IN THE CAPITOL
Friday, July 29th, 2005
By Chris Fitzsimon
Associated Press
LONG WEEKEND? House and Senate budget-writers vowed to work through the weekend if needed to get a two-year spending plan complete and approved before the latest stopgap spending measure expires Aug. 5. The two sides met into the evening Thursday as they tried to work through some remaining differences within agencies such as health and human services. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford, one of the chief Senate negotiators, said they also haven’t settled on pay raises for state employees or changes to their health insurance plan. But Ms. Hagan said the two sides know they have roughly $224 million to fashion pay raises for state workers and teachers. That likely will mean a pay raise more to the liking of the House, which set aside more money than the Senate for pay in the first year of the spending plan. Negotiators confirmed that a finance package is largely in place except for a cigarette tax increase.
TEACHERS UNHAPPY: The North Carolina Association of Educators urged lawmakers not to cut money for teacher assistants and to boost salaries in the upcoming budget. Budget negotiators have proposed a $47 million reduction in spending for teacher assistants, which the NCAE said would cut 2,025 assistants.
VOTING MACHINES: After weeks of discussion in committee, a bill breezed through the Senate floor that would allow only three types of voting systems in North Carolina starting with next year’s elections. The bill would limit election systems to optical scan ballot machines, electronic recording machines or paper ballots counted by hand. Electronic machines bought after that date also would have to provide a paper copy of a voter’s ballot, which could be corrected by the voter before they are recorded.
TAXES AND TAGS: The House gave tentative approval to a bill that would allow automobile owners to pay their property taxes and their license tag renewal at the same time. Currently there’s a monthslong lag between the tag renewal and the property tax bill. Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, the bill’s primary sponsor, said the measure could cut down on delinquent tax payments and help cities, counties and fire districts collect $80 million more combined annually.
MILITARY SUPPORT: The Senate hopes the military knows how much North Carolina appreciates it in a bill the chamber moved forward. The chamber moved forward the 2005 Military Support Act, which includes provisions that make it easier for military spouses to acquire professional licenses in the state. It also would return a portion of gasoline taxes collected on military bases back to those bases for conservation grants aimed at preventing encroachment, among other uses.
CONSUMER LOANS: The House Finance Committee rejected a bill that would have created a new class of unsecured consumer installment loans of up to $1,200. The state’s 567 consumer finance outlets argue they can’t offer such loans under the state’s current lending rules because the interest and fees fail to cover the cost of servicing them.
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