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THIS WEBSITE IS NO LONGER BEING UPDATED.
As of the conclusion of the 2001-2002 Term of the General Assembly, I am no longer serving as a member of the Senate. I decided to seek election to the newly created 13th Congressional District; I was not successful in that effort. Since I could not seek the Congressional seat and run for re-election to the Senate seat, a long-time friend, and experienced, dedicated and wonderful person, decided to run to succeed me in the Senate. She brings a wealth of civic, educational and political experience to the position. That friend is Katie Dorsett. She was successful in her election bid.
I have decided to re-enter the practice of law, concentrating on areas related to State government relations. I am, also, considering forming a non-profit corporation. Information on these endeavors can be found on another of my websites. The URL for that website is http://billmartinlaw.com
I have been honored to serve citizens of my district, and of North Carolina, in our State Senate. On November 7, 2000, I was elected to my tenth and final term. During my twenty years of service, I have sought to deliberate carefully on matters that are important to North Carolinians. I appreciate the opportunity my constituents have given me to serve their interests during my tenure.
As legislators, we must address many kinds of policy issues, the areas on which I have placed primary emphasis are (1) education, (2) health and human services, and (3) government efficiency. Through study commissions, conferences and meetings, I have been very involved with these issues even when the General Assembly is not in session.
It is my strong belief that, as legislators, we are not all-knowing; we do not have all (or even most) of the solutions to problems and issues facing North Carolina citizens; we are not infallible as we seek to decide which among the issues that are important to one of our constituents, or a group of constituents, should be placed into policy or law. One of the greatest tools we have is the opportunity to bring together representatives of diverse viewpoints on these issues so that, wherever possible, some level of consensus can be developed as to what should be done. Where that consensus cannot be developed, at least we will have had the benefit of hearing, discussing and reflecting upon the various points that have been presented. We should avail ourselves of whatever information is available to test the soundness and validity of our conclusions. Hopefully, we will then have enough insight to pursue a resonable - although imperfect and not universally agreed upon - course of action. This is something I have sought to do.
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In the North Carolina Senate, during the 2001-2002 Session of the General Assembly, I served as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services; Vice-Chairman of the Children and Human Resources Committee, the Health Care Committee, and the Redistricting Committee. Additionally, I was a member of the following committees: Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources; Appropriations; Education/Higher Education; and Judiciary II. I served as Senate Chairman of the Joint Legislative Public Assistance Commission, and of the Services Committee of the Joint Legislative Mental Health Oversight Commission; and I served as a member of the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Commission, and as a advisory member of the Governmental Operations Commission.
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USE THE "NAVIGATE MY WEBSITE" LINK, BELOW, TO FIND OUT THE CONTENT OF MY LEGISLATIVE WEBSITE AND TO MORE EASILY ACCESS THE VARIOUS AREAS.
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