Free Republic

State legislators have gone home. That's a good thing.The session began in May with much hope that with better economic times, lawmakers would seize the opportunity to give taxpayers a much-needed break and repeal the "temporary" taxes enacted during the 2001 recession. Many hoped that the General Assembly would also seize the opportunity to adopt a constitutional amendment protecting property owners from eminent domain abuse. Instead, the General Assembly made half-hearted attempts to appease taxpayers and property owners. Lawmakers trimmed back those tax increases, but wouldn't eliminate them altogether. As far as protecting property, the General Assembly repealed legislation that...

(snip)....Under a three-year contract that went into place Feb. 1, state agencies are directed to buy all their office supplies from Atlanta-based Office Depot. In the past, agencies had been allowed to choose from several companies, including several North Carolina suppliers. "The small businesses are the ones who pay the most taxes back to the state," said Christopher Sharpe, vice president of Piedmont Office Suppliers in Greensboro. "It won't put us out of business, but it will definitely hurt the bottom line." He estimated the contract will cost six independent suppliers in the state more than 100 jobs and $24.5...

(snip).... Under the proposal, the state would absorb the counties' Medicaid expenses. In return, the state would take all revenue from a 1-cent sales tax known as the Article 39 sales tax. Revenue from that tax currently goes to counties and municipalities. Forsyth County, and other large counties with substantial retail bases, oppose the proposal because the revenue they get from the 1-cent sales tax is greater than the amount they pay for Medicaid. In the 2005-06 fiscal year, Forsyth County budgeted $32 million in revenue from the sales tax and $15 million in Medicaid expenses. Because there was no...

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina can take on more than $214 million in new debt annually for the next 10 years and remain financially sound, the state treasurer said in a report Thursday. The report from State Treasurer Richard Moore recommends a 4 percent ratio of debt service to state revenues as a prudent target debt level, or $214.4 million a year for each of the next 10 years. The figures are part of his yearly debt affordability study, given to Gov. Mike Easley and legislators. Last year's study recommended no new debt for the next three years given a...

Last Monday, the day before the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the state's 2005-07 spending plan, Gov. Mike Easley's office came out with some good news for the state's budget situation. The governor's office reported that state revenue collections were projected to be $428 million more than anticipated.That should have sent senators jumping for joy. Common sense would have said that such a spike in revenue collections would mean that lawmakers could scale back the litany of tax increases and fees that they had planned. Common sense did not prevail. Instead, Senate budget writers proceeded with their plan to increase taxes...

RALEIGH – The 2003-04 session of the General Assembly ended Sunday with a congratulatory round of back-patting and what amounted to an open meeting of the inside-the-Beltline chapter of the North Carolina Mutual Admiration Society. (snip) House Speaker Jim Black sounded a major theme of the post- adjournment afterglow when he told the Associated Press that his alliance with Republican Co-Speaker Richard Morgan had proven to be a productive one. "Everybody predicted chaos and thought it was going to be the end of the world," he said, but in fact his two-year coalition in the House "began in terrible fashion...

Carolina Journal ExclusivesEasley Proposes $16 Billion Budget Adjustments would hike spending on state employee compensation, debt service, other items By Paul Chesser May 11, 2004 RALEIGH — Gov. Mike Easley released his mid-biennium budget term adjustments yesterday, which he said maintained his priorities for spending discipline, creating jobs, and improving public education. “I think it sets priorities,” the governor said, “and reflects the priorities of the people of North Carolina.” Easley’s plan states that it would increase “non-federal spending” by $876 million over last year. Because authorized General Fund spending for FY 2003-04 was reported as approximately $14.8 billion, the...