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I hope you find this information useful and that you'll contact me about your views. You can reach me in Raleigh at (919) 733-5601 or by sending me an E-mail at this address. You can also send me mail at the NC Legislative Building, Room 2215, Raleigh,NC 27601-2808.

IN THE NEWS

BUDGET UPDATE: $21.3 BILLION APPROVED 

Last week the North Carolina House approved a budget that provides assistance to families, improvements in education at every level, salary increases for teachers and state employees, funds to increase campus safety and strengthen law enforcement, improved protection for our natural resources, assistance to military members and their families, and improvements in infrastructure and economic development.

Despite a challenging economic environment, the House was able to do all of this and more without raising or creating any new taxes. In fact, we were able to cut taxes by over $50 million and invest $62 million in the state’s savings and $65 million in the repair and renovation fund. Outdated or ineffective programs were eliminated and budgets were adjusted to insure that we continue to spend your money as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The state’s Earned Income Tax Credit was expanded to give relief to working families, tax credits were increased for small businesses that provide health benefits to their employees, and a three-day tax holiday for purchasing energy-efficient appliances was created. The budget also includes $460 million for salary increases and bonuses for our teachers and state employees, and provides a cost of living increase for retirees. 

The mental health budget was adjusted to deal with the serious problems of mental health reform. Wasteful programs were cut and money reinvested in delivering the best possible service to those most in need, including 107 new staff positions at the state’s psychiatric hospitals and 30 mobile crisis intervention teams. Short-term treatment and aftercare programs were strengthened to ensure that appropriate care is delivered before crisis situations develop. Additional money is allocated for advanced training and supervision for workers at our state institutions.

Of particular interest to Cumberland County, funds are allocated to provide for enrollment growth at Fayetteville State and FTCC, increased campus security, a fire training tower at FSU and FTCC’s 3D technology project, an incredible innovation and the only such project in the country. $1.7 million is allocated for capital planning at FSU, and funding for the Child Welfare Collaborative, which gives scholarships to students in the FSU Social Work program in exchange for a commitment to service in local Child Protective Services, is also expanded. Funding is also maintained or expanded for the Cumberland County Arts Council and Public Library, the Fascinate U science museum, the Defense and Security Technology Accelerator and the NC Military Business Center.

Cumberland also benefits from this budget with increased funding for an additional Assistant District Attorney for the county, increased aid to the local health department and the Area Health Education Center, additional staff at the county Juvenile Detention Center, as well as significantly increased funds for children with disabilities and the Academically and Intellectually Gifted programs.  PTA parent initiative and Kids Voting pilot programs in our county are also funded, and funds are increased for the Child Advocacy Center and the 2nd Harvest food bank.

As part of our continues commitment to our troops, military families will benefit from $1 million in quality of life and community support grants, and families of service members who are injured or killed will be given expanded scholarship opportunities and a 50% property tax exemption. $1 million is also invested in traumatic brain injury services, benefiting TBI patients including injured veterans and their families.

I am proud of the thoughtful and dedicated work that your Cumberland delegation and the whole NC House of Representatives put into this budget. As many of you know, I am currently recovering from back surgery, but I am happy to report that I was able to be a full participant in the formulation of the budget, thanks to the dedicated staff and members of the General Assembly (and the miracle of conference calling).

As the Chair of the Education Appropriations committee, I am especially proud of the commitment this budget shows to increasing opportunity for all of our students. Our great secondary learning institutions are continuing to grow and are becoming national centers for technological innovation, and our public schools continue to lead the state in their support of great teachers as they dedicate themselves tirelessly to our students and their families.

A more detailed summary of the budget is below. In the coming weeks the Senate will be working to complete its own version, and members of both chambers will meet to find a common solution to any differences before sending the final budget on to Governor Easley for his signature. Our goal is complete this process by the end of the month. I’ll keep you updated as things progress, in the meantime please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns.

The complete budget (House Bill 2436) can be found on the N.C. General Assembly’s website at: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/PDF/H2436v4.pdf

That's enough for now. Thanks for checking in and please visit us at www.rickglazier.com. Take care --see you soon!

HOUSE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

EDUCATION 

• ·$11.4 billion – not including salary increases – to education, about 54 percent of total budget
• 3 percent salary increase for teachers for a total of 8 percent increase in this biennium
• $5 million to pay for one paid day of personal leave for all teachers
• $15 million in grants to help schools and groups working on dropout prevention
• $45 million to cover additional fuel costs for school buses
• $23 million to help expand More at Four by nearly 4,200 slots
• $11 million to improve instructional technology in the schools
• $6.1 million to establish a mentoring program for all first- and second-year teachers and for first-year instructional support personnel
• $6.2 million more for children with disabilities
• $6 million more for The Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Fund
• $4 million to implement healthy food standards for schools
• $3.6 million to expand Learn and Earn high school programs, which allow high school students to earn college credits
• $3.2 million more for academically gifted students
• $2.9 million for supplemental funding to low-wealth counties
• $1 million more for pilot programs at eight high schools where each student and teacher will get a computer.
• $23.8 million to fully fund enrollment growth in the community colleges and an additional $2.5 million for an enrollment growth reserve fund
• $5.5 million more for instructional equipment at community colleges
• $4 million more to support allied health programs at community colleges
• $1 million for minority male mentoring at community colleges. The money will allow the program to expand to 17 more colleges
• $14.6 million for enrollment growth in the UNC system, a number I hope will be increased in the Senate budget as it is below full funding for the system
• $12.8 million for campus safety recommendations from the UNC Campus Safety Task Force
• $4 million to expand medical schools at ECU and UNC-Chapel Hill. Additional students will study and provide service in Asheville, Charlotte and parts of easternNorth Carolina
• $3 million toward installation of dormitory fire sprinklers

ECONOMY

• $17.7 million for Job Development Incentive Grants.
• $10 million to the Rural Center to provide grants and investments in severely distressed rural areas
• $3 million to expand home protection and foreclosure prevention programs through counseling and loan programs
• $7 million for the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund to finance apartments for people with disabilities; $2 million in additional recurring money for the trust fund, increasing its recurring appropriation to $10 million

TAXES

$50 million in new or expanded tax relief, including:

• $20.6 million to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit to 5 percent for a total of $69 million in credits this biennium for working class families
• $8.5 million to extend and increase a tax credit for small businesses that provide health benefits to their employees
• $8.6 million to give disabled veterans and their surviving spouses 50 percent property tax exemption
• $1.2 million for a three-day tax holiday on energy-efficient appliances
• $1 million to extend a tax credit for research and development expenditures
• $1 million to extend a tax credit for use of the State Ports
• $500,000 to allow for a sales tax exemption for items purchased by disaster victims with disaster assistance payments

HEALTHCARE

• Cut funding for Community Support Services by $86 million
• $10.4 million to expand NC Health Choice insurance program by nearly 10,700 children, for a total of 133,000 enrollees
• $8.2 million for additional services for the developmentally disabled
• $5 million for grants to rural health centers, health departments, free clinics and others providing preventive care
• $5 million in aid to local health departments
• $5 million to increase dental reimbursement rates
• $3.75 million to pay for networks that coordinate free health care for low-income and uninsured patients
• $2 million for obesity prevention efforts
• $2 million to help operations at rural hospitals
• $2 million for Home and Community Care block grants, which help pay for in-home and community based services for seniors
• $2.1 million for mental health screening and assessments in adult care homes
• $1.5 million for the state’s food banks
• $1 million more for grants to programs working to prevent chronic illnesses in minority populations, bringing the total to $3 million

MENTAL HEALTH

• $8 million for 10,000 new bed days in local psychiatric hospitals
• $7.3 million for 107 new positions at the state’s psychiatric hospitals. These include 63 at Broughton Hospital, 24 at Central Regional Hospital and 20 at Cherry Hospital.
• $6.1 million for walk-in crisis and immediate psychiatric aftercare
• $5.75 million for 30 mobile crisis intervention teams. Includes startup money for 11 new teams in addition to the 19 existing ones
• $5.2 million to keep the Dorothea Dix Overflow Unit open after the opening of the new Central Regional Hospital.
• $1.85 million to provide clinical and operational improvements at state facilities. These improvements include better training and supervision of direct care staff, better pharmacy management and the addition of information technology and accounting jobs.

TRANSPORTATION

• Reduce transfer from the Highway Trust Fund by $25 million and invest the money in congestion relief.
• Reduce DOT central administration budget by $12 million
• $19.3 million for highway maintenance that extends the life of infrastructure, such as pavement, bridges and traffic signals
• $1.8 million more for secondary road construction
• $1.8 million for aid to municipalities
• $1 million in grants to support short-line railroads

MILITARY

• $1 million for grants to provide community support and quality of life programs at military installations
• $1 million for traumatic brain injury services, with veterans and their families among the targeted groups
• $500,000 to expand scholarships and related educational materials for children of veterans killed or disabled during wartime. Total amount for the program would be $10.2 million, including $7.4 million from escheats fund.
• $200,000 for the Defense and Security Technology Accelerator, which develops businesses related to homeland security and national defense, and which will be fully funded to the $1.5 million needed in the Senate budget and which we expect to then keep in the fully budget in conference.

PUBLIC SAFETY

• $10 million for gang prevention, suppression and intervention grants
• $3 million for a reserve fund to address critical staffing and resource needs in Probation and Parole field offices
• $1.1 million for the Rape Victim Assistance Program to pay for forensic rape kits
• $1 million in recurring funding for sexual assault and rape crisis services
• $1 million increase in funding for Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, in addition to restoration of $22.6 million in funding following a continuation review
• $1 million for domestic violence shelters
• $1 million to train sheriff’s departments in immigration enforcement 
• $260,000 to enhance GangNet, an Internet-based database with information about known gang members that is expanding statewide

ENVIRONMENT

• $50 million to the Rural Center to help local governments address critical water and sewer needs for a total of $150 million this biennium
• $50 million for Land for Tomorrow land preservation efforts; total of $170 million this biennium
• $6 million for drought relief, including $3.9 million for agricultural drought response
• $5 million for the Biofuels Center to help develop alternative fuels
• $4 million for farmland preservation for a total of $12 million this biennium
• $5.5 million for matching money for drinking water system improvements