Poor, disabled and elderly facing major cuts in Senate DHHS budget proposal
Senate leaders are looking at major cuts to health and human services programs that serve the poor, disabled and elderly in order to pay for teacher raises and fund Medicaid to required levels. The...
View ArticleNaming the Senate budget
It looks like the North Carolina Senate will ram through its version of a state budget sometime early Saturday morning under the cover of darkness. It will be an apt time for this dreadful piece of...
View ArticleAbsurd Senate budget process heralds arrival of legislative silly season
We’re just a couple of weeks into the 2014 session of the North Carolina General Assembly, but the annual legislative silly season has already commenced. Not familiar with silly season? That’s the time...
View ArticleMoral Monday protesters denounce Senate budget ‘shell game’
Moral Monday demonstrators came to Raleigh this week to protest fracking and the state’s failure to expand Medicaid. That didn’t stop them however from weighing in on the Senate’s budget plan, which...
View ArticlePitt County Schools budget director: Senate budget proposal makes teachers...
Michael Cowin, Assistant Superintendent of Finance for Pitt County Schools, had some startling words for Pitt County School Board members last week, when he presented them with the Senate’s 2014 budget...
View ArticleEditorial on teacher assistant cuts: Berger knows his explanation doesn’t wash
In case you missed it, Raleigh’s News & Observer has an excellent editorial today that takes Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger to task for his wrongheaded action to fire thousands of teacher...
View ArticleSenate likely to propose fewer dollars for schools in next round of budget...
This week the Senate kicks into high gear as it hammers out the final details of its budget proposal, and one likelihood is coming into sharper focus—Senators will probably propose spending a lot less...
View ArticleThe people have spoken: It’s time to reinvest
Across the nation, the post-recession recovery has been slow and North Carolina is no exception. This is due in large part to historically low public investment. State leaders have turned to austerity...
View ArticleTeacher assistants descend on General Assembly to voice opposition to Senate...
About a dozen teacher assistants from all over North Carolina came to the General Assembly Wednesday to tell lawmakers they’re not happy with the prospect of losing a significant chunk of their...
View ArticleThis Week’s Top Five on NC Policy Watch
1. Senate pushes to eliminate health retirement benefits for North Carolina’s teachers and state retirees Buried deep in the Senate budget proposal that lawmakers passed last week is a provision that...
View ArticleTime for public health action
After reading this fact sheet from the American Public Health Association (APHA), it is apparent that NC policymakers need to take action in order to improve our state’s public health. If our state...
View ArticleHow come a right-wing group already has a copy of the Senate budget?
The conservative Pope-Civitas Institute sent out an action alert last night in which it informed the folks on their mailing list that “page 120 of the NC Senate budget” includes “two lines of...
View ArticleZika: A new reason to expand Medicaid
While Congress continues to debate whether to allocate $1.9 billion to combat the Zika virus, state policymakers are urging Congress to take action in addition to calling on their state public health...
View ArticleThis week: What you need to know, where you need to be to follow...
The Magic 8 Ball’s messages are hard to read this week in that we know a) there will be an attempt to override Gov. Cooper’s veto of the hog nuisance lawsuit bill. But when that will happen, well...
View ArticleQuick hit: Senate’s environmental budget cuts key positions, services at DEQ
F ew people have had time to take a deep dive into the hours-old, 857-page Senate budget and accompanying policy document. But at first glance, the Senate appears to be punishing the NC Department of...
View ArticleSenate budget snubs Raise the Age funding; eliminates money for emergency,...
The Twittersphere praised Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger yesterday when he touted that the budget included a provision for Raise the Age legislation. What he failed to mention is that the budget...
View ArticleAbsurd “special provision” emblematic of Kafkaesque Senate budget
There are countless objectionable aspects to the new Senate budget proposal at the General Assembly. As Chris Fitzsimon explained yesterday afternoon, the proposal is highlighted by unwise tax breaks,...
View ArticleAnalysis: In Senate budget large farms win, small farms and the environment lose
T he Senate could not be clearer about its policy priorities for the state’s agriculture barons. While lawmakers continue to prop up industrialized farm operations through, for example, the passage of...
View ArticleNC Senate budget fails low-income housing, military and veterans; eliminates...
[Note: The following analysis pertains to North Carolina’s general government agencies. Every state across the country has general government agencies that provide core public services and functions...
View ArticleSenate passes budget plan, debates “philosophy and approach”
The N.C. Senate gave preliminary approval to its $22.9 billion budget bill Thursday evening. In a straight party-line vote, the spending plan passed its second reading 34-15 and will have its third...
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