Temporary budget deal reached to keep government running

The N.C. Senate voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a temporary budget that keeps state government running until Aug. 14 – giving legislators more time to resolve an impasse over spending issues.

The Senate vote followed similar approval from the House Monday night – sending the short-term budget, known as a “continuing resolution,” to Gov. Pat McCrory for final approval. He signed the bill within hours of the Senate vote Tuesday.

McCrory said he was pleased with the Aug. 14 deadline instead an agreement that would extend the session to September or October.

“We ought to be able to get our work done in less than 45 days,” McCrory said. “We’ve been here now five or six months and this is supposed to be a part time job for these individuals. They have families and businesses. They don’t do it for the pay, they do it for public service."

It’s not unusual for the legislature to reach June 30 without a final budget. According to the legislature’s Fiscal Research Division, continuing resolutions have given budget negotiators time extensions in six of the past 10 years.

Leaders in both chambers praised the temporary budget deal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown pointed out that the bill doesn’t contain controversial elements of either the House or Senate plan.

“This is about as clean as you can get a continuing resolution,” Brown said.

The resolution includes a promised higher starting salary for teachers – at a minimum $35,000 – but doesn’t provide state funds specific to driver’s education programs. Instead, local school boards would have to use other funds and fees available to them.

Public schools would also get a $100 million appropriation, subject to adjustment, for enrollment growth – money that could be tapped for driver’s education and for teacher assistants.

Sen. Gladys Robinson, a Greensboro Democrat, said the plan still leaves school districts with too much uncertainty as they plan for the coming school year. It remains unclear whether teacher assistant positions will be cut – as called for in the Senate plan, part of an effort to reduce class sizes – or continue at the current funding levels backed by the House.

“The schools don’t understand what their real allocation is,” she said. “They’re really just taking a chance right now.”

The plan also would require state agencies to move on staff cuts called for in both the House and Senate budget proposals. And employee salaries other than for starting teachers would be frozen at their current levels, meaning no raises until an approved, new budget authorizes them.

“We set a date of Aug. 14, which means we’ve got to go to work,” Brown said, referring to the closed-door budget negotiations that will take place in the coming weeks.

Staff writer Taylor Knopf contributed to this report

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Temporary budget deal reached to keep government running."