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RALEIGH — A series of showdowns between the Republican-led General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue set the tone for North Carolina’s political year in 2011, but they didn’t completely dominate the discussion.

Republicans took control of the state House and Senate for the first time since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, pressing forward with a number of efforts that had been long deferred under Democratic leadership.

So it may come as a surprise that some of the most complex and potentially controversial legislation eventually received broad support from Democrats and Republicans, the governor and the business community.

That includes a rewrite of the state’s compensation laws, which limit the benefits some injured workers receive while protecting benefits for the most severely injured. The measure was initially controversial, pitting lawyers and workers groups against business interests.

By the time the bill passed, “it was the largest rendition of Kumbaya I’ve ever seen,” said Connie Wilson, a former legislator who lobbies for businesses’ interests.

She credits the work of Winston-Salem Rep. Dale Folwell, a Republican who doggedly pursued compromise, along with the fact that legislative Republican leaders were more willing than their Democratic predecessors to hear the bill.

A similar pattern emerged when the General Assembly passed a bill that lifted limits on the number of charter schools in the state. A highly partisan battle ended with a unanimous vote in the Senate and only five dissenting votes in the House.

In any other year, a bill known as the Justice Reinvestment Act might have been kindling for partisan rancor and campaign commercials. But the bill, which will move some prisoners from jails to probation and parole settings, passed by wide margins.

Perdue appointed Rep. David Guice, a Republican and one of the bill’s main authors, to run the state Community Corrections division, which will be responsible for carrying out many of the changes.

“His appointment also highlights how far I am willing to reach across party lines to work together,” Perdue said in a news release.

So how is it in a year when the governor vetoed the state budget — provoking lawmakers to override her objections — other potentially fraught bills passed with comity?

“To the extent that there were things we agreed upon, they didn’t represent or encroach on core political philosophies,” said Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican and the president pro tempore of the Senate.

The bills that passed most easily gave something to all parties. Justice Reinvestment, for example, satisfied the concerns of those worried about unnecessarily harsh prison sentences as well as those concerned about cutting costs and improving law and order, said Rep. John Faircloth, a High Point Republican.

“Nobody got everything they wanted, but everyone got something,” said Faircloth, a former police chief who saw his own bill to seize cars from those who flee police pass relatively easily.

But any points of agreement will be eclipsed in most people’s minds by terms like “veto garage” and battles between the governor and the legislature fought vociferously.

“The situation about the budget — that pretty much touched the core of what Republicans ran on and represented a change in direction from where we were,” Berger said.

Republicans insisted that a 1-cent sales tax expire this year, saying it amounted to roughly $1 billion in savings for taxpayers. Perdue and her fellow Democrats insisted that money is needed to fund education and social-service programs.

“The General Assembly’s cuts have resulted in thousands of teachers and teacher assistants losing their jobs,” said Perdue spokeswoman Chris Mackey. “You can’t change the education system that drastically without damaging the quality of education our kids receive.”

The disagreement between the governor and Republicans on this issue runs deep — the two sides don’t agree on how many teachers lost their jobs or what funding was cut.
That backdrop of tension left its mark on virtually all of the most significant political stories of the year.

The budget

For years, Republicans argued taxes were too high and state agencies spent too much. Given the chance to write their own budget, GOP lawmakers drafted a $17.9 billion budget that cut spending in virtually every area of state government.

Perdue said the budget would do “generational harm” to education and stands by that assertion. Republicans like Berger argue they have put the state on the “right path” and that future budgets will be easier to tame thanks to their work this year.

Vetoes

Perdue vetoed the budget and 15 other bills, more than all governors combined during the first 14 years the veto option was available.

“When it comes to education and critical services for North Carolinians, Gov. Perdue will stand up for our children, our future workforce and our seniors,” Mackey said.

This year marked the first time since the veto existed that a governor of one party faced a General Assembly controlled by the opposite party.

Gang of Five

Perdue did not win all her veto battles, despite Democrats holding enough votes to uphold her objections.

A group of conservative Democrats, referred to as the “Gang of Five,” occasionally sided with Republicans. The most notable override was the budget.

The five are Reps. Jim Crawford of Oxford, Bill Owens of Elizabeth City, Dewy Hill of Whiteville, Bill Brisson of Dublin and Tim Spear of Creswell.

Although all concerned denied any quid pro quo, the gang did well by their votes. Crawford, for example, regained his seat as a budget chairman, which he lost when Republicans took over.

The veto garage

When Republicans couldn’t get wins on key issues, they “parked” the bills Perdue rejected and said they could come up at any moment.

At the same time, the GOP set up several mini-sessions throughout the summer and fall, calling lawmakers back to Raleigh to handle small bits of business and creating speculation that vetoes may be heard if Democrats failed to show up in sufficient numbers.

Redistricting

Republicans controlled the process by which new legislative and congressional lines were drawn in North Carolina this year.

Those lines could help the GOP cement their control of the legislature, as they create districts favorable to Republicans. Democrats and their allies have since sued to set aside those maps.

Social agenda

Republicans pushed a number of bills that were long put off by previous Democratic majorities. Those measures included pieces of the GOP social agenda, such as putting more obstacles before women seeking abortions and a measure that would require voters to produce photo identification.

Perdue vetoed both bills, but she was overridden on the abortion measure. Voter ID promises to be a debate for the coming year.

Business battles

Perdue and legislative Republicans blamed one another for losing a Continental Tire manufacturing plant to South Carolina. Both sides said they are doing more to curb unnecessary regulations that hurt business.

Going into the 2012 elections, Republicans and Democrats will try to convince voters that their party that done more to help the economy recover.

Annexation

Cities will face difficulty annexing property into their corporate limits without the cooperation of property owners. If more than 60 percent of those to be brought into a city sign a petition against it, the annexation is stopped and the city cannot try again for three years.

Although Republicans made annexation reform a key part of their platform, most annexation bills passed with strong bipartisan support this year.

Proponents say the measure protects property rights, while city leaders say it hurt their ability to manage growth.

Marriage amendment

Legislative Republicans have asked voters to approve an amendment to the state constitution that would ban gay marriage. The measure sparked rallies on both sides and set up a primary culture-war showdown next year.

Municipal, school board elections

Even as Republicans pounded their agenda through the legislature, Democrats took heart at the results of local elections this year.

In Wake County, Democrats ousted a Republican school board majority that had led a controversial push for neighborhood schools.

In Greensboro, the nonpartisan City Council elections saw Democrats and Republican moderates oust a conservative majority that had attempted to reopen the White Street landfill.

Democrats hope this is a sign of things to come for 2012.

Scandals

Scandals and investigations continued to plague high profile Democratic figures this year. Federal prosecutors have brought charges related to campaign-finance violations against former U.S. Sen. John Edwards. Former Gov. Mike Easley faces state bar sanctions after pleading guilty to his own failure to report donations to his campaign.

And figures linked to Perdue are facing charges related to fundraising for the 2008 campaign. Former Greensboro Chamber of Commerce President Peter Reichard pleaded guilty to a single count of obstruction of justice in connection with the case.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com