Michael Speciale, a candidate for the N.C. House of Representatives, spoke at the Beaufort County Republican Club on Thursday night.
Speciale will face Democratic nominee Robert Cayton of Edward next month in the Nov. 6 general election. Their district — District 3 — includes parts of Beaufort and Craven counties and all of Pamlico County.
Speciale spoke mostly about the state’s economic issues.
“We need a Taxpayer Bill of Rights,” Speciale said. “They’ve had this for years in Colorado, and that has saved them a lot of money.”
With such a “bill of rights,” Speciale said, state taxes could not be raised without putting it to a vote.
Speciale also recommended zero-based budgeting, which requires each government-funded program be justified each year instead of being funded based on the previous year’s budget.
Speciale suggested reviewing programs every two to three years.
“If we went to zero-based budgeting, everything would be on a cycle and every program would be reviewed on a regular basis,” Speciale said.
In Speciale’s view, the state budget has continued to grow because legislators are not paying attention or reading all of the bills that cross their desks.

He promised to read every bill before voting on it, if he’s elected.
Many bills come in at the end of the legislative session and are tacked on to bigger bills, he said.
“Too many times, I’ve called the legislator and asked, ‘Why did you vote for that bill?’ and been told, ‘I didn’t know it was in there.’”