Constitutional Law Food Fight
Hats off to the folks at the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, who were in court this week battling corporate bribes, er, tax incentives and trying to clean up the lingering stench left by disgraced former House Speaker Jim Black.
The NCICL presented oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the NC Court of Appeals, over a lawsuit the group filed that seeks to force Johnson & Wales University to refund $7.5 million in taxpayer dollars the school has received since 2003.
That was back when Black, a Charlotte Democrat recently released from federal prison after serving nearly five years on guilty pleas of corruption and bribery charges, had personally promised to secure $10 million in state money for the culinary school to build its new campus in uptown Charlotte.
State legislators have largely delivered on Black’s promise, forking over $7.5 million. One small problem: the state constitution doesn’t provide for the personal whims and pledges of elected officials.
The NCICL suit, filed on behalf of two Charlotte-area residents, alleges that the plaintiffs – essentially all taxpayers – were “harmed by the cash grants” to the culinary school because they “diminished the moneys available to the State for other lawful purposes.” The NCICL is asking the court to declare the incentives “unauthorized, unlawful, unconstitutional, and arbitrary.”
The state constitution, NCICL Senior Attorney Jeanette Doran argued, prohibits awarding special benefits to people or companies that lawmakers cherry pick to the exclusion of other equally deserving institutions.
Attorneys for the university and state contend the taxpayer money that legislators have doled out served the legitimate public interests of education and economic development.
So you see, it’s all about education and job creation. Naturally. This has nothing to do with one of our state’s most corrupt and immoral legislators wielding his power to advance special interests at the expense of the taxpaying public.
Nothing against the students at J&W, but let’s hope the Court of Appeals sinks the defendant’s arguments like a rotten soufflé and sides with the state’s constitution and taxpayers.
Bonus BTW: Yes, the Don Reid named as one of the plaintiffs is that Don Reid – former city councilmember and indomitable House Guest columnist.
Extra credit: The NCICL was putting up the good fight on multiple fronts this week, also taking part in oral arguments in its case against incentives doled out to tech-titan Google. This from the NCICL:
Representing three individual plaintiffs, NCICL filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court in 2007 challenging legislation which granted Google an exemption from certain retail sales and use taxes and the award of Job Development Investment Grants (JDIG). NCICL’s lawsuit alleges that the tax credits and grants given to Google violated various provisions of the state constitution, including the Public Purpose and Exclusive Emoluments Clauses. The total handout to Google could top $260 million, including the challenged incentives from the State, which total approximately $90 million. On Tuesday, Justice Orr argued that taxpayers have standing and should be able to challenge the tax breaks that were created to lure Google Inc. to Caldwell County back in 2007.
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