Harold Hardison

Harold Woodrow Hardison (1923–2015) was an American politician from North Carolina.

Hardison was a Freemason and Shriner who served in the United States Army Air Forces from 1942 to 1946 in the Pacific War. He founded the Humphrey-Hardison Oil Company and was a member of several municipal organizations in his hometown of Deep Run, North Carolina. He was elected to one-two year term as a Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1970, then won the first of eight consecutive terms in the North Carolina Senate during the 1972 election cycle.[1] During his single term as a state representative, Hardison was engaged in discussions on redistricting.[2] Hardison subsequently occupied the seat representing the fifth senatorial district from Lenoir County.[3] Throughout his tenure on the state legislature, he became known for Hardison amendments, which forbade state agencies from enacting environmental regulations stricter than the federal standard.[4] As a state senator, Hardison held chair positions on the Senate Appropriations Committee,[3][5] the Senate Ways and Means Committee,[6] and co-chaired the state's Select Committee on Education.[7] In July 1981, Hardison co-sponsored a bill allowing the Office of State Budget and Management the power to oversee public school finances.[5][8] In February 1983, Hardison stated that a drunk driving bill backed by Governor Jim Hunt would raise $2.5 million in revenue, and incur $1 million in costs.[9] During the 1984 election cycle, Hardison ran unopposed.[10] Hardison filed to contest the Democratic Party nomination for the 1988 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election in January,[11] and engaged in a debate on collection of monetary damages owed to accident victims in civil cases.[12]

Hardison died at the age of 92 on 9 September 2015.[1][4]