Money Matters - Raleigh (NC) News & Observer

Editorial:

With only a slim budget surplus and with the clock counting down to campaign season, efficiency is in order at the General Assembly, which today begins its every-other-year "short session." Efficiency in allocating taxpayer dollars, efficiency in overseeing and improving state government, and efficiency in focusing on attainable goals.


This is no year to opt for every option on the list. North Carolina needs a prudent budget and selective improvements. High on the list is continuing to upgrade public education in ways that help more Tar Heels gain a solid footing in the competitive global economy. The troubled mental health system must be rescued from an ill-effected "reform." And a dangerously ineffective parole and probation system must be put into working order.

There are many other laudable goals -- but the state can't afford every one, and legislators can't afford to waste time.

Selectivity in setting priorities, however, may be hard to achieve on Jones Street this spring and summer. Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate will be looking to position themselves for the fall campaigns.

Expect some showboating, bills introduced solely to score points. And Governor Easley, in his final budget, clearly has some signature accomplishments in mind, some of them costly. One is a move intended to bring public school teacher pay in the state to the national average.

Classroom compensation

Overall, the Democratic governor's $21.5 billion budget, proposed yesterday and subject to change by the House and Senate (both in Democratic hands), represents an increase of 4.2 percent, a smaller rise than in recent years. It includes 7 percent raises for schoolteachers. That's a laudable step, although a sharp contrast to the minimal pay hikes most other North Carolinians can expect as the nation's economy struggles through a difficult year.

Easley's proposed financing method may prove a hard sell: he suggests paying for teacher raises with a 20 cent per pack boost in cigarette taxes (to 55 cents). Similarly, he would finance $68 million in improvements for the mental health system with 4 percent boosts in beer, wine and liquor taxes.

No one's talking about an income tax increase as an alternative, but it's self-evident that taxes on tobacco and alcohol fall heavily on lower-income residents. Legislators should think carefully about where they're placing the burden of even the most-needed spending.

To his credit, Easley claims to have identified nearly $400 million that can be trimmed from the current budget, offsetting a good portion of his increased spending. And some worthwhile measures cost little in relation to the benefits. More low-income children can be made eligible for subsidized health insurance. The state can start paying the cost of evidence-gathering exams given in hospitals to rape victims -- all the costs, for all the victims. It can require that involuntary commitments for mental health reasons be reported to the national system that checks gun purchasers' backgrounds.

Bonding experience

The budget option with the biggest potential price tag concerns transportation. Legislators are being asked by a special commission to put a referendum on the ballot to authorize well over $1 billion in highway- and transit-project bonds.

The commission was created after the legislature last year ducked an issue of prime importance -- building better roads and creating more transit alternatives. Certainly such alternatives would be welcome as gasoline prices hit painful levels. There's also the vexing annual transfer from the Highway Trust Fund to the General Fund, a transfer that bond money could lessen or eliminate.

The issues here are complex, and competing priorities have their claims. But the beauty of a bond referendum is that voters can always say no.

That's not the case in the Legislative Building, where, too often, crucial budget decisions are made behind closed office doors. And often those decisions are driven by special interests, ably represented by lobbyists. More doors should be open.

The General Assembly, to its credit, has toughened some rules that govern lobbying, clamping down on lobbyists' spending on legislators' meals and campaigns. There's more to do, especially in limiting lobbyists' roles in financing campaigns and in requiring campaigns to identify major fundraisers.

Legislators should confront priority-setting head on during this short session, mindful of the strained economy and the strain on families, but mindful also that even in difficult times, a state that's already on the rise can take prudent steps to make its people stronger still.

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