General Assembly Returns

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General Assembly Returns, House Leaderless

Family Policy Facts - January 31, 2003
The 2003 session of the NC General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 29, but—in what may be a preview of the next two years—the House left town on Thursday stuck in a deadlock vote over who should be Speaker of the House. The six roll call votes taken in the Speaker election resulted in the same outcome each time: 60 votes for two-term Speaker Rep. Jim Black (D-Mecklenburg), 55 votes for Rep. George Holmes (R-Yadkin), and five votes for Rep. Richard Morgan (R-Moore). To be elected, the Speaker nominee must receive a majority of the votes cast by the members present and voting—meaning that if all 120 House members cast a vote, as they have done on each of the Speaker ballots thus far, one of the nominees must receive at least 61 votes to be elected. House Republicans became frantic Thursday morning when they realized that Rep. Cary Allred (R-Alamance) was not in the chamber, and they began a series of parliamentary questions and motions that delayed the sixth vote for Speaker for over an hour—until Rep. Allred arrived. If the vote had been taken before Rep. Allred turned up, Jim Black would have likely secured his third term as Speaker, because with one member absent, only 60 votes would be needed to obtain a majority vote. Following the November elections, Republicans held a razor thin 61-59 majority in the House, but on January 24, Rep. Mike Decker (D-Forsyth) switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, creating a 60-60 tie.

In the Senate, which has a 28 to 22 Democrat majority, Sen. Marc Basnight (D-Dare) was elected to his sixth term as President Pro Tempore. While the Lieutenant Governor (Beverly Perdue) presides over the Senate and can vote only to break a tie, the President Pro Tempore is the highest elected position in that body. Sen. Charles Dannelly (D-Mecklenburg) was elected Deputy President Pro Tempore. Following the opening day’s election of officers, the Senate held a brief session Thursday, Jan. 30 and adjourned until Monday, Feb. 3.