Even with 'mini budgets,' parts of state government not seeing new money

The budget standoff between Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislative leaders is approaching three months. While some state employees have gotten raises, others haven’t, and a lot of other proposed spending remains in limbo.

Cooper vetoed the budget over lawmakers' refusal to include Medicaid expansion in it and because the plan didn't raise teacher salaries as much as he wanted, but instead cut taxes paid by businesses.

The House was able to override the veto two weeks ago, but no override vote has been scheduled in the Senate, where the GOP majority must either get one Democrat to vote with them or wait until even Democrats are absent for Republicans to constitute three-fifths of those present and voting.

Since no new budget has been enacted yet, state government is running on its spending levels for the 2018-19 budget year. That means services are being provided and the lights are staying on, but there's no money for new spending.

Over the past few weeks, state lawmakers have put together some spending bills – so-called "mini budgets" – that supply money for new spending for a few areas.

In August, lawmakers approved 5 percent raises over two years and bonus leave for state employees, corrections officers, State Highway Patrol officers, State Bureau of Investigation agents and Alcohol Law Enforcement officers.

This month, they’ve passed spending bills to provide $112 million for disaster recovery from Hurricane Florence – an aid bill for Hurricane Dorian is expected later – $68 million for school safety upgrades, $6 million to test rape kits that have been sitting for years in law enforcement evidence rooms statewide and $4.4 million for prison safety upgrades.

So far, teachers, school workers, university and community college employees have not received raises.

Republican legislative leaders said they’ve advanced bills only for sections of the $24 billion budget that weren't controversial. Teacher raises have been a point of contention, with Democrats and Cooper pushing for larger raises than the GOP.

"The idea was to build trust and show the people of this state that the legislature and governor can reach agreement on some items," Pat Ryan, a spokesman for Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said in an email. "I believe that all or nearly all of the bills that we passed (including the ones that Governor Cooper vetoed) contained funding provisions that were just about identical to what the governor has included in his own budget proposals."

Lawmakers also passed a bill to pay for Medicaid's transition to a managed care system, but Cooper vetoed it.

Like the budget, that proposal is waiting in the Senate for a veto override vote.