As Senate and House lawmakers meet to negotiate and pass a new state budget, one area likely to receive additional scrutiny is the Senate budget plan to fund $1.1 billion in new ... Keep Reading
pro-life
County Medicaid Swap Or Comprehensive Reform?
Senator Dan Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg) has recently developed a proposal to shift all nonfederal Medicaid costs in North Carolina to the state government. Unfortunately, this plan ... Keep Reading
Mixed Messages: Spending Priorities Don’t Reflect State’s True Needs
As legislators prepare to go into conference to finalize the FY2007-09 budget, the public is getting mixed messages about what programs are really essential to the good of the ... Keep Reading
Too Much of a Bad Thing? Questions About $1.22 Billion in New Debt
As the Senate and the House begin the process of reconciling what are two vastly different approaches to spending and taxation, it is a good time to review what is, perhaps, the ... Keep Reading
FY2007-2009 Budget Roundup: A Comparison of the House, Senate and Governor’s Budgets
With the House’s refusal to concur with the Senate budget last night, now is a good time to summarize the strengths and weaknesses of the three different spending plans. The ... Keep Reading
Baby Steps Toward Universal Healthcare . . . NC Health Choice and NC Kids’ Care
The good news in both the Senate and House budgets is that the expansion of NC Health Choice is again limited to 6 percent a year. The bad news is that legislators want to create a ... Keep Reading
Senate Budget Introduces Continuation Review
The Senate has taken a new approach to funding for select line items, nonprofits, and other non-state entities. All told, 32 organizations and state divisions have been put on ... Keep Reading
What Lies Beneath: “Hidden” Costs of Government in the Budget
The FY2007-09 budget bill recently approved by the House increases the price of state government by $637 for a family of four compared to last year. This continues an alarming ... Keep Reading
COPs and Robbers: Certificates of Participation Replace Bond Referendums
In light of the rapid expansion of long-term state debt and changes in how capital projects are being financed in North Carolina, it is imperative that legislators restore public ... Keep Reading
Outside the General Fund
The General Fund Availability Statement of the House budget states that General Fund appropriations are $20.3 billion. This sum is paid with revenues from taxes, fees, transfers ... Keep Reading
