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WRAL.com archive: 2011-12 state budget
After the House got enough Democratic support in a late-night vote to override Gov. Beverly Perdue's veto of the state budget, Republican senators completed the historic feat Wednesday afternoon.
House lawmakers met just after midnight on Wednesday to override Gov. Bev Perdue's veto of the two-year state budget.
The General Assembly has returned to work the day after Gov. Beverly Perdue issued a historic veto of the budget.
Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed the General Assembly's $19.7 billion, two-year budget Sunday afternoon, saying that she will not put her name "on a plan that so blatantly ignores the values that have built this great North Carolina."
Gov. Beverly Perdue cited improvements in North Carolina's high school graduation rate Tuesday as evidence that the state needs to continue to invest in education.
In an attempt to appeal for more education funding in the state budget, Lee County Schools stepped over the line, a lawmaker said Monday.
The North Carolina Senate ratified a $19.7 billion, two-year budget Saturday morning, sending the first Republican-penned state budget in more than a century to the desk of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.
The North Carolina House passed a $19.7 billion, two-year budget early Saturday, concurring with the Senate. After the Senate ratifies the bill Saturday morning, it is headed for the governor's desk where she will have up to 10 days to act.
A Wake County legislator apologized Friday night to the governor for calling her incompetent in comments caught on an open microphone earlier in the day. Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam was among members meeting in a closed strategy session who did not realize that the audio in the room was being picked up and piped throughout the Legislative Office Building.
Gov. Perdue is counting on Democrats to side with her on the budget. The Senate voted 31-19 to pass a $19.7 billion spending plan for next year, and that vote is veto-proof. But in the House, the Republican majority is four votes short of being veto-proof.
The State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday on a resolution declaring that the current $19.7 billion state budget proposal would do "irreparable harm" to schools and students.
Republican lawmakers contend that their budget proposal saves teaching positions, but school officials say it simply pushes cuts to the local level.
The state Senate debated for more than three hours Wednesday before providing key approval to a $19.7 billion spending plan for next year.
Gov. Bev Perdue hasn't formally said she'll veto the new GOP budget deal. But she might as well have.
House and Senate Republican leaders are touting a new budget deal they say reduces spending and allows temporary taxes to expire while protecting the classroom.
While Republican leaders spent the day touting their "bipartisan" budget deal, Senate Minority Leader Martin Nesbitt said today Senate Democrats don't like it.
Republican lawmakers banked Tuesday on a new $19.7 billion budget proposal for next year to bypass long negotiations with Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue, a plan that would preserve funds for 13,000 teaching assistant positions while letting temporary taxes expire on time.
So who won, who lost, and where'd they find a spare quarter-billion dollars? Here's a quick overview.
Late Monday night, the Senate posted its compromise spending plan. Teacher assistants may be breathing a little easier.
Thousands of teacher's assistants in elementary classrooms are facing the chopping block under the state Senate's $19.4 budget proposal, which was unveiled last week and includes cuts to education spending overall.
State Senate lawmakers may be on the verge of cutting a deal with the governor on education spending.
As North Carolina lawmakers continue to figure out how to deal with a $2.5 billion state budget shortfall, leaders in the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention say they are facing serious cuts that could prove devastating to the state's criminal justice system. The Senate will discuss the budget during a session set to begin at noon Tuesday. Watch it LIVE on WRAL.com.
A provision in the proposed $19.4 billion state government spending plan by the North Carolina Senate could mean transferring the State Bureau of Investigation and its crime lab from the Department of Justice to a new public safety department.
As the state Senate prepares to vote next week on a $19.4B budget plan, heads of state agencies said today the cuts in the proposal will affect everyday services from public safety to health care.
The state Senate updated its 2011-12 budget proposal late Monday, just hours before negotiations were to begin over the bill. The compromise adds about $240 million to education spending to put the Senate's bottom line at $19.68 billion.
Advocates of Smart Start say the Senate budget proposal would essentially "dismantle" the nationally-recognized early childhood program.
Funds for the state court system would be slashed by nearly three-quarters in the state Senate's proposed budget, ending the jobs of advocates who help crime victims navigate the legal system.
Senate Republicans unveiled their $19.4 billion plan for North Carolina state government on Tuesday, saying there's plenty for Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue to like in it.
The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention says the state House's proposed $19.3 billion budget bill could put some serious young criminal offenders back on the streets.
It's been a month since 37,000 unemployed people in North Carolina lost their jobless benefits sooner than expected, a consequence of the budget battle between Republican lawmakers and the governor, and some of those affected are struggling to make ends meet.
Lawmakers have proposed reducing the state Capitol Police force by 45 percent.
A battle raging in the state legislature is more than a game of politics for a Garner woman, one of 37,000 unemployed people in the state whose jobless benefits were cut short last month.
Educators, students and Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage Wednesday about Senate Republicans' proposal to make deeper cuts to state education spending than those approved last week in the House.
If the House of Representatives' version of the state budget is approved, Wake County schools Superintendent Tony Tata says the educational cuts could impact about 1,000 school employees.
Teacher assistants in North Carolina public schools are fighting to keep their jobs, which could be lost as the state government and local school districts cut their budgets.
Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters today his caucus doesn't plan to try again to extend benefits for 37,000 jobless North Carolinians.
Thousands of people fighting cuts to education spending in North Carolina's budget gathered on Tuesday in downtown Raleigh in hopes their voices would be heard in the General Assembly.
NC House Republicans held an unusual Monday afternoon press conference today to combat what they say are exaggerated estimates of job losses under their budget proposal.
The NC House is set to start debating its $19.3B budget proposal Tuesday at 9:00am. Here's a much shorter preview from Friday's On The Record.
House Democrats said today the GOP budget proposal will "have a severe and profound impact" on services. Republicans say they're exaggerating.
From tonight's 6pm newscast, a short recap of today's budget debate in the House Appropriations committee.
The House's budget proposal, H200, was posted online late this afternoon before tomorrow's committee debate. So what's in it?
House budget bill H200 was posted online late Tuesday afternoon before Wednesday's Approps debate. So what's in it? Here's Part 2.
House Speaker Thom Tillis defended more than $100 million in new and higher fees today, while touting an upcoming tax cut package for businesses.
House Democrats say the $1.2 billion in proposed education cuts for next year rolled out by their Republican counterparts this week are reckless and could lead to more than 20,000 job losses unless the GOP agrees to extend some of the temporary taxes set to expire.
State House and Senate leaders say they're on target to finish their budget proposal by June 1.
Proposed cuts to the six major areas of state government were released tonight. I'm posting my notes as I look through them.
Proposed cuts to the six major areas of state government were released tonight. I'm posting my notes as I look through them.
Proposed cuts to the six major areas of state government were released tonight. I'm posting my notes as I look through them.
Both Gov. Bev Perdue and Republican leaders cast the impasse as a disagreement over spending, with benefits for 37,000 jobless workers caught in the middle.
The debate over the state budget has complicated efforts to pass a bill to extend unemployment benefits for about 37,000 North Carolinians facing the loss of their financial lifeline on Saturday.
The House on Tuesday began unveiling its plans to cut spending enough to erase a projected $2.4 billion deficit for the fiscal year that starts in July.
North Carolina's public university system says state budget cuts could mean thousands of fewer classes across the 16 campuses and job losses for more than 1,000 faculty members.
House budget writers said Wednesday that they would delay the release of their next round of spending reduction options until next week.
Talk of spending cuts as state lawmakers grapple with a nearly $2.4 billion budget gap prompted the decision to shut down a Smart Start program in Halifax County.
Former Gov. Jim Hunt championed the creation of the Smart Start early childhood education program more than a decade ago. Now, he's coming to the program's defense as lawmakers consider ending it.
WRAL's David Crabtree and Laura Leslie go "On the Record" about the state budget with Rep. Henry Michaux, D-Durham County, and Sen, Richard Stevens, R-Wake County.
Republican legislative leaders on Wednesday set an $18.3 billion spending target for the fiscal year that starts in July, about $1.6 billion less than the budget proposed last week by Gov. Beverly Perdue.
County officials across North Carolina expressed concern Thursday over Gov. Beverly Perdue's plan to balance the state budget by shifting some costs to the county level.
Most of a temporary increase to North Carolina's sales tax rate would remain in place, state parks and welcome centers would close two days a week and about 10,000 government jobs would be eliminated under a two-year spending plan outlined Thursday by Gov. Beverly Perdue.
State parks would need to close two days a week to reduce spending and help balance the state budget, under a proposal outlined Thursday by Gov. Beverly Perdue.
It's not Monopoly, but Gov. Bev Perdue's Web site has unveiled an interactive "Balance the Budget" challenge that gives computer users the chance to pick and choose between 100 spending and savings options to close what she calls a $2.4 billion gap for the next fiscal year starting July 1.
The group that represents many North Carolina state employees on Tuesday rolled out a series of ideas from its members about how to close the state budget gap.
The state budget dominated Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's second State of the State address Monday evening to a Republican-controlled Legislature with the governor pledging to include in her spending plan funding to help more high school students go on to college.
About 20 students protested in Chapel Hill Friday as the University of North Carolina Board of Governors approved proposals to increase tuition and cut dozens of programs at public universities across the state in order to prepare for state budget cuts.
Gov. Beverly Perdue took to the Internet Wednesday to deliver some big budget news.
People at highest risk for many chronic diseases could be lose the preventative care they need if deep cuts are made in the state health care budget, leaders of some preventative care organizations say.
The new Republican leadership in the General Assembly wasted no time in the opening days of the legislative session spelling out their spending priorities as the state faces a projected $3.7 billion deficit.
North Carolina lawmakers will consider slashing the ranks of university professors and raising college tuition during the General Assembly session that begins Wednesday, overshadowed by a budget crisis that could eliminate some degree programs.
The General Assembly resumes work shortly under complete Republican management for the first time in 141 years, facing acute choices on balancing North Carolina's budget due to GOP campaign promises and Democratic reliance on new taxes and federal funds.
North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson is asking school officials to consolidate business services and some academic units to reduce administrative costs in advance of significant budget cuts by the state.
State budget issues could mean the loss of 260 to 360 teacher positions in the Wake County school system next year, but high student enrollment could stave off those cuts.
UNC campuses might soon have to compete to retain duplicative degree programs and courses, new UNC President Tom Ross said Friday.
Gov. Beverly Perdue on Tuesday requested that all state agencies trim their spending by 2.5 percent during the remainder of the 2010-11 fiscal year, which ends in June.
The governor wants to consolidate several state agencies and privatize some state operations, such as information technology.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday she wants to consolidate several state agencies, eliminate support functions and freeze hiring to streamline state government and save money.
Downsizing could likely be part of a strategy that Gov. Beverly Perdue will announce Thursday to help balance the state budget.
State agencies have put thousands of jobs and numerous services on the chopping block to help erase a projected shortfall in next year's budget of more than $3 billion.
North Carolina's commissioner of agriculture said Wednesday that he will not suggest areas to cut his department's budget, despite Gov. Beverly Perdue's request that agencies pinpoint ways to trim spending.
Responding to warnings this week from top Republican lawmakers about deep budget cuts next year, Gov. Beverly Perdue said Friday that the final state spending plan would reflect her funding priorities of job creation, education and core services.
Top Republican lawmakers say their plans to balance the state budget next year solely through spending cuts will likely be painful for many people.
The prospect of another year of budget cuts is raising concern on UNC campuses about their ability to retain top faculty members.
UNC President Erskine Bowles said Thursday that leaders of the system's 16 university campuses should be prepared to fight to keep tuition money in the coming year.
Facing an estimated $3 billion shortfall for the 2011-12 budget year, North Carolina's state's budget director has asked all state department heads to plan for spending reductions of up to 15 percent.
The University of North Carolina system is bracing for another year of deep cuts, and officials said Friday they fear the latest round will severely impact classroom instruction on their campuses.
In a memo to the leaders of all state departments Thursday, the North Carolina state budget director advised them to plan for spending reductions of up to 15 percent in the next budget cycle.
The National Conference of State Legislatures surveyed 35 states to get a picture of their fiscal health heading into the 2011-12 budget year. Thirty of the states are projecting deficits that total $72 billion.
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