N.C. Republicans join in support for budget bill

RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic House Speaker Joe Hackney says he's not surprised the chamber is giving broad bipartisan support to its budget bill for the coming year.

The House scheduled the second of two required votes Thursday on a $21.3 billion spending plan. On Wednesday, a majority of Republicans in the House joined with Democrats in passing the bill by a vote of 102-12.

Hackney says the budget works to keep the state's fiscal house in order while the economy is slowing down. The plan increases government spending by a little more than 3 percent. That's only one-third of the increases in the last two budget laws.

"We just did not have the funds with which to do (things), and we could not do it without raising taxes to a great extent," Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham, who is the senior co-chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said as the debate began. "Our conservative budgeting has worked well."

Republican Rep. Nelson Dollar says he supported the measure because it doesn't raise taxes and starts the phase-out of an annual $172 million transfer from a dedicated transportation fund.

"There are good things in the budget that can be supported by both sides," said House Minority Whip Bill McGee, R-Forsyth, adding that he would vote for the budget. "The overall (growth) rate this year is acceptable. It's less than the cost of living."

The person most unhappy with the spending plan may have been Gov. Mike Easley, who said Tuesday that House Democrats were "stiffing the teachers" by failing to support his proposal to raise their average salaries by nearly 7 percent.

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Latest Comments

It wouldn't take $21 Billion to run the entire United States if government were conducted as mandated in both the federal and state constitutions.

ifcdirector
June 5, 2008 5:42 p.m.

Actually there will be more money in the Transportation Trust fund because they are putting back the money they 'borrowed' and now DOT can get back to the business for which the money was intended. Just like the raid on the State Employees Retirement System a few years back.

LMRA
June 5, 2008 4:43 p.m.

Remember his promises when you vote. This is nothing new, to promise one thing and can't deliver. Wait until you see the big lies on the national level.

OLD PIRATE 2
June 5, 2008 4:23 p.m.

I wish the House would come and sit my 80-85 degree office everyday with no air circulating and then tell me they can't give me a decent raise. It's time these clowns were replaced and November is coming up. Teachers definitely deserve more money and so all state employees. If my department would allow me to telecommute, then I would be ok with little raise. At least I have AC that works in my home.

catwoman1
June 5, 2008 4:14 p.m.

The only proper role for government is to protect our fundamental rights. Government should provide rule of law, protect property rights, and enforce contracts. Anything else that it does is unnecessary at best, and immoral at worst; definitely immoral if funded through the collection of taxes based on implied threat of coercive force.

We need to dramatically cut state spending, eliminate the state income tax, and transition most of the "services" provided by the state to private, voluntarily formed and funded non-profits, and/or private for-profit firms.

21.3 billion dollars to the State? No way, this is absurd.