Last week, I was able to share with you some of my goals for this session.
This week, the House approved a proposed budget that gives financial support to those goals.
The budget we approved helps families make ends meet, improves education, expands access to health care, supports our military, protects our environment, works to make our communities prosperous and safe, improves transportation and strengthens confidence in government.
We also continue to make the most efficient use of your money by eliminating outdated programs and trimming budgets when necessary.
We did this without any tax increases and were still able to add $62 million to the state’s savings, increasing the fund to nearly $850 million, and put $65 million into the state’s repair and renovation fund.
This budget now goes to the Senate, which will draw up its own plan. A committee of representatives and senators will then meet to work out differences before sending the plan to the governor for final approval. Our goal remains to have the final budget approved by the end of this month.
Below are some of the major budget expenses proposed by the House. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the proposal and thank you as always for your interest.
Education
Public Schools
· $11.4 billion — not including salary increases — to education, about 54 percent of total budget
· 3 percent salary increase for teachers for a total of 8 percent increase in this biennium
· $5 million to pay for one paid day of personal leave for all teachers
· $15 million in grants to help schools and groups working on dropout prevention
· $45 million to cover additional fuel costs for school buses
· $23 million to help expand More at Four by nearly 4,200 slots
· $11 million to improve instructional technology in the schools
· $6.1 million to establish a mentoring program for all first- and second-year teachers and for first-year instructional support personnel
· $6.2 million more for children with disabilities
· $6 million more for The Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Fund
· $4 million to implement healthy food standards for schools
· $3.6 million to expand Learn and Earn high school programs, which allow high school students to earn college credits
· $3.2 million more for academically gifted students
· $2.9 million for supplemental funding to low-wealth counties
· $1 million more for pilot programs at eight high schools where each student and teacher will get a computer.
Community Colleges
· $23.8 million to fully fund enrollment growth in the community colleges and an additional $2.5 million for an enrollment growth reserve fund
· $5.5 million more for instructional equipment at community colleges
· $4 million more to support allied health programs at community colleges
· $1 million for minority male mentoring at community colleges. The money will allow the program to expand to 17 more colleges
University of North Carolina system
· $14.6 million for enrollment growth in the UNC system
· $12.8 million for campus safety recommendations from the UNC Campus Safety Task Force
· $4 million to expand medical schools at ECU and UNC-Chapel Hill. Additional students will study and provide service in Asheville, Charlotte and parts of eastern North Carolina
· $3 million to help develop the North Carolina Research Campus at Kannapolis; $1 million to help Rowan-Cabarrus Community College operate community college programs at the site.
· $3 million toward installation of dormitory fire sprinklers
Economy
· $17.7 million for Job Development Incentive Grants.
· $10 million to the Rural Center to provide grants and investments in severely distressed rural areas
· $3 million to expand home protection and foreclosure prevention programs through counseling and loan programs
· $7 million for the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund to finance apartments for people with disabilities; $2 million in additional recurring money for the trust fund, increasing its recurring appropriation to $10 million
Taxes
· We trimmed taxes by about $50 million in this budget, meaning more money for working families, small businesses and disabled veterans, among others.
· $21 million to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to 5 percent for a total of $69 million in credits this biennium for working class families
· $10.1 million to extend and increase a tax credit for small businesses that provide health benefits to their employees
· $8.6 million to give disabled veterans and their surviving spouses a 50 percent property tax exemption
· $1.2 million for a three-day tax holiday on energy-efficient appliances
· $1 million to extend a tax credit for research and development expenditures
· $1 million to extend a tax credit for use of the State Ports
· $500,000 to allow for a sales tax exemption for items purchased by disaster victims with disaster assistance payments
Health
· Cut funding for Community Support Services by $86 million
· $10.4 million to expand NC Health Choice insurance program by nearly 10,700 children, for a total of 133,000 enrollees
· $8.2 million for additional services for the developmentally disabled
· $5 million for grants to rural health centers, health departments, free clinics and others providing preventive care
· $5 million in aid to local health departments
· $5 million to increase dental reimbursement rates
· $3.75 million to pay for networks that coordinate free health care for low-income and uninsured patients
· $2 million for obesity prevention efforts
· $2 million to help operations at rural hospitals
· $2 million for Home and Community Care block grants, which help pay for in-home and community based services for seniors
· $2.1 million for mental health screening and assessments in adult care homes
· $1.5 million for the state’s food banks
· $1 million more for grants to programs working to prevent chronic illnesses in minority populations, bringing the total to $3 million
Mental Health
· $8 million for 10,000 new bed days in local psychiatric hospitals
· $7.3 million for 107 new positions at the state’s psychiatric hospitals. These include 63 at Broughton Hospital, 24 at Central Regional Hospital and 20 at Cherry Hospital.
· $6.1 million for walk-in crisis and immediate psychiatric aftercare
· $5.75 million for 30 mobile crisis intervention teams. Includes startup money for 11 new teams in addition to the 19 existing ones
· $5.2 million to keep the Dorothea Dix Overflow Unit open after the opening of the new Central Regional Hospital.
· $1.85 million to provide clinical and operational improvements at state facilities. These improvements include better training and supervision of direct care staff, better pharmacy management and the addition of information technology and accounting jobs.
Transportation
· Reduce transfer from the Highway Trust Fund by $25 million and invest the money in congestion relief.
· Reduce DOT central administration budget by $12 million
· $19.3 million for highway maintenance that extends the life of infrastructure, such as pavement, bridges and traffic signals
· $1.8 million more for secondary road construction
· $1.8 million for aid to municipalities
· $1 million in grants to support short-line railroads
Military
· $1 million for grants to provide community support and quality of life programs at military installations
· $1 million for traumatic brain injury services, with veterans and their families among the targeted groups
· $500,000 to expand scholarships and related educational materials for children of veterans killed or disabled during wartime. Total amount for the program would be $10.2 million, including $7.4 million from escheats fund.
· $200,000 for the Defense and Security Technology Accelerator, which develops businesses related to homeland security and national defense.
Public Safety
· $10 million for gang prevention, suppression and intervention grants
· $3 million for a reserve fund to address critical staffing and resource needs in Probation and Parole field offices
· $1.1 million for the Rape Victim Assistance Program to pay for forensic rape kits
· $1 million in recurring funding for sexual assault and rape crisis services
· $1 million increase in funding for Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, in addition to restoration of $22.6 million in funding following a continuation review
· $1 million for domestic violence shelters
· $1 million to train sheriff’s departments in immigration enforcement
Environment
· $50 million to the Rural Center to help local governments address critical water and sewer needs for a total of $150 million this biennium
· $50 million for Land for Tomorrow land preservation efforts; total of $170 million this biennium
· $6 million for drought relief, including $3.9 million for agricultural drought response
· $5 million for the Biofuels Center to help develop alternative fuels
· $4 million for farmland preservation for a total of $12 million this biennium
· $5.5 million for matching money for drinking water system improvements
· $2.5 million for matching money for wastewater treatment improvements
· $600,000 for green industries education and promotion; $411,000 for the Green Business Fund to encourage the growth of a green economy
Ethics
· $312,000 for the State Ethics Commission to increase staffing, reduce the backlog of work and provide legal materials
· $260,000 to hire additional workers at the State Board of Elections to audit campaign finance reports and educate candidates, committees and the public
Salaries
· $390 million for raises for teachers and state employees
· $70 million in ABC bonuses for teachers at schools that meet or exceed expectations.
· 2.75 percent raise, or $1,100, whichever is greater for state employees. The tipping point is at $40,000. A 1 percent pay increase for state employees costs $71.1 million.
· 2.2 percent cost of living increase for retirees. A 1 percent COLA for retirees costs $33 million. This year, most of the increase was paid for with actuarial gains from the retirement system.
Meetings/Events
I plan to attend the following meetings/events:
Please invite me to attend your county, city, community or civic, etc. meetings or events.
As I’ve said many times before, I hope you will continue to let me know how you feel about the issues that are being debated by the North Carolina Legislature and the challenges you and your family are facing each day.
By working together, we can make Northampton, Vance and Warren Counties and all regions of North Carolina a better place to live, work and raise a family.
Please remember that you can listen to each day’s committee meetings and press conferences on the General Assembly’s website. Once on the site, select “audio,” and then make your selection — Appropriations Committee Room or Press Conference Room. You can also use the website to look up bills, view lawmaker biographies and access other information.