To have you all here on this journey with me since this is my debut. Hang with me while I work through some of the kinks maybe. But I've been a co-host of a talk radio show in the past, but it might take a little time to work out the bugs. We'll get through it as Toby Keith would say, and as good as I once was. But I'm as good once as I ever was. So we'll see at the end of this, I should also start with a qualifier. There will be music and movie references on this show. Always. I can't help it,
it's just going to happen. Speaking of which, later in the show, you can call in toward the end of the show. Glad to hear from you and what you have to say. And agreement is not required, but I may have tell you just how wrong you are or you can tell me how wrong I am either way. But I, I'd also love to hear, I don't know what the latest movie you've seen either hated or liked Keeping with a little pop culture too while we worked through the day.
And I hope everyone had a great, great Independence Day yesterday we did at my house. We just kind of took it easy, didn't get on the lake sometimes that's amateur hour on July 4th. So we just kind of let those folks do their thing and enjoy the lake. And I'll be out later today. But at our house, we didn't go too hard. We grilled steaks and had a little shrimp, did a little family movie night. My wife Catherine and our 15 year old son Jackson, just turned 15 on Friday.
We watched a comedy last night that Jackson hasn't really been old enough to watch, you know, kind of wait when you've got a son, hopefully he pretty soon gets there to your level of 15 year oldness. And so we're both pretty much on the same level. He's pretty mature young man. So we've loosened up a bit. And last night we selected Walk Hard, the Dewey Cox story. It's quite the documentary. If you've never seen it, I wouldn't recommend it for underage kids, maybe 15 or older. But anyway,
let me take you back. It's an interesting, interesting movie and really was inspired, believe it or not, by our president. What an amazing guy and a son, father, son relationship. We were watching and watching the news over the weekend and saw where they found a white substance at the White House. And it was not anthrax. As we found out later, apparently Hunter left something.
And so part of the movie and the Dewey Cox story, he's a rock and roll star, so he, he's kind of a spoof on every rock and roll story you ever saw through the fifties, sixties, seventies, eighties, even a little bit in the nineties. And so at one point Tim Meadows is his drummer. So it's a very funny story. And he walks in on him and they're doing drugs because apparently that happens and in the rock and roll industry every now and then.
So he walks in, he says, what is that you're doing? He goes, this is cocaine. You don't want any of this stuff. And to which he says, what's it do? And he says, it takes away all your bad feelings and turns 'em into good feelings. I'm paraphrasing. And it just reminded me of the relationship that Hunter and Joe have. And I thought, what a great comedy to watch with your kid. But no, we got a big laugh out of it, but it is kind of what inspired it, believe it or not.
But I'll take you back to where it all began for me and want to, as this is the start of the new show, tell you a little bit about me, what we'll be talking about, how this is going to progress. But my family upbringing all is very important to me. I was born and raised in Lincolnton, the very beautiful area, of course right next to the shimmering waters of Lake Norman, close by where we spent most of our weekends.
My dad had a boat, a little lot on Lake Norman back in the day and learned to ski when you couldn't learn to ski on in the middle of a weekend on Lake Norman. A few people have found out about this wonderful place we live and they've shown up and we love to have you, but it's not quite as uncrowded as it much once was. But it's a close knit community and it had a profound impact on my values and principles from a very young age.
Family remains everything to me, and it was through their love and guidance that it discovered my passion for public service. My mother was a county commissioner in Lincoln County. She's our first ever woman county commissioner. And she ran in 1996. While I was working on a gubernatorial campaign, I was driving with Richard Vin Root. He was running for governor, former mayor of Charlotte. He lost that race in the primary to Robin Hayes, who I later went to work for as well in that race.
But she was running and became our first woman county commissioner. So I got to see firsthand what it meant to serve folks that you live around and what that really meant. Growing up, I attended local schools. It really fosters since pride in my community and ignited my desire to contribute positively to society. It was during those formative years, my love in North Carolina took root and I knew that I wanted to dedicate my life to making a difference in the lives of my fellow North Carolinians.
And I went to graduated Lincoln High School. I was sitting in Doris Little's government class and learning about government and it really sparked my interest. And I realized that now maybe I have an acumen for this.
And so I went on to NC State, studied political science after two years, buddy of mine who had been serving in the army was getting out and starting at UNC Charlotte convinced me that we'd have a big time at UNC Charlotte taking over student government in the world and went transferred to UNC Charlotte. Probably the best decision I ever made. That's where I met my wife, Catherine, and really just excelled at politics there Locally was involved in college
Republicans. Worked with a guy you might have heard of, Congressman Richard Hudson. A good friend. He was student body president at the time, didn't know nor at that time that we'd ever serve in public office. But it sounded like a cool thing we might do and ended up being something we actually did, but never would've known it back then. But being in the political arena and directly affecting people's lives really
make a big difference. Like I say, realized I had that passion for it after two years at the state, transferred to Charlotte. Loved both schools, but from there, from student government, became a leader in the college Republicans with several of my classmates mentioned Richard Hudson. Others met Representative Patrick McHenry at that time too. He was at NC State. Didn't know him when I was there, but knew him thereafter. And we've all been pretty involved as young people.
And then getting to a point where we're elected is kind of neat to look back and reflect upon. I'll have them both come on the show in the future. We'll get them on here later today. We're going to have representative Jeff Neely, who you've heard on this station before. He has his own show. And actually I've called in a couple of times, sometimes from the lake, from the boat, but I thought he would be a great first guest as we kind of kick the tires on this thing and run through it.
My career has been a path of both challenges and achievements. From serving as a campaign staff and manager to becoming a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Every step has been a learning experience. I worked tirelessly to champion issues close to my heart, promoting economic growth, advocating for responsible fiscal policies and supporting small businesses.
Throughout my legislative career. There have been many ups and downs, but what keeps me going is my love for this state and its people. I'm proud of the accomplishments we have achieved together from supporting innovative education initiatives to enhancing our infrastructure for a brighter future. And now with this show, all things saying, I want to give back even more to the community that has shaped me.
My goal is to provide you the listeners with a unique perspective on the political climate of North Carolina. I want to break down complex issues, demystifying the legislative process and present it all from my point of view as a representative who genuinely cares about the wellbeing of our great state. But this show is not just about politics, it's also about the beauty of Lake Norman and the lifestyle it offers.
I'll be bringing in special guests, local experts, historians, and even fellow legislators like I mentioned, Jeff McNeilly, to shed light on various topics, be it environmental conservation, local traditions, or the vibrant music scene that thrives in this region.
All the things, all the fun things that we do. And while we like, we choose to call this place home, we'll also delve into the stories of the people who make North Carolina the wonderful place that it is their triumphs, struggles and contributions shape the fabric of our society. All things saying will be a platform for these voices to be heard, understood,
and celebrated. We'll talk about the breathtaking landscapes that surround us, the history that colors our culture and the issues that unite and sometimes divide us. Together we'll explore the diverse tapestry of North Carolina and the potential it holds for a brighter future. So my fellow North Carolinians, I invite you to join me on this incredible journey. Let's embark on a quest to better understand our state's political landscape.
Learn from its past and pave the way for a prosperous and harmless future. Harmonious future, sorry. Together we'll celebrate all things sane and all things North Carolina. Thank you for tuning in today. I look forward to having you by my side every week as we explore the heart of our area. Serving you better than ever before. The new 1 0 5 9 100 0.7 W SIC news talk. Now. Here is your Ws I community calendar, lights, camera Burdale at seven 30 this.
All right, we're back and getting a lot of comments on my personal Facebook and several texts. One of our stafford's, Carl Gilmore from the legislatures listing in. So I told him I'd give him a shout out. I'm sure I just embarrassed every living thing out of him. But nevertheless, really appreciate you being on and listening to the show. Next up, we've got representative Jeff McNeely. I think we've got him on the phone now. Jeff, are you there?
Hell my life. Want to fight about it? Wrong show. Sorry, wrong shows. Wrong show. But hey, we are going to have Jeff Pillars on. I teased it on my newsletter that Jeff Pillars from the John Boy Billy Show was going to be on with me. And then he got confused on the days and I actually confused him. So I contributed to that. But we'll get him on soon. He is a good friend and I love to have him on, so it'll be fun. But how you doing man? Did you get to vacation on the fourth or are you at home?
I got to actually stay home, but I got up on the lake and tried to drown myself in a nice cool water. So it was very relaxing day. I really needed it and I appreciated it. Well, let me tell you about trying to drown yourself. You'll love this. So I was out on the boat by myself.
I'd spent all day on Monday working on it. So I had him put it up on the wash and worked on the boat, installed a new switch and a couple things, putting in a new radio on my little fixer upper boat that I bought last year. And then I went out in the cove after hot, someone said it was the hottest day of the year, I believe it. And then came back in to put it to the dock and kids holding the boat
for me as I get out throwing some stuff out on the dock. And it started to rain, which is why I was getting off the lake and it was coming down pretty hard. And I went to step back on that boat and thank God nobody's watching. And I ended up taking a little plunge in the water. No, no applause were given cause nobody was sitting up at absent taps. It was raining too much to sit outside. So if I had to do that, I only had two people to witness it, but just kind of got to laugh at yourself.
I had on my, Hey dude, I do not recommend those on a boat because they're very slick. And so as I found out, no phones were lost, my Braves hat was salvaged. I was good. So I got to enjoy the lake a little bit. And we're going to do, Jackson had his birthday on Friday. We're doing kids out on the lake on Saturday, so that'd be fun. So that'll. Be, yeah, you'll have a big time with that. You'll have a big time with that.
For sure. And for our listeners who don't know, maybe if they catch your show, they probably do. But the legislature's taking a break this week, which is good. I think all the reporters and everybody else that have to work when we work, probably pretty thankful of that. So I'm glad you get to enjoy it too. Yeah, I always tell 'em all down here that I got time off for bad behavior. We get it for good behavior cause we don't do that. That's right. That's not in our culture what we do, Jeff.
I think it is fun for listeners to interact with legislators like this and local officials. I know Vicky Sawyer's got a show, Woody Mayor, Woody Washington's got a show that he'll be doing and really just interacting locally. But from your experience, because you've done this, you're more of a veteran doing this as a legislator than I am, although I've been on radio before. What do you find most rewarding about it? Well, and I'm going to tell you what, and you'll find this out too.
This is the fastest hour of your week. I mean it goes by so quick cause I feel like I've always got more I want to say. But that's me because I'm full of it and got a lot to talk about. But I just like talking with the people, hearing what they've got to say, what bothers them, what worries them, interaction with your constituents. If you don't want to do that, don't get in politics if you don't want to hear what people have to say and then try to help 'em or direct 'em in the right way.
I mean it's all about providing some kind of service back to your constituents so that their life is easier. And that should be government. It should be, I'm often shocked and I don't think we have as many legislators around now that we used to, who would readily admit that they never read their own emails that came into their office. Now I have someone, and probably you do too, that sees everything I see. So that way I don't let it fall through the cracks because we do stay pretty
busy. But I do like to have eyes on what my constituents are sending to me, whether they agree or don't agree. Of course we get a lot of junk mail and a lot of seminar emails and calls to the legislature for people that we don't represent and always remind them. Anybody that wants to call and complain, they don't live in the district. I don't really represent them. So that's not who I'm concerned about.
But it used to shock me. Some of the, shall I say, seasoned legislators at the time who would not adapt to email or get a recap of the phone calls. And I sit down with my staff every day and go through who's called today, what do we need to be working on and what's the status? And we kind of do the same thing in our office too. I mean, she flags all the stuff she knows I'm looking for. And then every once in a while you'll get a wild and crazy email.
So she'll call me up or text me, say, Hey, you need to look at this one. I don't know what to do about. So people, we do read your emails, we really do read them. Well, I think we should have a segment at some point on one of our shows where we read the bad emails. The people who are so complimentary. I think that are mean tweets if you want. I love Twitter.
Since Elon Musk has taken over, it's become not quite the dumpster fire it once was, which is nice to see because you do have to get through all that clouded mess. But you get these folks you like to hide behind the keyboard, the keyboard warriors, the keyboard heroes that will fire off something. And every now and then, if it is a constituent at home, I call 'em. And if someone's upset and mad at me, I really do want to know,
can we improve it? Can we fix it? What's the issue? Some you can, you can't. But the mean tweets and the mean letters, we and my back office, and Jeff knows this, we've got a wall of hate. So where we get the nice little postcards that we get from some of the folks from Oregon and California and Wisconsin who want to comment on North Carolina politics and we post those up on the wall of hate. You need a wall of hate. Jeff.
Oh, oh baby a after about a month ago, I, I've had a tidal wave of hate, but I know. Well it happens. I'm going to need a big wall. A big wall, a big wall. Yes it does. Well I went out after the September 11th, 2019 veto override where we were to be in session. Apparently the Democrats were in a hole somewhere drawing masks by their own admission by the way accidentally.
But by their own admission they didn't show up for session that day and wanted to blame somebody for them not showing up to work. And we called for the veto override. I'm the guy that made this statement. Of course I'm a former firefighter at East Lincoln Fire Department. And so September 11th means something to me too. It does all Americans. But we were there to work that day and one of the reporters stuck a mic in my face and he's a good friend. He's now in Michigan, but Jonah Kaplan.
And he said, what do you think about the Democrats not being there in the chamber And you move, making a motion to which this is the famous I will not yield from Deb Butler. I just real quick quip, I said, you know what, hey look, if September 11th, if we don't show up to work, the terrorists went. And I said it kind of jokingly, of course he reported that. And for a solid three days we got interesting calls
and emails. So it happens if you're in the public arena, you're going to every now and then misspeak, but you move on. And I think constituents are pretty forgiving about that long as long as intent's. Right. And with your incident, I think your intent was right. I was there in the building, of course, heard what you said, know what you meant. I told people, I said, most people just don't speak McNeely E and I do. So I understood exactly what you. Meant, right? Yeah. It's an acquired language.
It is an acquired language, no doubt. Well it is never a dull moment. So what do you got cooking for the rest of the session? What are you working on? Well I got my bill where we're going to try to go in and regulate hemp industry and C B D. It's kind of unregulated now. And so I think that's going to be a really good thing. A 10 year old kid can walk in at these fake shops and buy whatever and that needs to change and it will. So we got that to do. Well. We're never without things to do. It's.
A good deal. Well, and you've done a lot on agriculture just because of your background, but do you find that, and hemp certainly falls into that category, but also from a regulatory standpoint, but do you find that from your different, you you'd served as a county commissioner but coming into the legislature that we deal with a whole host of issues. It's not just that one thing that the most about, but you end up becoming a pseudo expert on a lot of different bills.
What's one that's kind of thrown you for a loop? Can you think of one? Well I mean that one really is one of 'em. Cause I don't know anything about hemp or C B D, but I hear all this stuff and a l e came to us and said we got to do something. We keep testing positive over 0.3 TC and a lot of these hemp products, the delta eights, nines and tens and all that stuff with Delta nine ispo, Delta eight, delta 10, they're coming up with a new number every day.
And I've had to submerse myself and learn more chemical names than I have since I took chemistry 1 0 1 at NC State. The different variations of TC and the hemp plant and cannabis. So all of a sudden, like I said, I think I could debate quite a few scholars on hemp if I had to. And education's always one. We get into morality issues that you don't do at a county commissioner level. The county commissioner, you fight people over a nickel and I ain't spending that nickel on this here.
It's the nickel and it's your heart and it's the Bible and it's what you believe. I mean this rips out different parts of you all the time. Trying to make up, think's going to be a good law, but a fair law for all points and all people. It's just very encompassing. More than I ever dreamed. Well for sure it is. It more than you ever dreamed you become an expert at acronyms. I mean you threw out just several right there.
You were talking about T H C and CCB D and I didn't even mention the LBC and the coops, but that's a Snoop Dog reference in case you didn't get it. But yeah, I got you. Yeah, well you got it. I'm sure you did. There's a lot of driving in the lbc but it is amazing just how much we end up learning about and dealing with and things that I never thought I would even talk about.
I never would've thought when I came to the legislature in 2011 that I'd be talking about transgenderism some of the things that we talk about today. But Jeff, I we're wrapping up here going to the break. I really appreciate you coming on being my first guest. I think someday this is going to be a monumental thing in my resume that I'm going to put down. So hey, you made it for me. Thank you brother. I'm good for life. Take care. Appreciate you brother. See ya. Have a good show.
See you. Bye. Local news and weather now on the news 1 0 5 9 100 0.7 W SIC News talk Now. I'm Mike Jackson Ws IIC News, W S O C reporting that a 25 year old apparently drowned after he fell off a boat yesterday afternoon on Lake Norman near Blythe Landing Park in Huntersville. Multiple agencies were involved in the recovery channel nine identified the victim. S Dago Andres Osorio Garcia hired El Fire FireWire said the victim fell off the front of a pontoon boat and a 4th of July celebration was.
And good morning, we're back. This is all things saying, I'm your host representative Jason sa. Appreciate representative Jeff McNeely calling in as we kind of work through the kinks in our first show. Just trying to figure out the clock and making sure we sound okay and not embarrassing myself, my wife and my family is always a challenge and so we're work through it.
One of the things that we're wanting to do with the show is really just talk about things to just pop up right around the area around Lake Norman. Of course, I'm from Lincolnton, live in Lincolnton, lived in Denver for a long time over in Huntsville, Cornelius, Mooresville. I do want to talk at some point about my idea about a channel under Lake Norman. I can't get the funding for it yet, can't get Vicky Sawyer. And I really want to see this happen. Just going to channel under the lake.
So from Lincolnton to Mooresville, I could do it that way because I have a business in Mooresville as well as in Lincolnton. And so I'm on that highway one 50 route all the time. And trust me, I suffer it just like you do. It can't come, the expansion can't come soon enough. But speaking of things that pop up on Saturday, I was with a buddy of mine on the lake, just really just hanging out when the storm blew up and we had been looking at homes, trying to find a buddy's house, finally found it.
We were kind of south of the one 50 bridge over South Mooresville kind of. And we saw a storm blowing up. We thought, well we'll just head further south cause we can see it. We're watching it on our phones, figuring out that we could get past it. I, I've been on some storms on Lake Norman and nothing like what we were in on Saturday. It was pretty, I mean it was rough. It was incredibly rough.
I mean we had a lot of fun with it too, but because we're two guys on the lake thinking that nothing will happen to us. But there were a couple times where it got scary and we ended up getting under shelter under a dock. Wasn't hailing, but the rain was pretty penetrating.
But rough storms, rough seas. And for an inexperienced boater, I was kind of joking earlier about amateur hour on July 4th on the lake, and I don't know whether this person was experienced or not, but we did lose somebody on Saturday and I don't know what the cause was, but they were looking for him on Saturday, I think finally found him. But sadly he had passed away really because it's, I mean, it's rough out there. It can be rough out there and you know,
see it on the coast and you think, well that's different. That's the coast. But even in Inland Lake you will see some rough weather. So whenever you're out there, do practice safety. As you heard me talking earlier to McNeely, also stepping off a dock, you could easily hit your head, which I did not do, but I did take a little dip in the lake the other day. Lots going on. I mentioned the white powder found at the White House.
Some days you get up and you go, I can't believe what's happening next. We're at a place in this country that is a little dark. So you kind of got to take it in balance. You got to see what's happening nationally, internationally, we got wars. I mean nothing new there. There's always been wars, there's always things going on. But one thing I do know is that you can find a lot of comfort in home. We live here in the Lake Norman area.
The reason we chose this area and my wife and I, when we met in college and then decided to get married, she loved the area I grew up in. It is a lot different from a lot of places around the world. And as we tell people more and more people about it and they end up coming here,
which is a great thing. I'm not against growth at all, but as long as you acclimate to our culture and understand who we are and as long as we can keep that small town feel, even as we add people to our neighborhoods, I think we'll be in a better place. But again, it is fun to serve and to hear really the biggest thing that we do as representatives is interact with people and get 'em to a better place when they deal with state government. Now we also get a lot of calls that we can't handle.
Sometimes I get calls for garbage for the city of Lincolnton. I don't have anything to do with that, but I'm always happy to help people get to the right place and figure out what the problem is with the garbage pickup. Or it might be a congressional matter things that happen at the federal level, but we try to interact with all the offices and figure out how to get people to things and we do a pretty good job with that. Also, serving at state legislature is interesting.
Always love going out to schools and especially the third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade level. And talking to these kids and hearing from them what their perception of local government is, of what state government is. And finding out one,
always ask the question, how much do you think your legislator makes? And again, all kinds of figures from the fourth grade, fifth grade area, I've, I've been told that legislators make a million dollars, they make a hundred thousand dollars and I'm not arguing for a pay increase. That's not at all what I'm saying. But it's interesting to hear perspective of what people think happens and what
really happens. It's like that meme, you see what my mom thinks I do, what my dad thinks I do, what my boss thinks I do. And then the reality and reality is we sit in a lot of committee meetings for a lot of periods of times. And quite frankly for me, been able to add extra weight while sitting at the legislature because when you're there from eight o'clock in the morning till about eight o'clock at night
in meetings, it's not the healthiest of atmospheres. But nevertheless, I love getting home where you can get out, get into some sunshine. Rocking a nice tan right now. Hadn't shaved this week because, well, I'm kind of on vacation a little bit and not having to be in formal meetings. So if you're watching on video, this is pretty much mean. Usually more in a Columbia shirt when I'm out on the lake and flip flop.
So it's nice not to have to put on the suits and go to the meetings this week, but we will go back next week, try to wrap up this legislative session. I think in the next two weeks we're close on budget. I'm one of the senior appropriation chairs in the house, which means I get to spend 32 billion on your behalf and I try to do so wisely. But after it cuts into family time, we're bumping up close to family vacation and a couple of other things we want to do this summer.
And my wife has a nice honey do list that I kid actually my list. She goes, can't you be still? And I can't like going home and getting to my, and so they're really more my projects than her projects. But I've got a couple that I've dying and itching to get to. So we will mention that we will always talk about movies and music references. I'll drop few here and there. Again, just kind of the lifestyle of things that go on around us. We,
we've seen movies have stunk. I think since the pandemic, there's not been a lot of great ones. We did see the Marvel movie a couple weeks ago, the Guardians of the Galaxy Three. It was awesome movie. And my son went and watched the new Spider-Man animation series or movie with my wife, but I didn't get to see it because, well, I was stuck in Raleigh. But nevertheless, love to hear what you like, don't like. I heard a lot of feedback on this Barbie movie.
Of course we have a son. I have no interest in going to the Barbie movie, but I have heard some people talking about that. If you're a fan of Carins and if you grew up in this area, you probably are. I remember one of the things right after I got my license, my little high school girlfriend and I would go just about every day down to Carins. We get the season pass, go to the pool, ride the rides, do the things that you do at Carins.
I think things have changed a little bit since then, but what really scared me, and if you're a fan of rollercoasters, this should probably scare you and I, I've always tried to convince my wife that these things are safe. There's nothing to worry about. It turns out every now and then there is something to worry about.
And if you saw what happened at Carins where the rollercoaster had the crack in the support beam, pretty scary stuff because you could see daylight through that thing and glad nobody got hurt. But that would be one that's a little hard to convince the wife to come back and ride a rollercoaster. I've only gotten her on one time, it was at Myrtle Beach we were dating and then that's actually when she bit my shoulder. And when I say bit, I don't mean just a nibble.
There's nothing playful about it. She was scared to death. And at one point I guess it seemed when you're panicking and scared to death that it's okay to bite somebody on their shoulder. But we got through it and we love to tell about it. But I really appreciate all the feedback from on the show, people listening and watching online. Really appreciate that. This will be, I think a show that you'll appreciate and we'll continue into the future.
We're going to do this every Wednesday, whether I'm at the legislature or at home or maybe traveling. We'll got a way to do that and we will do that and really want to get your feedback on issues that you want to talk about. But in the next segment, we'll have callers call in and glad to have you on, talk to you, get your opinions, love to hear from you. I think the number is, if I tell you correctly, I don't want to mess that up, is 8 44 Studio four.
This is Jason saying on all things saying, really appreciate you listening. I. Really appreciate you listening and watching on the various social medias. Really for a first time show, as Representative McNeely was alluding to earlier, time flies. Oh my goodness, you think you're prepared for the hour, but you really cannot be prepared for time to fly like it does. This is the point in the show where you can call in. If you don't call in,
I'll just make it up. It's pretty easy. So love to have you call in, love to hear from you again. We will give you that number one more time. And my brain only works half the time, but it's 8 4 4 studio four. That's pretty easy to remember. Glad to take your calls. We'll do the best we can to monitor through and to get to your calls. If you call in talking about when time flies, it's, it's amazing just how long or how short a time that I've been in the
legislature. I was appointed in 2011 and my son was three and a half. Like I said, he just turned 15 on Friday. That is absolutely hard to imagine. One, it's hard to imagine that I turned 50 this year. Most people you age, age, age really to me doesn't really matter. But as some people do think that matters. To think that I'm almost 50 when in my mind I think I stopped at about 32. I still think I can do all those things that I could do at 32.
I learned that the hard way when I was cleaning up the boat on Monday again in that hot sun, which I didn't mind because when at the legislature, a lot of give and take and back and forth. And so that part I didn't miss on Monday because some days you feel like you haven't accomplished a lot as you are waiting on negotiations as you go back and forth. And so to be out able to work on the boat and to do it in the heat and the sun, as bad as that sound, it wasn't that bad except the next day.
Yesterday I felt it in my bones of my muscles and everything else. You forget just about that muscle memory. And my muscles had obviously forgotten about what it means when you spend all afternoon out in the heat and sun did hydrate very well, drink a lot of water, but it kind of goes through you when it's that hot again. The call in is two eight, excuse me, 8 44 Studio four and love to have you call in. If you're listening today,
we will do this show, like I say, every week. I know that Justin, the folks here at the station are putting on local leaders every day from 11 to 12, which is pretty neat. I've been on Vicky Sawyer show a number of times and on Jeff McNeely show a number of times. And so to see that continue to be added to that lineup is pretty neat for me to do and really enjoy all the people that we talked to in
the Lake Norman area. This morning I was coming to the studio, I'd never been in the studio in Cornelius where we're broadcasting from. And so I wasn't sure how to get to the upstairs suite where the studio's located. And so I just randomly opened one of the business doors and asked one of the nice ladies in there and then looked over and it was somebody I knew.
So it's just fun and good to be home just to run into people and talk to people that, and really that's at the heart of representative democracy. The founders had it right, that you go back home and you answer to the people that you represent and work through any issues that you have. And that goes for Republicans and Democrats too, by the way. We don't see that on the news so much at the legislature in Raleigh. I think we get overshadowed by what happens nationally.
About 80 to 90% of what comes across our desk, what we get to debate on the house floor, ends up not being that much of a debate. It might be correcting a few minor things, but in large part people agree. And even when they vote against the bill, they might say, well, I liked a lot about your bill, I just couldn't vote for the other part of it.
So it is interesting to have, once you go and see that, it's usually amazing for people who have never been to the legislature and take that on and they go, oh wow, I didn't think it worked that way. I didn't know that Republicans and Democrats actually interacted this year. I had a bill come through the legislature that had been one that last session we lost by one vote on the house floor. It was about sports betting. And there's a great article in the Charlotte Business Journal from yesterday.
Eric Sandberg had wrote about how the bill came to fruition. And large part, I don't gamble a lot. I do so it's kind of recreational, but was more fascinated by the fact that we were losing money to other states. Our neighbors to the North Virginia had just instituted casinos. They have sports betting, they have in Tennessee, has sports betting. And quite frankly, it's revenue that either goes shore or people illegally bet They were illegally
betting. And this law goes to effect in January, January of 2004 or 2024 and just in time for the Super Bowl, if you're looking to place your bet, because that is the big day that everybody thinks that they should bet on a game. But it came not from a moral standpoint of yes or no or opposed to it or for it, but just the understanding that it was happening anyway. And that providing transparency on sports betting, I thought was a better move for our state.
Got us to a better place to really know what's happening out there. To know. Are people in North Carolina betting on sports? Turns out, yes. Yes they are. I learned this was sitting at two cans one day for lunch over on at the one 50 Bridge. And two of my buddies who I watched sports with, whether it's baseball, football, basketball, pretty much love all sports are placing bets on their phone.
And I just asked the question, I said, and I won't out, I won't tell you who it is. If you know me well enough, you can probably figure it out. But I said, how are you doing that? And that's not legal in our state. I didn't think that you could do that. Cause I was on DraftKings. I do fantasy football, stuff like that. And they proceeded to tell me they're buddies going through a VPN and going through an online bookie and placing their bets.
And these are people that this not impacting their families one way or the other. They've got great families and great work ethic, great jobs, they're fine. But they were placing their bets and I couldn't figure out how they were doing it. And as they walked me through it, that's really the culmination of how this bill started. And so we ran it through last year. Got it. Almost passed a lot of obstacles, a lot of folks who just didn't understand it.
Fast forward a year later, it passed with a margin of over 20 votes on the house floor. Went to the Senate, passed there overwhelmingly, and we got the bill passed and got to sign the bill with the governor. Well, he signed it, but at the Hornets arena. And so we were downtown at Spectrum and really it was me and some of my colleagues. And because we were still in session, when you're the minority, it's easier to get away from session.
So a couple of my Democrat friends who had helped with that bill were there for the bill signing. So the governor and I don't talk much, but on this issue we agreed and got that bill signed. So I think it'll be a big windfall for, quite frankly, for sports enthusiasts.
It means more opportunities for our teams to stay in the state, the hornets, the hurricanes, the panthers all were very involved and engaged and wanted to see this happen as well as what it will mean for being a more competitive market. As we look to the future, I think Charlotte's, I can't remember what the most recent media market ranking is, but we're somewhere in the like 2021. So to keep a team is very important for us. And if you're a fan,
you really want that to happen. My son is a huge basketball fan. Hopefully with the trades and the signings we just had, maybe the hornets can be competitive again, we'd love to see that. But this will help them get there because the things that go along with it are the bigger exposure for the teams and more revenue for the team. So it just means that they can pay for better players. But all of that kind of came together this year, got that done.
And now we're working on budget usually, or should be done by July 1st. That's the start of the fiscal year. We're not the first legislature to ever make that date. I think it was the seventies when the last time they actually made the date on time. But we're pretty close to getting that finished and all it really means nothing stops in North Carolina because we don't, don't get a budget passed. What happens, we have a default continuing resolution.
So whatever was passed before continues up until the time we pass a new budget. So unlike Washington DC, we're not going to have these government shutdowns and things of that nature. We'll just get to it and get it done and work on it. What it does mean for departments and other elements of government is the money doesn't go out. And I believe we have a call in, I think we got Jason Moyer on line if I'm reading that right from Lincolnton. Jason? Yes. Representative saying, how are you doing?
I'm good man. How are you? I'm doing all right. I just had a quick question. I know you guys are short on time, but I want to get your quick opinion. What is the most pressing issue for the upcoming state budget? Well, quite frankly, we solved the biggest one, which was Medicaid expansion, which I voted against, but majority of my colleagues in the house and Senate voted for. So that was the big one. Now what's what we're really dealing with is how much we're going to spend on
what parts of government. I'm a huge fan of the highway patrol. I know it's hard for people to say that cause they're usually associate that with getting us speeding ticket, but I know these guys are guys and women are out there all the time putting their lives on line on our behalf and getting them a pay bump, a pay raise, because they're competing with municipal departments and with county sheriffs and so forth on pay. That is the biggest problem that we're looking at right now.
I think just figuring out what employee pays going to be. But we saw the big nut and we got through that and we'll get to the next one to crack. But really appreciate you calling in Jason and asking that question. There's a myriad of other issues we'll work through, but we'll get there. All. Well, I appreciate your service. Thank you for taking the. Call. Well, hey, really appreciate you calling in today. Take care.
And really that thanks. Really, that is one of the bigger issues that we look at as state government. Cause we've got to pay our employees and we don't want to grow the government too much, but we was with inflation and everything else that's pressuring us. We want to do the best that we can and make sure that we're giving the right services to the people of the state of North Carolina. I always say we can have nice things.
We want to keep in mind of how much they cost and making sure that we've got the revenue that comes in. I've been the appropriations chair and the finance chairman, or I'm sorry, yeah, appropriations chair now and the finance chairman. So I've, I've been in charge of raising the revenue but also spending it. But we try to keep it within bound, which is why our state is doing so well. It has been a wonderful hour with you. Really appreciate the call in.
Appreciate representative McNeely. Look forward to doing this every week. Thanks for listening, and we'll be back next week. Thank you.