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Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight says the Senate is in no hurry to take up the lottery the House passed Wednesday afternoon, so the lottery buzz may taper off a little in the next few weeks.

Senate leaders are busy enough anyway, putting the budget together behind the closed doors of a few rooms in the Legislative Office Building. The occasional public meetings are held to release various options being considered to meet the arbitrary budget targets set by Basnight and House Speaker Jim Black.

Budget writers have orders to cut $225 million from the health and human services budget presented by Governor Mike Easley. That’s disturbing enough since Easley ignored many human service emergencies like HIV/AIDS drug assistance and affordable housing.

But it’s scandalous when you consider that Easley is actually proposing a $59 million cut in the community alternatives program that serves people with developmental disabilities and mental retardation. The program provides services that keep people in their communities, with their families, and out of state institutions.

It would take $333 million to keep the program at current levels, serving the people who now receive services. Easley proposes spending $274 million next year. The Department of Health and Human Services does not keep a waiting list for the program, but that doesn’t mean that thousands of families are not still waiting for help.

If lawmakers adopt Easley’s recommendation, mental health advocates estimate that services will be reduced or eliminated for as many 1,200 people with disabilities.

And remember, budget writers are under strict instructions to spend less money than Easley’s budget, not more. If they don’t accept Easley’s cut to this program, that means they will have to find $275 million in reductions in other human services. Even that figure leaves no money for the other programs that Easley ignored or under funded.

So some families who qualify for services they need to have a decent quality of life get them, and some families don’t, simply because of arbitrary budget targets and a lack of political will among legislative leaders.

Sounds like we already have a lottery of sorts in North Carolina. And far too many people in need are losing.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 7th, 2005 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Read This. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.