Joe Hackney (born September 23, 1945, in

Chatham County, North Carolina Chatham County ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

Democratic member of the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, ...

from the state's fifty-fourth House district, including constituents in Chatham, Orange, and

Moore Moore may refer to: People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior officer in the British Army * Moore Powell (died c. 1 ...

counties. A farmer and attorney from

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, Hackney served as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

for two terms and thereafter served as House Minority Leader until he chose to retire rather than seek another term in the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

in 2012.

Early life

Hackney was born on September 23, 1945 in Chatham County, North Carolina. He grew up on small dairy farm near Silk Hope in Chatham County, where he was the youngest of five children. Hackney attended

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...

before transferring to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

, where he earned bachelor's and

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degrees. He worked as a prosecutor from 1971–74 before going into private practice. In 1974, he was campaign manager for Congressman Ike Andrews. While an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, he wrote his Honors Thesis on the history of the North Carolina corrections system.

Family

He is married to Betsy Strandberg of Rocky Mount, North Carolina; they have two grown children, Dan and Will. Dan lives in Charlottesville, Va., and is employed at Sperry Marine as a software engineer. Will is a musician and a principal in Chapel Hill-Carrboro based Trekky Records, an independent record label. Hackney is the great great grandson of Daniel Hackney, who represented Chatham County in the North Carolina House of Commons in the 1840s and 1850s.

Career

Hackney has been a partner in the Chapel Hill law firm of Epting & Hackney since 1974, currently emphasizing civil litigation and domestic relations. In addition to practicing law, Hackney operates the family beef cattle farm in Chatham County with his brother, Jack Hackney.

Legislative highlights

He served two terms (four years) as Speaker

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence o ...

of the state House, and two terms as House Majority Leader (or ''Democratic leader'', when no party had a majority in 2003–2004). On January 10, 2007, Hackney was nominated by the Democratic majority as

. He was elected speaker when the new legislature convened on January 24, with all 68 House Democrats supporting him. Hackney was reelected speaker for a second two-year term in January 2009. He was embroiled in a controversy during his tenure as Speaker when, on July 9, 2010, he relieved pastor Ron Baity of his duties as honorary chaplain of the House over the content of a prayer. After Democrats lost their House majority in the 2010 elections, Hackney was elected to continue leading his party as Minority Leader. He also became co-chairman of the House Ethics Committee in the 2011–12 session and was the only House Democrat given a committee chairmanship by Speaker

Thom Tillis Thomas Roland Tillis (born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from North Carolina since 2015. A Republican, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2006, and began ser ...

. Hackney served as President of the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

(NCSL) for a one-year term starting in July 2008. In that role he led an organization made up of all state legislators and staff. NCSL advocates on behalf of states before Congress and the federal administration and provides professional development opportunities for legislative staff. In 2007, the

awarded Hackney its Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award. In February 2012, Hackney announced his intention to retire as House Minority Leader after his term ended. Hackney has been consistently rated in the top ten for effectiveness (out of 120) by peers in the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research survey, when the House is in Democratic control. He rated 5th in 1992 survey; 4th in 1994 survey; 4th in 1999 survey; 5th in 2001 survey; 4th in 2003 survey; 3rd in 2005 survey; and 1st in 2007 survey. He has sponsored many pieces of significant legislation, including the phosphate detergent ban; the Waste Management Act of 1989, which established an aggressive policy on reducing solid waste in North Carolina; the .08 DWI bill, lowering the permissible level of

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...

for drivers; the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, giving additional protections to taxpayers dealing with the N.C. Department of Revenue; domestic relations reform measures, including bills to streamline procedures for equitable distribution, alimony and divorce; in 1995, a new rewrite of alimony laws and DWI laws; in 1997, Governor's DWI reform bill, including vehicle seizure and forfeiture provisions, and three equitable distribution reform bills; in 1999, clean air, clean water, and sedimentation bills, HMO liability, and DWI improvements.

References

External links

Epting and Hackney law firmJoehackney.com
official site
North Carolina General Assembly – Representative Joe Hackney (Dem)
official legislative website
News & Observer "Under the Dome" Profile
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackney, Joe 1945 births American prosecutors Living people North Carolina lawyers Speakers of the North Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni 21st-century American politicians