Gov. Beverly Perdue's seizure of the rainy day funds raised eyebrows.
Perdue announced last night that she was taking the $787 million in state reserves to pay the state's bills, including $250 million for the State Health Plan.
A bill in the state Senate would have put that money in the health plan anyway, and Senate leader Marc Basnight said he told Perdue last week to tap the reserves. Gov. Mike Easley similarly seized the reserves in 2001.
But House Speaker Joe Hackney and House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman questioned the constitutionality of the governor's move at a time when the legislature is in session.
"You know, we're not potted plants here," Hackney said. (WUNC)
And Elaine Mejia, an analyst with the N.C. Budget and Tax Center, said the move was troubling because Perdue had previously said she might use the rainy day fund to address budget problems next year.
"The truth is this is a very bad sign," she said. (N&O)
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