A spending agreement between GOP Gov. Pat McCrory and the legislature’s Republican leaders brings the state closer to having a budget.
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The figure is $85 million more than the $21.65 billion target that Senate leader Phil Berger suggested several weeks ago, noting that the spending increase would represent population growth and inflation.
With a gentlemen’s agreement on the spending limit set, house and Senate budget conferees must now decide on the finer points – how much to allocate for K-12, health care, public safety, as well as teacher and state employee raises.
The announcement means budget subcommittees for government spending categories can work in earnest on their differences.
The two chambers previously passed budget proposals almost $700 million apart for this year.
To give themselves more time for negotiations, lawmakers have passed two different temporary spending measures. It’s the second such “continuing resolution” since the last fiscal year ended on June 30, and a third extension is possible if no deal is reached. “We remain committed to working with the House and Senate to find common sense solutions that create jobs, strengthen education and fund critical infrastructure in North Carolina”, McCrory said in a statement.
The House budget proposed giving state employees an across-the-board raise of 2 percent.
Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, the House’s top budget writer, argued more spending was needed to catch up on services following the Great Recession.
“We’re not looking just at today”, said Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, co-chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Dollar has been the target of recent mailers from Americans for Prosperity state chapter blaming him for a “wasteful state budget”. Lawmakers must now work out how the $21.735 billion will be spent. In particular, they have differed over how much money to spend in the new year. House Republicans have said they’ll fight to preserve the assistant funding at last year’s levels.
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The House has not yet taken those proposals up.
