Author
Final budget cuts North Carolinians’ priorities while keeping them out of the process
The conference budget released by the NC General Assembly on Monday night puts business interests and politics ahead of people while bringing North Carolina to a new low in terms of spending as a share the economy (with the exception of the prior year, FY 2020-2021, when prior state spending commitments were maintained and no […]
Proposed uses for NC’s flexible funds from American Rescue Plan vary widely
North Carolina’s share of State Fiscal Recovery Funds – flexible dollars allocated to North Carolina from the American Rescue Plan – present the opportunity to address new and long-standing needs across the state by infusing dollars at a once-in-a-generation scale into communities. Our analysis to date shows that the state House and Senate’s proposed plans […]
Legislature’s plans for the use of American Rescue Plan funds fall short in three important ways
Click here to view and download a comprehensive list of the ARP items from the NC House and Senate budgets. The $5.4 billion in flexible funding that North Carolina received from the federal American Rescue Plan presents a tremendous opportunity for the state. With such an unprecedented cash infusion, state leaders have a rare opportunity […]
Four takeaways from the House budget proposal
On Monday evening, the N.C. House of Representatives finally released its proposed two-year budget for the state, which is expected to pass the chamber by the end of this week. The House budget proposal is only marginally different from the Senate’s, and restricts spending to an arbitrary spending limit like the Senate’s proposal. It also […]
Nine ways the Senate budget falls well short of what North Carolina needs
Nine ways in which the North Carolina Senate's budget proposal falls short;
Five takeaways from the Senate’s budget proposal
This past Monday evening the North Carolina Senate released its much-anticipated budget, providing further details that demonstrate just how limiting the General Fund spending cap is for our communities. The Senate budget represents a missed opportunity to recognize the importance of public investments in addressing the needs of North Carolinians: educational achievement through a sound, […]
State lawmakers recommit to failed austerity despite ongoing pandemic, documented hardship
For months, the state’s legislative leaders have been negotiating the fate of North Carolinians and our shared future behind closed doors as they decide on a total spending figure for the biennial state budget. Yesterday, they reached a decision to maintain their status quo approach, despite unprecedented hardship for North Carolinians. The arbitrary spending amount […]
Four important takeaways from the Governor’s budget proposal
Last week, Gov. Cooper released his recommended budget on the use of funds in the state’s primary bank account, the General Fund. In his first comprehensive plan for the state since 2019, the Governor would plan would shift the course of North Carolina’s spending trends, increase investments modestly in state infrastructure, and implement common sense policy changes that help […]
The American Rescue Plan is the relief North Carolinians need
Yesterday, the American Rescue Plan was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and President Biden is expected to sign it into law shortly. The scale of relief included in the bill — totaling $1.9 trillion — is just what is needed to meet this unprecedented public health and economic crisis and will support millions […]
The NCGA can and should do more to address the harms of COVID-19
This week, the General Assembly quickly introduced and passed additional COVID relief legislation, but in a process that lacked transparency in ensuring equitable deployment of public dollars. House Bill (HB) 196 appropriated the remaining $1.7 billion in federal money that was allocated to North Carolina in the Congressional relief package passed in December. While the bill took necessary action to ensure that state agencies can […]
U.S. House COVID relief bill is the response North Carolinians need
Today’s passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a comprehensive COVID relief bill is an important step forward. A recovery is still far off, and the greatest risk now is that Congress will do too little, rather than too much. The pandemic has caused widespread financial pain, with people of color often hit the […]
NC General Assembly can afford to go all-in to address COVID-19 harm
Leila Pedersen and Suzy Khachaturyan contributed to this post. As legislators return to Raleigh this week, the state’s latest Cash Watch data for the week of Jan. 11, 2021, shows that North Carolina has $4.4 billion in unreserved funds — leftover after meeting current appropriations and available to meet current needs. State lawmakers should appropriate these dollars […]