North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore joined host Ben Thompson of WCNC Charlotte’s Flashpoint on Sunday morning to talk about teacher raises, Opportunity Scholarships, and getting tough on juvenile crime. Photo above by the Raleigh News & Observer.

Ben Thompson: Thanks for joining us here on Flashpoint. I’m Ben Thompson. This week, a one-on-one with North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore — the Republican leader coming off a busy week in Raleigh, including passing a GOP-backed budget. But it remains in limbo as his Republican friends in the Senate propose a plan of their own. Joining us now is the House Speaker himself, Tim Moore. Mr. Speaker, welcome back to Flashpoint. Nice to have you.

Speaker Tim Moore: Thanks, great to be with you today.

BT: So both the House and Senate passing their own versions of the state budget this past week… and despite two Republican supermajorities, a lot of the disagreements centered around what to do with the state’s billion dollar surplus. The Senate leader says that your plan spends too much and they’re ready to go home at the end of the month. Are you sure that the two sides are going to find some sort of common ground?

STM: Well, I believe that we will. And I think it’s important to note where we as a House are spending money: we’re spending money to fully fund opportunity scholarships, which has proven to be wildly popular; we’re spending money to pay for the increased enrollment in Medicaid, which you have to do by federal law; we’re spending funds to improve transportation — road infrastructure — something that we in our region know all too well is a critical issue.

And we’re funding pay raises for teachers, state employees, and a cost of living adjustment bonus for our retirees. So these are not just pork-barrel wasteful projects; these are things that are critical needs of this state. And what I have found when I talk to voters around the state is they expect us to fund government operations. They want the roads fixed. They want roads built. We see the struggles that we face in our area with 485 and 77 and 85 and putting more money into taking care of those things. So those are the kinds of projects and things that we’re putting money into. And I believe it is money well spent.

BT: And we should say for viewers at home, if you don’t pass a budget, you go along with what you all decided on last year. And that sort of becomes the de facto budget. Your plan gives teachers a pay raise. Senators say no. For you, is this a sticking point?

STM: It really is. Because we — and I will say that the second year budget we have does automatically provide a 3% pay increase for teachers, for state employees. But we want to add that up. We want to plus that up by another 1%. We have the funds to be able to do so. And we’re seeing some recruitment issues. One thing I’m particularly proud of is on teacher pay. A starting teacher in North Carolina’s starting salary right now is $39,000. We have the ability to increase that up to $44,000. And so we want to do that. We want to make sure that we’re having the best that we can when it comes to teachers in our classrooms. And also when we’re putting so much money into the Opportunity Scholarships, which is an absolutely great program. I think it’s important that we not leave the traditional K-12 schools behind.

BT: More on that right now. Both plans expand those scholarships to the tune of nearly $500 million. It would help clear the current backlog that we’ve seen because, as you said, it’s been quite popular. But critics argue that these schools aren’t accountable in how they spend money or the curriculum they teach. Public schools are. From what is a conservative standpoint, which is what I think you would call yourself, as good stewards of taxpayer money, why shouldn’t there be more guidelines, more accountability for some of these schools?

STM: Well, the accountability ultimately is because this is what parents are choosing for their children. They’re not being, no one is being compelled, to send their child to a private or religious school. They’re making that choice because they believe that’s what’s important for their children. And what we found particularly during COVID as, one, a lot of the private schools and charter schools stayed open when the traditional schools were closed, you had a lot more learning loss in those children who were part of the traditional schools as opposed to those that were able to get into class sooner, while at the same time, you did not see any appreciable difference in health outcomes or anything for children who were in school then.

The second part that’s also important is that when it comes to the private schools, when it comes to religious schools, when it comes to K-12, when kids were doing the remote-based learning, parents were able to see firsthand what it was that was being taught to their children. And a lot of folks took issue with that and decided that they want to go a different route. And so I think the best thing that we can do is to empower parents to make those decisions for what’s best for their children, whether it is traditional schools, whether it is charter schools, or whether it’s private or religious education.

And I don’t think that children should be bound or limited because of the zip code they happen to live in, or whether they live in poverty or whether they live in affluence. And so I think those are very key things. And what we’ve tried to do with this legislation is to provide the best access to education for every student in this state.

BT: Also some agreement in the House and Senate budget when it comes to child care centers, they get about $135 million to replace that federal funding that runs out in just about a week. We’re down to the wire. But child care advocates say that they need more like $300 million. Given the billion-dollar state surplus that you’ve mentioned, is your proposal enough?

STM: Well, we believe that the $135 million will address the lion’s share of what’s needed. It takes care of a full 75 percent of all of that. And part of that $300 million they talk about is actually a new program, not continuing what’s there. So we can take care of the $135 million.

But I think also, frankly, some regulatory reform when it comes to child care is important. There have been a lot of burdens put on child care facilities by the state. Now, some are good regulations to ensure the best education, ensure the safety of the children, all of that. That’s key and that’s critical. But there are some things that even those in the child care sector tell us are unnecessary regulations that are resulting in additional cost. So we’re going to go ahead and take those into account with this legislation as well. But at the end of the day, this is what we know we can do that funds the critical needs. And I think it’s important that we get it done.

BT: The Senate taking a step this week to advance their medical marijuana bill. This has come up for years now. You have indicated in the past that it has no chance in the House. Has that changed?

STM: Well, the position — and personally, I support medical cannabis — I’ve said that, you know, from from day one, I’ve seen data out there that shows that it is helpful to the folks that suffer from cancer, folks that suffer from from PTSD. And I think it ought to be something that’s properly supervised, properly regimented. And as a as a type of care that it should be an option for those folks who want to do that. I do oppose, by the way, recreational use. I think that opens the door to a lot of problems. And I oppose that in terms of the medical cannabis.

What we did was we took a sample, a poll, of our caucus last year. And when we polled it, there were not the necessary thirty-seven votes for it on the House floor. The reason I say thirty-seven is our rule is that for any bill to to pass, it has to receive a majority of the members of the Republican caucus willing to vote for it on the floor. So the day that I find out or I’m informed that there are thirty seven yes votes for that on the floor, it can certainly come to the floor at that point for a vote.

BT: More now with my interview with House Speaker Tim Moore. We’re talking about Charlotte’s big plans to expand transit. So far, city leaders have failed to get support for a sales tax referendum from leaders in Raleigh. We’ve had a big development. You and I have talked about this before. I’ve talked about it with city leaders for years, but in the past few weeks, Charlotte city leaders abandoning plans for the Silver Line that would extend down to the eastern part of Mecklenburg County, adopting what they call and what the term you guys have used is a more road friendly plan. Folks want to know, will that satisfy lawmakers in Raleigh?

STM: Well, I can speak for me. We have not caucused this issue. We’ve not had a broader discussion. As I’ve met with business leaders and other advocates for this program in the Charlotte area, I like the fact that it’s a regional approach. I think that’s important. But I do believe there needs to be a true emphasis on roads. That is how 99% of the people get from point A to point B. And we have to keep up with those demands.

I’ve gotten in trouble before talking about these bike lanes and so forth, right? I mean, look, it’s good to have those things, but it’s really important that we focus on roads because we have, for example, in Western Mecklenburg, you have one of the largest economic generators for this area. And that, of course, is the airport. And you have some of the most significant gridlock happening right there, which, by the way, is one reason I fought so hard to use discretionary dollars to speed up by eight years the 485/85 interchange right now. That’s an absolute bottleneck to traffic moving. But we have challenges on I-77. We have challenges on 485. Those are the critical things I see.

Also, but I would acknowledge and applaud the work that’s been done on the light rail that works. There’s certainly great growth along those corridors. If you look at South End, things are moving in the right direction as you go out toward UNC Charlotte. And it would be nice to see access to that going up to the upper end, going up toward Lake Norman, and then eventually some out to the airport as well. I know the folks down in the eastern part of the county, down toward Matthews and Mint Hill, are concerned about that. I think the conversation now has to do with what’s called a BRT, using that. But certainly, I’m open to what’s there and want to work and collaborate with leaders in Mecklenburg County and the region, as well as the business community on this.

BT: But let me get you pinned down here. Is the current setup of 40% roads, 40% to rail, and another 20% going to buses, is that good enough for you?

STM: I need to see where our transportation chairs are on it. We’re not a one-person shop over here on the House. I really want to collaborate with other folks who are in the transportation sphere and our leadership and see where they are, so I can’t answer that question yet. In all fairness, we have not yet received the formal written plan. We’ve talked about it conceptually. But as far as someone weighing a plan in front of me and saying, “This is exactly how it will go,” we’ve not been presented with that yet.

BT: One more question on the topic. City leaders wanted to get this on the ballot, the sales tax referendum, in the next two years. Do you see that as a possibility?

STM: If we can come to an agreement on what the funding looks like, I think that’s a possibility.

BT: All right. Let’s talk about youth crime, because you know it’s a big issue surging in the first few months of the year here in Charlotte. The chief of CMPD says he’s disappointed that the governor vetoed the juvenile justice reform bill that essentially sends 16- and 17-year-olds who commit violent crime straight to adult court. Do you think that you all will override that veto?

STM: We will absolutely override that veto next week. What we’ve seen in our state, and particularly in our region, is a dramatic uptick in crimes committed by juveniles, a lot of violent crimes, of course a ton of property crimes. And what we’ve seen, sadly, is that gangs and other criminal enterprises will specifically use juveniles to commit some of the most heinous and violent crimes because they know that those folks are being treated much more softly than somebody just a year or two older. And we have to stop that. We have to deal with criminals as criminals. And someone who is bent on doing harm and just committing crime needs to be dealt with severely.

And you look at the other issue, not a part of that bill, is something that is some of the bond and bail policy that’s been happening, where folks are coming in who are repeat offenders, getting an unsecured bond and sent back out on the street to continue breaking the law. Enough’s enough with this mess. People want to be safe. They’re tired of it. And that’s why we’re taking the stand we are to deal with it. And we’re going to override Governor Cooper’s veto.

BT: And final question. You’re in your last few months as Speaker of the House there. You look poised to take on a new job in Congress in D.C. Are you ready for it?

STM: Absolutely. Already in a lot of meetings with colleagues — future colleagues — in Washington, feeling very confident. Of course, it’ll ultimately be up to the voters in November to decide if I’ll be taking that job or doing something different. But feeling very comfortable about it and really just very honored and very humbled to have the opportunity.

You know, I’ve been in the Statehouse 22 years. I’ve been the Speaker now 10 years. And I recognized that I knew early on this last that when I ran this last time that this would be my last term serving in the state legislature. You just kind of get to a point where, you know, you’ve you’ve you’ve done that job enough and you’re ready to do something else and gave it a lot of thought and really saw a lot of the things happening at the national level that the just absolutely ridiculous situation at the border right now with with immigration, the runaway inflation that’s destroying our economy at the federal level and really just a lack of getting anything done in Washington.

And I can compare that to Raleigh, where we are getting the people’s business done. We are lowering taxes, cutting regulations, moving North Carolina in the right direction. It’s no accident that your viewers watching this, many of them are folks who just recently moved here in the last few years. This is one of the hottest areas to live. It’s due in large part to the good work that this conservative legislature has done to move North Carolina in the right direction. And I’d like to be a part of taking that same type of leadership to Washington, D.C., and hoping to have that opportunity.

BT: House Speaker Tim Moore. Speaker, thanks for coming on. We do appreciate it.

STM: Great to be with you.