Author: aryann637

Today there wasn’t much to do but I got to the legislative building an hour early to see Representative Harris in committee. Unfortunately, the committee lasted only 5 minutes which was a slight bummer. Today there wasn’t much to do but prepare for the session later in the day. So we looked at articles regarding unemployment insurance and why it isn’t bad and compiled that information. We also worked on Representative Harris’s newsletter for his constituents and I was in charge of writing fun facts about Governor Roy Cooper’s budget.  Then I observed the session virtually but in the office and it was time to go. I was quite sad that it was my last day because I had so much fun over the last two weeks. I hope to be back at the legislative building someday.

Today I walked into the office excited and not knowing what assignment was going to come my way. When I got there, Samantha told me that my assignment would be to write a report regarding the Non-Recurring Funds that the state would not spend if a budget wasn’t passed this summer. Just for context, Non-Recurring funds in a budget are just one-time allocations for an annual budget. If a budget doesn’t pass one year, the state defaults to the budget we have now but without spending on any of the “non-recurring funds”. My job was to go through this giant book which had all the ways the government was allocating money and look for “NR” which meant Non-Recurring fund.

Here is my giant book

When I just about started, Andrew came over and we sat at a table outside of Representative Harris’s office. He suggested that I use excel to store all the data for Non- Recurring Funds. To further help me out, he offered to be my scribe as I looked for non-recurring funds in the budget.

Andrew being my scribe.

 

The last time I was in a legislative building was Wednesday afternoon and today it is Tuesday. This was because Representative Harris wasn’t in the office on Thursday and the Legislature works from home on Fridays and Mondays. Today I presented my research regarding the American Rescue Plan and Taxes/GDP in North Carolina to Representative Harris and Samantha. They were happy with my presentation but one more piece of information was needed to prove Republicans wrong regarding corporate taxes. I had to prove that the economic growth of North Carolina was significantly slower than other states in the Southeast proving that corporate taxes make no difference. After a long while, I was able to find the information on the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Later that day I got the opportunity to explore the building and I came across this wonderful view on the second floor of the building.

Since the legislature is virtual on Mondays and Fridays, I was virtual today as well. Today, I had the opportunity to sleep in as it was a virtual day and I had to work on the projects that had already been assigned to me. My task for the morning was to finish up my second project which was to research North Carolina’s Taxes in comparison to other states and compare it to North Carolina’s GDP in comparison to other states. During my research, I stumbled upon an important fact that Representative Harris may be able to use. What I realized was that North Carolina’s GDP happens to be growing but its GDP per Capita is stagnant and is growing slower than the national average.

 

In blue is North Carolina’s Real GDP per Capita over the years and in gray is the US GDP per Capita over the years.

Representative Harris returned to Charlotte for the weekend last night so today I was virtual. I started off my day preparing for a meeting with Representative Harris and Samantha regarding my research on the American Rescue Plan. I had outlined all the federal guidelines and how much money the state has allocated in a recent bill. I verified that all the information that I had collected was correct by reading through Senate Bill 172 one more time. Unfortunately, later today Representative Harris was unable to meet with me so I am scheduled to present my research to him on Tuesday.

Today there were pro-life protesters that showed up at the Legislative Building today. These protestors walked into the building and continued to protest right outside Representative Harris’s office. They sang and also talked about how Christian values did not permit abortion right outside the office which was a slight disturbance.

Later today, I had the opportunity to witness my first session. Today, the house convened, and at the beginning, all the representatives just talked to each other for 15 minutes. Then, they voted on one healthcare bill and the republicans proceeded to have a “caucus meeting” which was just a party meeting. This was because the next bill was a broadband bill. Both Democrats and Republicans support broadband but both sides happened to have different plans. After the session was over, I went back to the office and headed home. I am excited for my next day at Representative Harris’s office.

Today was my second day of work experience but my first day of work experience in person. Today I got to meet Samantha Saunders, who was Representative Harris’s legislative assistant and I got to meet Representative Harris himself. I started out the day by getting a tour around the Legislative Building from Representative Harris himself. I got to see the house floor, the viewing gallery, and the balcony of the building.

House Floor:

Then we returned to the office where I continued working on my project to outline the guidelines of the American Rescue Plan and how the state of North Carolina has already allocated some of that money. While we all were working, visitors would always stop by to either pass along a message or talk to Representative Harris. I had the opportunity of meeting some really cool people who came in to talk to Representative Harris including a woman who works at UNC Charlotte and a woman from the North Carolina Democratic Party. Today was an interesting day as Senate Republicans had just introduced a bill that has a variety of different tax cuts. Representative Harris explained to me how my second project for the week, which was to research North Carolina’s tax revenue and GDP in comparison to other states, would be important to fighting the Republican’s proposed bill. While I was working in the office I also had the opportunity to listen to a press conference that was being done in the Legislative Building discussing the recent bill that the Republican Senators had introduced. There was an obvious sense of frustration among Representative Harris and Samantha as the information that the Republican Senators were giving in the press conference was not necessarily the most factual. After lunch, I had the opportunity to attend a committee meeting for the Senate Finance Committee where the Senators were discussing the recently proposed bill full of tax cuts. Some of the conversations were a little confusing to me but I also was slightly frustrated with some parts of the bill. Personally, I, like the Representative, am not a big fan of the new proposed bill. However, being able to watch the committee meeting was a really great experience for me. After I got back from the committee meeting, I continued work in the office and I was able to meet some of the Legislative Assistants for the other representatives. Today was a really great experience and I look forward to doing more tomorrow.

Today was my first day working at Representative Harris’s office. On Mondays and Fridays the members of the legislature work virtually so my first day was asynchronous. Today, I received my two assignments for the week. The first was to outline the American Rescue Plan (ARP) guidelines for how states can spend their federal aid, as well as how ARP funds have already been allocated in NC. The second assignment was to write up a report on how North Carolina’s taxes per capita and GDP compares to other states. Today I started on the first task and read through the American Rescue Plan and took notes on the guidelines for how states can spend their federal aid. I am looking forward to going to the legislature in person tomorrow and continuing to work on these cool projects.