How did Kay Hagan feel about the 2003 budget?
As a first-time cochairwoman of the Senate Appropriations committee, the Greensboro Democrat was quoted about two dozen times on the budget that year.
With Hagan running for U.S. Senate, the budget will come up again.
In the beginning, Hagan told reporters that she wanted to see more cuts related to government efficiency and higher raises for state workers (Greensboro News & Record, March 6). After the Senate put forth its plan, she called it "a good budget" that allocates money "in a wise and careful manner" (Charlotte Observer, April 29) and she worried that revenue would be down (N&R, May 5).
She also staunchly defended two proposed hikes in sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol saying they are "a lifestyle choice" (N&R, June 12) and that the alternative, a lottery, wouldn't pass (N&O, June 12).
She added that the alternatives were worse: "I'm looking at not going to a four-day school week. I'm looking at not firing teachers. I'm looking at the basic infrastructure of the state, which is education and economic development." (Char-O, June 12)
She also stressed that the budget should be on time (N&R, June 16).
And she defended an additional $10.2 million in fee increases on things such as visiting a state park, operating a nursing home and getting a driver's license included in the budget.
"Those fee increases are very, very small," she said. "Some haven't been changed for years and years." (N&R, July 13)
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