N.C. Senate’s 2010-11 Budget Recommendations: General Government

The 2010 Senate Budget
Introduction
General Government
Public Education
UNC System
Community Colleges
Justice and Public Safety
Health and Human Services
Transportation
Natural and Economic Resources

The North Carolina Senate’s 2010-11 budget recommends a reduction in spending for General Government operations. If the budget were passed as it currently is proposed, there would be a 1.3% reduction in the 2010-11 General Government budget approved in last year’s two-year budget plan.

Nearly every department saw significant reductions in operating expenses as well as position eliminations. The biggest expansions occurred in the Criminal Law Enforcement Automated Data Services and in various sections of the Governor’s Good Government Package, which is aimed at reducing political corruption.

One discrepancy between the Senate and Governor Perdue’s proposed Budget of note is the Senate calling for a $250,000 reduction to the Museum of Art compared to Perdue’s plan to expand the Museum’s funding by $1.1 million.

Significant expansions and reductions include:

Expansions:

• $9.5 million for Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services (CJLEADS). The program is designed to integrate “criminal justice information” into a centralized system. Perdue’s budget plan also includes the same amount of expansion for this program.
• $450,000 for the Governor’s Good Government Package: this would be used to develop software that would make reporting on campaign finances more efficient and reliable for candidates. This is the same amount of funding that the Governor requested in her budget proposal for this purpose.
• $613,440 to fund licenses for the Revenue Department’s imaging systems used to view taxpayer returns.
• $547,600 to increase funding for the State Ethics Commission, in agreement with the Governor’s proposal. This is also part of the Good Government Package.

Reductions:

• $850,732 from the Home Protection Program under the Housing Finance Agency, in anticipation that these funds will be replaced with federal funds. The Program offers interest-free loans from the state to people who have lost their jobs. The loans are to be used to pay mortgage payments and other related expenses like homeowner’s insurance during a temporary period of time.
• $243,115 from the Domestic Violence Program.
• $151,119 from the Rape Crisis Program.
• $936,133 from Local Library Grants.
• Operating budget cuts in every department. Position eliminations or personnel transfers in many of the departments.