Budget

North Carolina lawmakers have introduced a plan to increase state spending by more than $1 billion.

The budget draft introduced Monday afternoon would grow starting teacher salaries, give state employees a 2% raise and put $120 million toward a film grant program. The $22.2 billion draft budget roughly represents a 5% increase compared to the current state spending plan.

 A group of teachers and supporters dropped off a 61,000-signature petition to lawmakers on Thursday, demanding pay raises that do not result in destructive cuts to public education.

They carried the 14 heavy and large cardboard boxes to the offices of Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Thom Tillis, who are currently leading the efforts to raise teacher pay. 

The House of Representatives has been busy working on a budget plan for the state and other large pieces of legislation. Here's a summary of the days news from the State Capitol:

The centerpiece of the spending plan lawmakers are adjusting is pay for public school teachers. A five percent raise is what House Speaker Thom Tillis and his colleagues are suggesting.

That’s almost the mid-point between the two existing budget outlines. The governor has suggested a two-percent raise, and the senate an 11-percent raise.

 State lawmakers are considering a bill that would reduce funds for school buses over the next five years. 

The House bill would limit the number of spare buses and their replacement parts, while revising the state inspection process for school bus maintenance.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Julia Howard (R-Davie, Forsyth), says the legislation would make school bus operations more efficient, while saving about $19 million in recurring funds over the years.

Baby Boomers have less financial security in retirement than their parents did. That's according to a PNC Financial survey.

The company recently surveyed about 1,200 adults across the country and found that half of retirees are worried about running out of money.

Kathy Kraeblen is a senior wealth advisor for PNC in Raleigh. She said previous generation had a combination of a pension, social security and better savings habits, and they didn't live as long. But, Kraeblin said, Boomers can still learn to budget and re-adjust their investments.

Banks, businesses and non-profits are joining forces to help North Carolianians take control of their money.

A report from the finance web site WalletHub found that the Tar Heel State ranks in the bottom-third nationally for financial literacy.

Jan Dillon is the director of the new North Carolina Center for Financial Literacy.  She said financial literacy is knowing the skills to live comfortably within one's means, like budgeting, saving and planning.

Rep. David Price (D-NC) plans to vote for the budget agreement, proposed on Wednesday by representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Patty Murray (D-WA). Though he's not convinced it will be enough in the long run.

"It's hard to imagine sequestration looming over us for ten years," said Price.  "We are going to need to do something bigger and ambitious at some point."

"It does not necessarily mean we're on our way to larger agreements," Price added.

Governor Pat McCrory has a teaching degree. His grandmother was a teacher and his sister taught for 20 years in Wake County. He says frequently that he respects the profession and that teachers are the most important part of the state’s public education system.

The Governor continued that line of praise in his speech at the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s Education summit.

“I have a great admiration for teachers and they have a greater challenge than any of us have in this room at this point in time,” he said.

It depends on what you consider good for business. If you head to the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s website, you can see many of the positive rankings North Carolina has received from business media outlets: No. 1 Best Business Climate from Site Selection in 2012, No. 4 Best State for Business by Forbes in 2012, No. 4 America’s Top States for Business by CNBC in 2012.  Most of the organizations doing the ranking look at a similar group of factors, although they each give those factors different weight in their decisions.

Both houses of the State Legislature have passed a final $20.6 billion dollar budget. Much of today's debate in the House and Senate centered on the cuts to public education. Those cuts include eliminating about 2,000 teacher assistant positions and ending teacher tenure.

"You cut a half a billion dollars out of education in this budget in order to make up for the tax giveaway that you did for the wealthy and the out-of-state corporations," said Democrat Martin Nesbitt,  the Senate Minority Leader.

A busy week at the General Assembly starts today. Republican Leaders in the House and Senate hope to wrap up the session this week. But first they will have to approve a final budget.

That budget was posted online last night (pdf). It contains some provisions that are close to Senate President pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Thom Tillis, who have been meeting behind closed doors for several weeks to hammer it out.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Leaders in the North Carolina House and Senate announced Sunday that they have reached agreement on a $20.6 billion budget that will end teacher tenure and allow taxpayer money to be spent for private school tuition.

Highlights of the budget negotiated by the Republican majority were issued in a news release. The actual appropriations bill was released to the public late Sunday night.

Lawmakers in the state House and Senate are busy negotiating over a budget.

It's July 19th and state legislators know the clock is ticking. They're traditionally expected to come out with a budget for North Carolina by July first, when the new fiscal year starts.

Lawmakers in Raleigh may end tenure for public school teachers. That’s if a provision in the proposed Senate budget remains in the final budget under negotiation.

Tenure for public school teachers isn’t the same as tenure for college professors. For one, it’s much easier to fire public school teachers with tenure or, as it’s described in the education world, to “counsel them out of teaching.”

State lawmakers say they're nearing consensus on tax reform. Speaker of the House Thom Tillis says the House and the Senate are close to an agreement.

Potential tax code changes could change the level of funding state budget writers would be able to spend. But there's not much time left before the fiscal year ends for lawmakers to agree on a state budget plan.

Tillis says legislators plan to take that up very soon.

The co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee has resigned from that group to protest changes to his legislative body's tax reform plan.

Senator Bob Rucho submitted his resignation letter to Senate President Phil Berger earlier this week. Rucho was the main architect of a Senate tax reform proposal that would have expanded the sales tax while lowering personal and corporate income tax rates.

But Berger put forth an alternate plan that would repeal corporate taxes without expanding the sales tax base as extensively. Rucho says he was disappointed by the move.

State lawmakers in the House have begun to debate their budget proposal.  Republican representative Nelson Dollar told his fellow lawmakers the budget plan is a good one.

"We are pleased to have a new governor here in Raleigh. We think that the spirit of reform has come to our state capitol. We believe our budget has caught the winds of reform and is moving us forward," said Dollar.