Budget Update:
The General Assembly adjourned on Tuesday, August 11th for 2009. They are to return for the Short Session on May 12, 2010 at noon. On the last real work day for the Senate, President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight (D-Dare) announced that both the Senate and House Finance Committees would be charged to meet during the Interim and come up with recommendations to modernize the tax code. Sen. Basnight followed that up with the prospect of a Special Session dealing only with the tax code. Recently quoted in the paper, Speaker of the House Joe Hackney (D-Orange) did not sound keen on the idea of a Special Session. Over the years, there have been several study commissions, led by a variety of NC opinion leaders that wrote several reports with such recommendations. Some pundits say they already know what to do to modernize the tax code and it does not need more study. Read the NC Budget & Tax Center’s brief at http://ncjustice.org/?q=node/155

Many programs throughout state government suffered deep budget cuts or elimination. Many of the dramatic cuts proposed in the early House version of the budget were reversed or scaled back. Advocates and grassroots across NC were galvanized to take action to let lawmakers know that budget savings must be balanced with revenue enhancements.