The Raleigh Report

From the Office of Cullie Tarleton

July 14, 2008

As expected, we voted on and approved the budget last week. It now awaits the signature of Gov. Mike Easley.

This budget, $21.4 billion, reflects our continued commitment to better education, accessible, affordable healthcare and an improved economy. We also invested in public safety, the military and our environment. It’s a budget that does a lot to help people make ends meet without raising any taxes in these challenging economic times. I’ve included some details of the plan below. You can also view the entire documents by visiting www.ncleg.net.

This week, we will handle the last pieces of legislation we’ll consider this session and then adjourn, hopefully at the end of this week.

Education

  • $11.4 billion – not including salary increases – to education.

  • $30 million to expand More at Four preschool program

  • $15 million in grants to help schools and groups working on dropout prevention

  • $6.2 million more for children with disabilities

  • $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 million more for instructional equipment at community colleges

  • $4 million more to support allied health programs at community colleges

  • $34.6 million for enrollment growth in the UNC system

  • $15 million for campus safety recommendations from the UNC Campus Safety Task Force

Economy

  • $10 million to the Rural Center to provide grants and investments in severely distressed rural areas

  • $5 million for the One North Carolina Fund to stimulate job growth

  • $7 million for the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund to finance apartments for people with disabilities

  • $2 million more to the North Carolina Housing Trust fund to provide decent, safe and affordable housing for people with low to moderate incomes. The trust fund is now $10 million a year.

  • $1 million for the Green Business Fund to encourage the growth of a green economy by providing grants to small businesses

  • $500,000 in additional money for the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development

Taxes

  • Expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to 5 percent beginning with the 2009 taxable year – the EITC first went into effect in the 2008 taxable year due to action by the General Assembly in 2007

  • $8.5 million to extend a tax credit for small businesses that provide health benefits to their employees

  • Creation of a disabled veterans' property tax homestead exclusion to give disabled veterans and their surviving spouses a break on their property taxes

  • $1.4 million for a three-day sales tax holiday on energy-efficient appliances

  • Repeal of the state gift tax in 2009

  • $2.2 million for clarifications to reduce the amount of the State estate tax

  • $1.9 million for sales tax breaks for artisan bakeries, interior designers, and equipment refurbishers

  • $100,000 to expand the tax credit for donations of renewable energy equipment

Health

  • $9.4 million to expand NC Health Choice insurance program by about 7,300 children, for a total of 129,700 enrollees

  • $4.8 million in aid to local health departments

  • $4 million for grants to rural health centers, health departments, free clinics and others providing preventive care

  • $2.1 million for mental health screening and assessments in adult care homes

  • $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 million for substance abuse programs

  • $1.5 million for the state’s food banks

Mental Health

  • Cut spending for Division of Mental Health by $86 million

  • $8.1 million for expanded local psychiatric inpatient services

  • $7.3 million for 107 new positions at the state’s psychiatric hospitals

  • $6.1 million for walk-in crisis and immediate psychiatric aftercare

  • $1.85 million to provide clinical and operational improvements at state facilities.

Transportation

  • Reduce transfer from the Highway Trust Fund by $25 million this fiscal year and increasing amounts in subsequent years.

  • Reduce DOT central administration budget by $12 million

  • $24.5 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

Military

  • $1.5 million for the Defense and Security Technology Accelerator, which develops businesses related to homeland security and national defense.

  • $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 getting special attention

  • $326,500 for scholarships and related educational materials for children of veterans killed or disabled during wartime.

Public Safety

  • $10 million for gang prevention, suppression and intervention grants

  • $2.5 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

  • $650,000 for domestic violence shelters

  • $600,000 to train sheriff’s departments in immigration enforcement 

  • $500,000 increase in funding for Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, in addition to restoration of $22.6 million in funding following a continuation review

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 to continue land preservation efforts for a total of $170 million this biennium

  • $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

  • $2.46 million for drought relief

  • $500,000 for green industries education and promotion

Salaries

  • $390 million for raises for teachers and state employees

  • 3 percent for teachers for a total of 8 percent over this biennium. Starting teachers would get raises comparable to the minimum of $1,100 for state employees.

  • Starting pay for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree would be about $31,000, excluding local supplements.

  • Starting pay for a teacher with a master’s degree would be about $34,000 $90 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.

Notes

Locally, there is $4.2 million planning money for ASU’s Health Science building, $25,000 for Horn in the West, $2.5 million for Ashe County Airport to begin their runway expansion and additional money for both Ashe and Watauga Counties from the lottery fund.

I had two bills passed last week. H-2666 gives the Ashe Hospital Police some authority they need and H-2496 adds two tracts to our State Park System.


"I make this promise to the citizens who live and work in Ashe and Watauga counties. I will fight hard for you. I will not let you down. You have my word."

Cullie Tarleton