March Madness In August
Mirroring the bracketology frenzy that surrounds the NCAA’s annual hoops tourney, the Civitas Bad Bill of the Year Tournament returns with a slam-dunk skewering of some of the most egregious and outlandish legislation cooked up this year by the General Assembly. The “bad bills” were selected “based on their intrusion into the private lives of North Carolinians, for their frivolous spending, and/or for their attempt to increase unnecessary regulations.”
A sampling of the contenders still left standing:
Senate Bill 527, the “Life Science Development Act”, intends to create a risk-free investment vehicle for private investors to invest in “life science” companies. Investors will be promised a certain rate of return, and will receive a state tax credit (i.e. bailout) to make up the difference if the rate of return falls short of what was promised.
Senate Bill 169 calls for creation of a study commission “to study the feasibility of offering financial incentives to students for quality academic performance.” Need we say any more? Spending $100,000 to study an idea that overwhelming majority of us know to be wrong is a perfect example of government waste.
House Bill 840, the Healthier and Greener Schools Act, seeks to take control of every aspect of a child’s health down to the sodium content of every meal.
Senate Bill 558, the Healthy Families & Workplaces/Paid Sick Days, would mandate a certain threshold of paid sick days, and also detail what qualifies as a paid sick day. In other words, it would outlaw voluntary agreements between employer and employee that didn’t meet the government standards.
House Bill 758, “An Act to Raise the Income Tax Rate Paid on Highly Compensated Taxpayers,” would attempt to dip into human ATMs by creating a new, higher “millionaire” income tax rate for persons who make a sizeable income.
House Bill 135, the “Efficient and Affordable Energy Rates Bill,” seeks to force peoples’ choice by introducing a whole slew of mandates aimed at forcing energy efficiency, and uses strong arm tactics to ensure that citizens conform to their idea of energy policy.
The Civitas tourney’s already made it to the Elite Eight, so hop on over with due haste to cast your votes and pick a – winner?
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