What's in the Senate budget nobody is talking about?

by Sarah Curry, John Locke Foundation, June 17, 2015.

Every year when the budget comes out people focus on the big items such as education and Medicaid, but what about those small things that no one really talks about? I want to highlight some of those today. All of these spending items came from the Senate Budget as of June 17th.

K-12 Education:

• Transportation – Reduces the transportation budget by 4%, or $20 million each year. This includes salaries, diesel fuel, replacement parts, and the maintenance of yellow school buses.
• Non-instructional staff – Replaces General Fund dollars with lottery funds. Total swap is $345.5 million in the first year and $361.6 in the second.
• Department of Public Instruction – Reduces budget by 10%, or $4.7 million each year.
• Licensure – Eliminates the Licensure section of DPI, and creates a new entity, the Office of Educator Licensure. There is no direct budget impact.

Community Colleges:

• Truck Driver Training Program – Caldwell Community College gets this new program, $150k each year.
• Career advisers – Program to place career advisers in high schools, $500k in the first year, $1 million in the second.
• Botanical Lab – Increases funding for the Fayetteville Botanical Lab, total funding is $200k each year.
• Motorcycle Driver Safety – Funds a study for a motorcycle driver safety, $200k in the first year only.

UNC System:

• Management – Mandates management flexibility cut for UNC operating budget, cut of $17.9 million each year.
• Summer Bridget – Eliminates funding for the program, reduction of $1.2 million each year.
• Hunt Institute – Ends state funding support, cut of $737,230 each year.
• Tuition – Provides in-state tuition for non-resident veterans, $9.3 million each year.

Health and Human Services:

• Data analytics – Funds a contract for a new data analytics program for the department, $1 million in the first year and $1.3 million in the second.
• Paramedics – Starts a pilot program for paramedics to start providing house calls for non-emergency medical conditions, $350k in the first year.
• Infant mortality and birth outcomes – Justification Review of public health programs to see if they are performing as intended:

  • Maternal and Child Health Contracts – $2.4 million
  • High Risk Maternity Clinic – $375k
  • Healthy Beginnings – $396k
  • Pregnancy Care Case Management – $300k
  • Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting – $425k
  • Triple P-Positive Parenting Program – $828k
  • NC Perinatal and Maternal Substance Abuse Initiative – $2.7 million
  • Perinatal Substance Abuse Specialist – $45k

• Foster care – Expand the foster care age to 21, which will result in a caseload increase, $4.5 million in the first year and $9.5 million in the second.
• Adoption – assistance for youth adopted after age 16, $200k in the second year.
• Minority Health – Eliminates the office, savings of $3.1 million each year.
• Physical Activity and Nutrition Branch – Eliminates the program within Public Health, savings of $266k.
• Wright School – Eliminates funding and closes the school, savings of $2.1 million in the first year and $2.8 million in the second.

Natural and Economic Resources:

• Food and Drug

  • Registration Fee – drug manufacturer’s’ fees increased from $500 to $1,000 and drug wholesalers increased from $350 to $700.
  • License Fee – drug manufacturer’s’ fees increased from $500 to $1,000 and drug wholesalers increased from $350 to $700.
  • Dairy Inspection Fee – dairy retailer fees increased from $10 to $50 and dairy wholesalers increased from $40 to $100.

• Agricultural Marketing – increases funding for marketing of NC-based agricultural products, total division expense is $8.3 million each year.
• FFA Foundation – gives additional funding for the program, total expense is $100k each year.
• Mine & Quarry Inspections – eliminates funding for the division, savings of $346k each year.
• Marine Fisheries:

  • Shellfish Rehabilitation – total funding is $600k in the first year and $900k in the second.
  • Oyster Sanctuaries – total funding is $483,969 over two years.
  • Oyster Research and Development – $450k in the first year and $500k in the second.

• Museum of Natural Sciences in Whiteville – eliminates funding, savings of $300k each year.
• Dredging – increases funding for the Shallow Draft Navigation Channel, total funding next year will be $20 million
• Underserved & Limited Resource Grant – eliminates program and savings of $1.25 million each year.
• Biotechnology Center – eliminates funding, savings of $8.6 million each year.
• High Point Furniture Market – gives additional funding, total funding is $1.2 million each year.
• Tryon Palace – provides additional funding, total expense is slightly less than $3 million each year.
• Roanoke Island Festival Park – increases funding, two year expense is $517k

Justice and Public Safety:

• Samarcand – funds to start-up the Samarcand Training Academy in Moore County, $1.6 million in the first year and $1.9 million in the second.
• Medicine Drop – provides funds for a program to let citizens dispose of expired or unused medicine, $120k in the first year.
• Inmate Education – reduces budget by 5.6% or $500k
• Capital Defender – reduces funding for the capital defender’s office by $750k or 18.9%
• Underage drinking – increase funding for the initiative to reduce underage drinking outreach and marketing, $3.1 million each year.

General Government:

• Battlefield – provides funding to the Averasboro battlefield commission to help with buying and relocating the Shaw Halfway House, $50k first year only.
• Human Relations Commission – eliminates the commission, savings of $545k in the second year.

Transportation:

• Ferry – provides additional funds for the Hatteras Inlet route and training to meet new federal requirements for oil spill responses, total ferry division funding is $39.7 million each year.
• Bridges – increases funding for the bridge program, total budget is $202.9 million in the first year and $242.9 million in the second.
• Temporary Plate Fee – increases the fee by $5 for a 10-day temporary tag
• Ports Authority – spends $35 million each year to modernize the ports.

http://lockerroom.johnlocke.org/2015/06/17/what-is-in-the-senate-budge-that-no-one-is-talking-about/