NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE Report of the Standing Committee on Resolutions WHEREAS, On Friday, April 24, 2015, North Carolina State Party Chairman, Claude Pope, appointed Hunter Murphy of the 11th District as the new Chairman of the Standing Committee on Resolutions (“the Committee”). WHEREAS, the Committee consisted of the following persons: Hunter Murphy, Chairman Rosemary Stein, Vice Chairman Jacqueline Esslinger, Secretary Carolyn Justice, At Large Mike Garris, 1st District Michael Thurlow, 2nd District Liz Berg, 3rd District Pam Stevens, 4th District Rick Woods, 5th District Laura Piedad, 6th District Denise Rentz, 7th District Tom Hicks, 8th District Roger Stanton, 9th District Jordan Barnes, 10th District Adam Love, 12th District WHEREAS, the Committee considered proposed Resolutions coming from individuals, county conventions and district conventions. WHEREAS, the Committee passed eleven Resolutions for consideration at the North Carolina Republican Party Convention to be held in Raleigh on June 5-7, 2015. NOW THEREFORE, the following eleven Resolutions are submitted for the consideration of the Delegates. Respectfully submitted, Hunter Murphy, Chairman 1 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 1 IN MEMORY OF CONGRESSMAN CASS BALLENGER WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger was a native of Catawba County, North Carolina, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger served for 38 years as an elected Republican public official, never losing an election, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger was a former chairman of the Catawba County Republican Party and always gave selflessly of his time and resources to help build the Catawba County GOP into a majority party, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger served two terms on the Catawba County Board of Commissioners, during which both Catawba Memorial Hospital and Catawba Valley Technical College were established, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger was selected as North Carolina County Commissioner of the Year in 1974, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger went on to serve in both the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate, and WHEREAS, during his service in Raleigh, he served as the Minority Leader in the North Carolina Senate. He also introduced and guided to passage the “Government in the Sunshine Act,” the first substantive open meetings law in North Carolina’s history, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives, was a member of the House leadership, and authored several pieces of notable legislation, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger served in a leadership role in many campaigns in North Carolina, including the Reagan-Bush and Martin for Governor campaigns, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger and his wife Donna worked for decades to help fight poverty and establish democracies in Central and South America, and WHEREAS, Cass Ballenger served in the U.S. Naval Air Corps during World War II, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Republican Party expresses its deepest sympathy to the Ballenger family on the passing of Congressman Cass Ballenger and expresses its appreciation for his years of dedicated service to the State of North Carolina, and the nation. 2 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 2 DE-FUND THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND WHEREAS the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was authorized by Congress in 1964 and provides funds to federal, state, and local governments in order to purchase land, water and wetlands; and is funded primarily by fees paid by companies drilling offshore for oil and gas; and, WHEREAS when first established, the LWCF was not an automatic or permanent budget allocation; and WHEREAS recent proposals in Congress call for $900 million per year to be automatically allocated to buy private land and place it under governmental ownership; including forcible acquisition by eminent domain from land-owners unwilling to sell their land; and WHEREAS the United States national debt currently exceeds $18 trillion; and WHEREAS the federal land agencies have experienced budget shortfalls resulting in maintenance backlogs and poor stewardship of land under their control; (with the National Park Service alone reporting an $11.5 billion maintenance backlog, according to the General Accounting Office); and WHEREAS current federal and state government ownership of land exceeds 40% of the United States total land; and WHEREAS, America was founded on a system of private property ownership; and WHEREAS excessive governmental ownership of land erodes the taxable land base in many rural counties, which limits economic development opportunities; and WHEREAS the LWCF is a threat to private property ownership in the United States and North Carolina; now therefore, be RESOLVED, the North Carolina Republican Party actively opposes further funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and therefore be it further RESOLVED, that all future governmental land acquisition be from willing sellers; and therefore it be further RESOLVED, that any monies appropriated to federal land agencies should be used to maintain land already under federal ownership, not to acquire additional lands from private ownership; and therefore it be further RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be delivered to Governor Pat McCrory, elected Republican North Carolina Members of the General Assembly, and all North Carolina Members of Congress. 3 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 3 CHANGE THE DATE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY TO AFTER MARCH 1, 2016 WHEREAS, the North Carolina General Assembly has separated the scheduled date of the Presidential Primary election from other scheduled primaries; and WHEREAS, the Republican National Committee rules provide a “carve-out” for February primaries for only four states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, and any state party violating the abovementioned RNC rule, by conducting a February primary, will forfeit all but 12 delegates; and WHEREAS, there are no exceptions to the above-mentioned party rule, and, therefore, North Carolina remains out of compliance with this rule; and WHEREAS, the North Carolina Presidential Primary will be a significant primary, quite possibly deciding who the Republican nominee will be; and WHEREAS, in the event the North Carolina Republican Presidential Primary is held as presently set, the North Carolina Republican Party delegation to the Republican National Convention of 2016 will be severely impacted when the delegation is drastically reduced from 72 to 12; and WHEREAS, lawmakers with good intentions, but incorrectly assuming, that setting the Presidential Primary in February, but after South Carolina, the North Carolina Republican Party would avoid RNC penalties, and, subsequently, our state would enjoy national media exposure, along with money and other economic benefits flowing to North Carolina; and WHEREAS, the RNC will not waive the rule which will penalize the NCGOP for holding the Presidential Primary in February, and North Carolina will certainly lose its position as one of the leading state delegations to nominate our presidential candidate when our penalized delegation shrinks from 72 to 12; and WHEREAS, consequently, the numerous Republican presidential candidates for nomination will expend little or no time, money, or energy campaigning in North Carolina during the Presidential Primary season in pursuit of only 12 delegates; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the North Carolina Republican Party supports changing the 2016 Presidential Primary election date to March 1,, 2016 or later. 4 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 4 RESOLUTION TO SUGGEST A DATE RANGE FOR THE 2016 NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY WHEREAS, RNC rules dictate that states holding a Presidential Primary between March 1, 2016 and March 15, 2016 must allocate their delegates proportionally; and WHEREAS, RNC rules dictate that states holding a Presidential Primary after March 15, 2016 may decide to have their delegates allocated proportionally or as winner-take-all. BE IT RESOLVED, that the Resolution Committee Chair shall call for discussion and a vote as to the date range preference of the delegates in attendance at the 2015 North Carolina State Convention. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Convention Secretary record the result and deliver a copy of the resolution and the results to NC Governor, Pat McCrory and the Republican NC Members of the General Assembly. 5 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 5 SUPPORTING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 10THAMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION WHEREAS: The 10th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” And that the 10th Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the United States Constitution and no more; and WHEREAS: Every elected official has sworn to or affirmed the oath: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that you will bare true faith and allegiance to the same: that I will take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter - so help me God.” and, WHEREAS: According to the United States Constitution, the entire Federal Government is limited to only fifty-two powers and duties, and that the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits the Federal Government from abusing those rights of the American people which have not been enumerated in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights; and WHEREAS: Former Governor of North Carolina (1795-1798) Samuel Ashe, the person for whom Ashe County was named, while serving on the North Carolina Superior Court (1777-1795) participated in an historical and landmark decision which was the precedent used by the United States Supreme Court for Marbury v Madison 5 U.S.137 (1809) which stated that: The Constitution of these United States is the supreme law of the land. Any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is NULL AND VOID OF LAW. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the North Carolina Republican Party petitions North Carolina Legislators to restore state sovereignty by upholding their oaths of office and to abide by the 9th and 10th Amendments to the United States Constitution; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That our North Carolina Legislators seek only Constitutional solutions to “Big Government” and a “Balanced Budget” by gradually eliminating all Federal funding coming into our state and that the North Carolina State Legislature end all programs that require Federal funding; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That North Carolina Republican Party affirms that the Federal Government does NOT have the right to usurp the legislative processes of the states, and it is the right of the states to choose not to enforce any federal act that fails to conform to the constitutionally established limits on the authority of the Federal Government by the use of fines and penalties, litigation, and intercession imposed on any Federal intrusion which violates state sovereignty or jurisdiction; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the North Carolina Republican Party is opposed to the deliberate erosion of our constitutional rights, granted to the individual states and respectively to the people, by the Federal Government. We hereby claim sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution 6 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That We, the North Carolina Republican Party, hereby exhort our duly elected North Carolina State Representatives and Senators to embody the will of the North Carolina Republican Party as described in this resolution by enacting legislation to restore the proper balance of state and federal powers, and that this declaration serves as notice and demand to the Federal Government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers. 7 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 6 COMPENSATION OF OFFICERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY WHEREAS, the Central Committee of the North Carolina Republican Party is charged by the North Carolina Republican Party Plan of Organization with the responsibility and the authority to make decisions concerning the operations and policies of the North Carolina Republican Party in the time periods between the meetings of the Party in Convention; and WHEREAS, members of the Republican Party are constantly solicited by the North Carolina Republican Party and its officers for financial support of Party operations and salaries; and WHEREAS, members of the State Central Committee and others volunteer their time, talent, and treasurer at their own expense; and WHEREAS, those persons who contribute generously to the Party expect the Party and its State Central Committee to practice good stewardship; and WHEREAS, decisions have been made at the behest of some Party officers concerning salaries and benefits paid to officers without the approval of the State Central Committee and unbeknownst to members of the said State Central Committee; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Republican Party proposes that any compensation paid to the Chairman and any other officer of the Party for his or her service shall be limited to a salary and/or benefits negotiated and approved by the North Carolina Republican Party State Central Committee. Sole responsibility for negotiation and approval of said compensation shall rest with the State Central Committee. In addition to said salary, the Chairman and any other officer of the Party may receive standard reimbursement for travel, food, and accommodations expenses which are necessary to carry out his or her official duties. 8 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 7 OPPOSITION TO FINANCIAL INCENTIVES AND CORPORATE WELFARE AND SUPPORT FOR FURTHER REDUCTION OF TAXES AND REGULATIONS WHEREAS, it is contrary to the free-enterprise system to recruit or retain businesses with targeted tax and other financial incentives when other businesses bear the full burden of taxation; and WHEREAS, higher tax rates on the many to provide preferential treatment for the few is fundamentally unfair; and WHEREAS, it is contrary to the free-enterprise system and Republican principles, to take money in the form of taxes or fees from citizens and businesses, or create mandates, in order to give money to certain businesses for the purpose of funding said enterprises, or, to otherwise, give certain businesses a marketplace advantage; and WHEREAS, corporate welfare arrangements cause market imbalances, resulting in unintended consequences such as short-term government subsidy of products and services, fewer choices, higher prices, lower quality, and business and project failure; and WHEREAS, Article V of the North Carolina Constitution prescribes a system of uniform statewide taxation and explicitly prohibits jurisdictions other than the General Assembly from making exceptions in classifying property for taxation or granting tax relief; and WHEREAS, the use of financial incentives is an intrusion of government in the exercise of free enterprise, resulting in reduced freedom, efficiency, and innovation in state commerce; and WHEREAS, the governor and some legislators have advocated funding corporate welfare arrangements through state appropriations—for example, the expansion of the Job Development Investment Grant program (JDIG), a corporate welfare fund which moves taxpayer money to select corporations meeting specific criteria; and new targeted tax credits for investments redeveloping structures deemed historic; and WHEREAS, the best way to promote economic growth is to reduce the overall tax burden and unnecessary regulations for businesses and citizens in North Carolina; and WHEREAS, buyers and sellers in a free marketplace, not government, make the best decisions about creating and sustaining jobs and businesses; and WHEREAS, the free market, rather than so-called “investment” by government, is the best way to produce a strong and vibrant state economy; and WHEREAS, Republican candidates are elected to office to reduce the scope and reach of government, and this conservative mandate does not include financing certain businesses with grants, loans, tax credits, or other means on the backs of other businesses and individuals; and 9 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE WHEREAS, the North Carolina economy has greatly improved through commendable Republican-led solutions to reduce the burden of taxation and regulation—not through centralized control of the marketplace—and much more tax and regulation cutting remains to be done; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, we, the North Carolina Republican Party, oppose targeted financial incentives and corporate welfare; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, we, the North Carolina Republican Party, call upon the Governor, General Assembly, and local governments to cease developing and/or maintaining all forms of targeted financial incentives and corporate welfare, and, instead, work to build a stronger North Carolina economy by further reducing the heavy burden of taxes and regulations on all businesses and individuals. 10 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 8 FOR THE PRIVATIZATION OF LIQUOR SALES WHEREAS, the North Carolina Republican Party supports the growth and intrinsic merit of private enterprise; and therefore cannot support policy that places the government as the sole provider of a service or product that could otherwise be provided by the private sector; and WHEREAS, privatization of certain government services can result in a cost savings to the taxpayer when the performance of selected services transfers from the public sector to the private sector; and WHEREAS, such transfers relieve pressure on tight state budgets; and WHEREAS, divesting government of performing selected services does not necessarily result in loss of state control over those services; and WHEREAS, with privatization, vendors, not the taxpayers, would be responsible for the over $500 million in overhead; and WHEREAS, private vendors would pay income and sales tax, while creating jobs further expanding the tax base; and WHEREAS, North Carolina Liquor Tax proceeds should still be distributed to our counties and cities, which are dependent on those funds to sustain their budgets and hold down property tax increases; and WHEREAS, studies have shown that the rate of consumption is not dependent upon who sells the alcohol – the state or private licenses; and WHEREAS, deregulation in West Virginia and Iowa resulted in less per-capita alcohol consumption; and WHEREAS, state control of liquor sales enables public corruption and is a remnant of the Prohibition Era. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the North Carolina Republican Party works toward the privatization of liquor sales in North Carolina, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that We, as North Carolina Republicans, request to allow private companies and businesses to purchase and sell alcohol in a free market, providing the best choice and value for North Carolina citizens above the age of 21. 11 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 9 ENHANCING THE PARTY’S VOICE TO ITS ELECTED OFFICIALS WHEREAS, our elected Republican officials should be following the principles of the Republican Party as set out in Republican platforms and resolutions of the state and national Republican Party, and WHEREAS, there seems to be less attention paid in recent years by elected officials to party principles and WHEREAS, an official body of the Republican Party which can point out key legislation that either conforms or does not conform to official positions taken by the Republican Party will help keep our elected officials in line with party policy and identify those elected officials who frequently disregard official party positions, BE IT THEREFORE, RESOLVED that the First District Republican Party calls for amendment of the state Republican Plan of Organization to create a Republican Policy Committee, composed of one member elected by each Congressional District Republican Executive Committee and one member elected by the state Republican Central Committee, which shall review state and federal legislation and take official positions on legislation that either conforms to the official positions of the Republican Party as represented in state or national platforms or resolutions, advise elected officials of those positions, and keep a running tally of votes by FOP elected officials for or against those official GOP positions. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these tallies be made available to GOP voters and show percentages on which each Republican US Senator, US congressman, and state legislator voted in accordance with the official Republican position on legislation. 12 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 10 SUPPORT OUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT WHEREAS, Our local law enforcement is our last line of defense and are willing to put their lives on the line to ‘protect and secure’ our local communities; and WHEREAS, The United States is the only country to retain a local police system instead of having a national system. No country can become a dictatorship as long as the local citizens maintain direct responsibility and control of their local law enforcement through their duly elected officials; and WHEREAS, The US military would lack the ability to seize control of our country, Federalization of all the law enforcement agencies would have the ability to seize control of our citizens; and WHEREAS, Federal control of local law enforcement would be used by progressive politicians to hamper or restrict the work of local police, making their work more difficult and risk legal action against local police thus making them ‘the criminal’; therefore BE IT RESOLVED, The NCGOP State Convention supports our local law enforcement, especially when they come under attack while performing their duties; and let it be FURTHER RESOLVED, That we fight to keep them independent and strongly oppose any attempts to put our local law enforcement under any form of Federal control, or merging with any Federal agencies, or any North Carolina State fusion centers, and/or any militarization of police. 13 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 11 RENEWING AMERICA’S STAND WITH THE NATION OF ISRAEL WHEREAS, the nation of Israel was founded on May 14, 1948, as a democratic state holding regular free elections for its public offices; and WHEREAS, the Israeli people as a whole prosper under its current form of government while many of its neighbors live under substandard conditions lacking basic human services due to oppressive activities led by their governments; and WHEREAS, on a daily basis Israel faces threats and acts of aggression from neighboring countries intending to harm its people and its properties; and WHEREAS, Israel has been and is one of America’s greatest global allies; and WHEREAS, it is now time for America to renew its support of the nation Israel and its right to defend its borders and its people against all acts of aggression from enemies both foreign and domestic. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the North Carolina Republican Party proclaims in agreement herein that America renews its stand with the nation of Israel by supporting its right to defend its borders and its people against all acts of aggression from enemies both foreign and domestic. 14 NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY 2015 REPORT OF THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 12 REJECTING MEDICAID EXPANSION IN NORTH CAROLINA WHEREAS, North Carolina already has a serious shortage of physicians who accept Medicaid patients, and Medicaid expansion would further exacerbate the overcrowding and understaffing in medical services, resulting in fewer services at greater cost; and WHEREAS, The federal government only covers the cost of new enrollees for the first three years, after which North Carolina would have to pay an increasing percentage of the additional costs; and WHEREAS, The federal government does not, and will never, pay North Carolina’s additional administrative costs, and conservative estimates are that these additional costs would be $3 billion over the next ten years; and WHEREAS, Medicaid costs for North Carolina have increased by 42% in the past ten years, and North Carolina is already in debt for Medicaid services and cannot afford the additional administrative burden nor the extra medical expenses incurred by an expansion of the Medicaid program; and WHEREAS, The Department of Health and Human Services has not demonstrated the most basic ability to manage the current patient load already enrolled in the MEDICAID system which has impacted the ability of providers to deliver care to their patients: and WHEREAS, It is foreseen that the Medicaid system will be overwhelmed by the addition of ICD-10 as evidenced by the multiple documented and continuing problems with NC FAST and NC TRACKS: and WHEREAS, Several recent studies published in major medical journals have shown that patients on Medicaid have no better (and sometimes worse) medical outcomes than patients who are uninsured; therefore BE IT RESOLVED: That the North Carolina Republican Party strongly opposes any Medicaid expansion for the State of North Carolina; and let it be FURTHER RESOLVED: That we shall diligently support Governor McCrory and our elected representatives in their continued rejection of any Medicaid expansion.
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