The N.C. General Assembly reconvenes today with a new Republican leadership ready to tackle a $3.7 budget shortfall and a number of contentious issues that could have a direct impact on students.
This will be the first Republican-controlled state legislature since 1898, which could mean a constant tug-of-war between the state’s Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue and the GOP leadership.
Incoming Speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, will be championing Republicans’ goals to minimize government involvement and cut spending.
“My goal as a leader for as long as I would be speaker is to remind everybody that there’s a lot of things that government could do,” Tillis said.
“The real question is whether government should do it.”
To make up for the state’s deficit, legislators plan to cut spending statewide. Cuts of about 15 percent, or $405 million, are projected for the UNC system.
Tillis, a native of Florida, does not have ties to the UNC system, but he said that would not influence the decision-making process.
“The task we have ahead of us is to get a budget in line with the real revenue that we have,” Tillis said.
Legislators will work with recipients of state funding to make sure that funding is scaled back in a manageable way for both the state and its beneficiaries, Tillis said.