.

He responded with a question: “How much do you think a state legislator makes?”

“I don’t know…$100,000?”.

“Lower”, he said.

“$70,000”.

“Lower”, he said again.

“It cannot be less than $40,000,” I stated confidently.

Tired of the back and forth, he finally enlightened me: “Legislators get paid less than $14,000. Most are independently wealthy, or retired, or both.”

This unimaginable fact baffled me, but my boss was right. Legislators in the Old North State are among the lowest paid in the country, earning a base salary of $13,951 in addition to a mileage stipend of 29 cents per mile and a per diem of $104 during legislative sessions. I believe that this pay structure has seriously negative ramifications for our legislators and the public.

The financial precondition to becoming a state legislator favors the status quo: old, rich, white, men. In fact, the most common occupation for state legislators is retiree (or simply “legislator”). Unless you are retired or independently wealthy, it is extremely difficult to take on this “part-time” legislative role without a stable additional income. The position requires state representatives to forgo three to four work days each week to serve (often away from their home county) in Raleigh. They continue this schedule for an unspecified number of weeks, as North Carolina is one of 11 states without a session length limit. The vast majority of legislative session limits throughout the country range between 20 and 100 legislative days. Some legislatures do not even meet every year. The 2021-2022 NC session, which occurs every year, lasted 199 legislative days.

With the circumstances in North Carolina, it is not surprising to me that white men — the second-highest earners in the United States — dominate the field. Despite making up 51% of the North Carolina population, only 29% of state legislators are women. The state’s population is 22% African American and 10% Latino but those groups make up only 20% and 0% of the legislature, respectively. Although there are many factors that influence the demographics of the NC General Assembly, the financial precondition and the time commitment to being a state legislator are among the factors impeding fair representation the most.

It seems to me that insufficient income incentivizes politicians to seek personal interests. Take the Agriculture House Standing Committee as an example. Jimmy Dixon, the senior chair, is a turkey farmer. In the first quarter of the year, half of Dixon’s $81,775 in campaign contributions came from the agriculture business, including $37,150 from various individual farmers and agriculture businessmen and $5,200 from Smithfield. Dixon sponsored the Regulatory Reform Act of 2023, which destroys environmental protections and loosens regulations for farmers. The chair, Jeffrey McNeely, runs a feed milling company and is subject to the same conflict of interest.

This trend is consistent among other committees. The three co-chairs of the Energy and Public Utilities House committee are Dean Arp, Kyle Hall and Matthew Winslow. Rep. Arp is the founder of Arp Engineering, which works directly with the construction industry. Rep. Hall is a realtor and Rep. Winslow is a home builder.

Politicians are not altruistic; they are rational and self-interested like everyone else. Increasing legislator pay would not prevent self-serving politicians from running for office, but it would introduce a financial incentive that would both increase the pool of candidates and provide a counterweight to the perverse incentive of special interests.

Finally, the pay structure simply makes some politicians less engaged. During my days at the General Assembly, I have seen representatives multitasking during voting sessions and committee meetings, often completing tasks for their other jobs. I have witnessed politicians ask questions that reveal their lack of understanding of the legislation. And, honestly, I do not blame the politicians. They have an obligation to execute the job that is going to financially provide for themselves and their families to the fullest extent. Their state legislature job does not satisfy this condition.

State politics matter. Whether you know it or not, the policies passed in that Legislative Building affect your day-to-day life. Senate Bill 20, passed only a few months ago, restricts abortions after 12 weeks. Senate Bills 512 and 749 awarded the legislator more control over the election process and stripped power from the executive branch. Senate Bill 747, if passed, will make absentee voting much more difficult — especially for college students.

The taxpayers of North Carolina deserve a diverse, well-intentioned, attentive group of legislators. The General Assembly should pass a bill increasing pay to expand the presence of these qualities, or alternatively form an independent committee to determine legislator pay and benefits. I truly believe that increasing the pay of state legislators will lead to a General Assembly that better represents the desires and demographics of the public.

Holden Buchanan is a Trinity senior.

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North Carolina

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

Published

14 mins ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

NC has some of the most dangerous roads in the US: See how Wilmington-area counties rank

With a recent study revealing North Carolina as one of the states with the riskiest roads to travel, some may wonder how safe the roads are here in the Cape Fear region.

MarketWatch Guides, a site that provides “reviews of consumer products and services to help readers make educated purchasing decisions,” focuses in part on car insurance comparisons, vehicle safety and more.

A recent study by the site analyzed factors including annual miles driven per 100,000 system miles, percentage of rough roads and fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers. States were given a rating out of 10 points, with 10 being the most dangerous.

More: Distracted driving in Wilmington: How big of a problem is it?

North Carolina’s ranking among the most dangerous

According to the study, the states with the most dangerous drivers based on the factors studied are:

Louisiana – 7.55/10

California – 7.21/10

New Mexico – 6.74/10

Hawaii – 6.73/10

Delaware – 6.67/10

New Jersey – 6.53/10

Mississippi – 6.47/10

North Carolina – 6.39/10

Massachusetts – 6.33/10

Maryland and Texas – 6.26/10

According to the study, North Carolina had 32.5 fatal injuries per 100,000 licensed drivers, but only 2.1% of rough roads, which was the lowest percentage out of the other ranked states.

For a more localized perspective, the North Carolina Department of Transportation releases annual traffic crash facts data. The most recent 2022 report includes a ranking of counties based on several factors, including reported crashes, crash severity, crash rates based on population, registered vehicles and estimated vehicle miles traveled.

The most dangerous county for drivers, ranked at No. 1 for the past five years, was Robeson County. The county had 60 fatal crashes in 2022 with 1,136 non-fatal injury crashes. The rest of the total 4,056 crashes were property-damage-only. The county with the best ranking was Hyde County, coming in at No. 100. The county had one fatal crash in 2022 and 10 non-fatal injury crashes. The county had a total of 45 crashes, the rest of which were property damage only.

More: MyReporter: Which intersections see the most red-light camera violations in Wilmington?

Here’s where the Cape Fear region counties ranked.

Brunswick County

Ranked No. 76 in 2022, Brunswick County had 25 fatal crashes and 715 non-fatal injury crashes. The total crashes for that year were 3,146. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

New Hanover County

Ranked No. 58, New Hanover had 19 fatal crashes and 1,313 non-fatal injury crashes, both of which went down from 2021. The total crashes in New Hanover were 5,617. The remainder of the crashes were property damage only.

Pender County

Ranked No. 47, Pender County had the worst ranking despite having the lowest number of crashes. The county had 12 fatal crashes and 374 non-fatal injury crashes, and a total of 1,156 crashes. The rest of the crashes were property damage only.

Iris Seaton, USA Today Network, contributed to this report.

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North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Published

7 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical Storm Debby expected to bring rainfall to Virginia & North Carolina

Tropical Storm Debby already has parts of Florida under tropical storm warnings. The Florida Big Bend is currently under a Hurricane Warning. Debby is forecast to briefly strengthen into a category 1 hurricane as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico where water temperatures are near 90 degrees.

As it continues its path over land it is expected to dial back to tropical storm strength as it reaches the Carolinas mid to late next week. Moderate rainfall is possible for northeast North Carolina and southern Virginia by the end of the week.

Higher amounts of rain are possible for southernmost portions of the Outer Banks but generally models show 2-4 inches for northeast North Carolina and 1-2 inches for southern Virginia through Thursday.

Stay with News 3’s First Warning Weather Team for the latest updates as the storm develops.

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North Carolina

Tropical weather update for Wilmington: What we can expect and when

Published

15 hours ago

August 3, 2024

Press Room

Tropical weather update for Wilmington: What we can expect and when

The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor a tropical depression over Cuba. It’s expected to become a tropical storm later Saturday, bringing impacts to the Carolinas around the middle of next week.

Heavy rainfall and flooding are the primary impacts expected, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

“Gusty winds are also possible, but it is too early to predict specific impacts in great detail at this time,” the weather service said.

At the same time, there is the potential for heavy rainfall and some flooding associated with front expected to stall inland this weekend.

As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the center of the tropical depression, which would be name Debby if it becomes a tropical storm, was over Cuba and moving west-northwest near 15 mph. The hurricane center said a turn toward the northwest is forecast for Saturday, followed by a northward motion on Sunday and then a slower northeastwardmotion Sunday night and Monday.

Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph. Slow strengthening is expected throughout the day Saturday. Faster strengthening is possible Sunday, with the storm nearing hurricane strength when it reaches the Florida Gulf Coast, the hurricane center said.

STORM TRACKER: Monitor the latest tropical developments here.

Here’s a look at what we can expect in the Wilmington area, according to the latest briefing from the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Wind

The probability of tropical storm force winds has increased, especially for the South Carolina coast. The most likely time of arrival of for northeast South Carolina is Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, and for Southeastern North Carolina is during Wednesday morning.

Rain

The potential for significant rainfall exists with 8 to 12 inches possible from near Cape Fear to portions of thenortheast South Carolina coast. Flash flooding and urban flooding are possible. Some rivers, including the North Cape Fear River and the Waccamaw River, could exceed flood stage next week.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Enter your address to see hurricanes, tropical storms that have passed nearby