Senate leader ready to close session without budget deal

Ever since Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the Republican-penned $24 billion budget in June, GOP House and Senate leaders have been working to persuade legislative Democrats to help them override the veto. So far, they've been unsuccessful.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said Thursday he's not sure when or if that will happen. But, he added, it may not matter much.

Berger, R-Rockingham, said the aggregate expenditures in the dozen or so mini-budgets lawmakers have passed, combined with the ongoing spending in the continuing budget, "will be very, very close to what the total spend was on the budget that we adopted," with the exception of funding for capital construction projects.

He said he expects two or three more mini-budget bills when the Senate comes back Oct. 21.

"We’ll definitely try to move as much of the budget across the finish line as possible and finish up for the most part, as far as policy matters, by the end of this month," he said.

Most of the spending bills so far have received bipartisan support, but Berger predicted a forthcoming tax cut bill will be more divisive. He said it would contain the franchise tax cuts and other tax changes that were included in lawmakers' budget.

"We’ve known for years that the Map Act was something that we were going to have to have money for, so they’ve known about that. We also, for at least a year, have known the issues dealing with the extra money that was utilized to pay for damage during the hurricanes," Berger told WRAL News. "The question is, among some members, why has this all of the sudden come up as a crisis, and what could they have done to manage through it?

"I think there's going to be an effort to try to address the problems that we have currently that are creating some real issues for small businesses as far as layoffs and that sort of thing," he continued.

Agency defenders have pointed to laws setting a minimum and maximum for the DOT's cash reserve as one reason for the fiscal straits that have left pre-planning for some 900 projects on hold.

Berger said there's "a $600 [million] or $700 million dollar window" between the DOT's mandated cash floor and cap.

"The question is, did they really have to spend completely through that window? Could they not have managed that a little bit better?" he asked. "We’re looking into it, but my suspicion is that they probably could have managed it better."

WRAL News contacted DOT to find out why no proposal has been submitted yet. Thursday evening, Steve Abbott with the DOT sent this statement:

NCDOT has been working closely with members of the General Assembly since the beginning of the legislative session in relation to the impact of storms on the cash balance. In April, Governor Cooper sent a letter to NCGA leadership encouraging continued collaboration to address the impact storms were having on the department’s operation budget. In August, Secretary Trogdon provided the leadership with an update on the situation.

In addition, the impact of Map Act settlements and additional storm-related expenses have further exasperated the cash balance issue. Most recently, the Cooper administration made a request for $50 million to help address Hurricane Dorian expenses by the department.

NCDOT staff continue to work with members of the General Assembly on this issue. While this complicated work moves forward, we are continuing to manage our cash balance to remain above the legislatively mandated cash floor.”