Walter Weathers: Put time limit on legislature

In the name of fiscal conservatism, our legislature has made critical cuts in public education, slashed taxes for the rich and slashed funding for essential state programs such as those charged with overseeing the help and safety of state workers. It has pretty much ended any state environmental protection. It has slashed unemployment benefits for the state’s unemployed workers. This list could go on.

When it comes to its behavior, this legislature has been anything but conservative. We are now into one of the longest legislative sessions in recent history, and when the numbers come in, no doubt this will be the costliest session in state history.

North Carolina remains one of 17 states that set no limit on legislative sessions. Our state legislature is one of only eight that is still in session.

It is high time that North Carolina join the majority of states and pass a constitutional amendment that would limit the amount of time that legislators can stay in Raleigh.

Our schools and essential state agencies are required to do more with less money, while the legislature wastes more time and money producing less in way of meaningful actions that would move this state forward.

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Walter Weathers: Put time limit on legislature."