N.C. Senator Ellie Kinnaird's Newsletter

March 23, 2009 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Ellie Kinnaird

Greetings from Raleigh.

Last week was a busy one in the Senate.

On Tuesday, Governor Perdue submitted her budget recommendations to the General Assembly. I thought it was a prudent proposal in light of the difficult economy. With more people out of work and consumer spending way down, state government must do more with less.

However, in tough times, education is more important that ever. Our community colleges have an even bigger role in worker retraining. There are several innovative job creation initiatives in her budget that I support, such as expanding the Green Business Fund, which helps create jobs on our state in innovative, environmentally-friendly industries.

The General Assembly is actually charged with writing the budget and we have much to consider. I support raising the cigarette tax to $1 per pack and the alcohol tax by 5%. We know that tobacco use costs our state billions in health care costs each year. The same is true for alcohol abuse.

I’m also hearing from a lot of you about possible changes to the State Health Plan, which provides coverage to state employees, teachers, and uninsured children. The plan is in danger of going insolvent in the very near future due to incorrect projections, increases in health care costs, an aging population, and the economic downturn. We must act to ensure that coverage continues. We need long-term sustainability for this plan instead of patching the hole with tax dollars every year. One savings route is the way the plan pays for maintenance prescription drugs, which are medications prescribed for chronic, long-term conditions and are taken on a regular, recurring basis (longer than 3 months), such as for diabetes or high cholesterol. I’ve heard from many of you who are concerned about getting these by mail or worried that you will not be able to get them at your local pharmacy. We are trying to find a compromise to save money, provide access to medicine at the pharmacy of your choice, and protect jobs at community pharmacies. In this budget environment, that is extremely difficult and I will keep you updated.

As always, please feel free to contact me to share your opinions on any other issue you feel is important, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Senate. I hope you have a nice weekend.

Paid for by Ellie Kinnaird for Senate • PO Box 668, Carrboro, NC 27510 • 919-929-1607 •