Standing pat on the 3 R's: the governor scores big with roads, rules and job readiness.

• Author: Hood, John

By most accounts, Gov. Pat McCrory emerged politically battered and bruised from his first legislative session. His off-the-cuff comments triggered blistering press coverage. His poll numbers fell sharply. The Republican-led General Assembly flicked aside his vetoes as if they were gnats. In his 2012 campaign, McCrory had run on a "Carolina Comeback" theme. The state's economic woes were the major reason former Gov. Bev Perdue didn't seek re-election, why McCrory won so handily and why his party expanded its legislative majorities and even won most of the state's county commissions. Accustomed to stronger-than-average economic growth, North Carolinians were shocked to discover that the Great Recession of 2007-09 had erased a decade of income gains and left their state with one of the nation's highest unemployment rates. They voted for change.

What they got was a raucous 2013 legislative session of broadsides, protests and controversy over social issues. Did McCrory's economic agenda fall by the wayside? Some observers make that argument. Here's one indicator of what they have in mind: A Google News search in mid-August found nearly 6,000 stories mentioning "Pat McCrory" and "voter ID." Compare that with 4,500 covering "Pat McCrory" and "economy."

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While the governor's messaging problems are manifest, if you compare his agenda for economic growth with what the General Assembly enacted, he got nearly everything he sought. The session produced dozens of new policies that proponents believe will improve the state economy. Some, such as changes in unemployment insurance and a tax package that cut marginal rates on personal and corporate income while limiting or abolishing dozens of deductions and credits, earned extensive media coverage. But other business-related bills became law without much fuss, sometimes with bipartisan support. For example, only nine of the 170 members of the General Assembly opposed final passage of House Bill 817. It reshaped North Carolina's transportation budget with a funding formula that puts more emphasis on reducing congestion and creating jobs. House Bill 74, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2013, was more contentious, but four Democrats joined with most Republicans to pass it in the session's waning days. Only one legislator voted against Senate Bill 14, which strengthened career and technical education in public schools. Call them the three R's of economic development: roads, rules and...