Senate Unlikely to Get Serious About Budget Right Away | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by Dan Way, Associate Editor.


    The Senate is in no rush to take up the House-passed budget for 2019-20, according to its chief budget writer.

    Senate Minority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, told Carolina Journal through his legislative staff that senators "are really not far enough along in the process to have any comment right now" about a timeline or other specifics of House Bill 966, the 2019 Appropriations Act.

    The House, which crafted the budget this year under a statutory requirement that legislative chambers alternate the responsibility, passed the $23.9 billion spending plan 61-51 on May 3, and sent it to the Senate. The bill was referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

    Carolina Journal sent a set of questions to Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, including when the budget deliberations would begin, what the Senate might find objectionable in the House budget, what missing items senators might wish to include, and what strategy they have for what most observers think will be Gov. Roy Cooper's certain veto.

    Berger did not provide a response. His office referred the queries to Brown.

    Meanwhile, the Senate's Republican budget chairmen issued a joint statement Tuesday, May 7, hailing Monday's news that this year's budget surplus could total $700 million. They say the windfall reflects poorly on Cooper's credibility.

    "It's clear that responsible Republican budget policies have created a boom decade for North Carolina, despite Governor Cooper's vetoes," the statement said. "His administration has predicted catastrophe from Republican budgets in the past," and they expect more of the same.

    North Carolina's budget process calls for the spending plan to be enacted by June 15 in odd-numbered years. The state fiscal year ends June 30, but the law authorizes funding to continue to flow at current levels if lawmakers miss the deadline.