Legislators have asked for $578m so far

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:20:46 -0500

State legislators have now asked for $577.5 million.

Twenty-four more bills filed since Dome last checked have added another $282.6 million in requested spending, even as the state faces a $2 billion shortfall.

The largest request of the most recent batch is $93.9 million set aside for ABC bonuses to be used instead for teacher salary increases. A second bill does the same thing with more restrictions.

The smallest request is $97,000 to provide medicine to low-income women that would reduce premature births.

Other spending bills would increase technical education at community colleges, build a guest house at a Winston-Salem hospital, hire three workers to lead a behavioral program at state schools, provide scholarships for rural social workers, provide mentoring and tutoring to gang members, open a dentistry school at East Carolina University, fund community theatres, give community economic development grants, buy vans for an after school program in Charlotte, fund various public health programs, provide grants for Boys and Girls Clubs and promote awareness of SIDS.

Nine other bills are companions to bills already filed.

In all, the requests amount to 29 percent of the estimated shortfall.

The requests also add another $49.6 million in spending next year, for a total of $188.8 million in 2010-11 requests.

Ongoing coverage of spending bills is available here.

Recent House bills

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:43:48 -0500

Some interesting recent House bills:

H.B. 223: No High School Graduation Project Required, Reps. Jimmy Love and Angela Bryant

H.B. 232: Scholarship Loan for Rural Social Workers, Reps. Larry Bell, Rick Glazier, Marvin Lucas, Marian McLawhorn

H.B. 257: No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency, Reps. George Cleveland, Mark Hilton, Tim Moore and Laura Wiley

HB232-09

Legislators have asked for $578m so far

Recent House bills