Legislative speed of light

In my more than 30 years of covering the N.C. General Assembly, Senate and House versions of the state budget passed on an earlier date than this year only four times – in 2003, when then-House Co-speakers Jim Black and Richard Morgan presided and, of course, Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight was leading the Senate, as well as 1995, 1993 and 1979. These are the legislative equivalent of the speed of light.
The House passed its version a couple of weeks ago and the Senate approved its version today (May 31). In 2003, the two had cleared their chambers and gone to a conference committee to work out differences on April 30. In 1995 the bills passed by May 16 and in 1993, by May 18. In 1979, the bills cleared on May 30.
That’s a big date in the legislature, because it means the leaders of the two chambers now know what their real differences are and can concentrate on hashing them out. It still can be weeks, if not months, before a final budget is adopted. In 2001, it took until Sept. 21.
Gerry Cohen, head of the legislature’s bill drafting office, has a blog
where you can find the dates previous General Assemblies passed their budgets. Follow this link for all the nitty-gritty details.
His blog is a reminder how much things have changed in the legislature. The data is for long sessions (in odd-numbered years) only, going back to 1961. In 1974, legislators began coming back to Raleigh in even-numbered years to adjust the biennial state budget, after a recession caused all sorts of havoc during the Holshouser Administration.
The 1961 session, by the way, was the last legislators sat in the state Capitol. In 1963, they began meeting in the new Legislative Building on Jones Street, a full block north of the Capitol.