Lawmakers prepare for budget debates

The stage is set in Raleigh for what could become a very long summer.

After months of number crunching and heated debate, the N.C. House presented its budget proposal to the Senate last Thursday.

But the conclusion only created a new beginning.

On Monday the Senate voted unanimously — 43-0 — against the proposal.

The legislation now will move into a committee comprising members of both bodies.

Consisting of 28 senators and 54 representatives, the Conference Committee now will begin a debate on the budget that some say could last into September.

The body is expected to resolve the distinct differences between the Senate and House budgets.

Controversy is rising about the changes, especially as they pertain to Medicaid, a potential lottery and education.

Whereas the Senate budget allows for a 1 percent decrease in UNC-system spending, the House version calls for a decrease of two percent.

The House version even spends $154,779,663 more overall than that of the Senate.

The committee will discuss these and a variety of other issues before making its final recommendation to both the House and Senate.

How objective a recommendation it will make has come into question by some members of the legislature since all 82 members are Democrats. The party’s majority in both bodies allowed them to choose the committee makeup.

This is not unusual, said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland. Traditionally the committee consists of those who voted to pass the budget.

“I don’t know how they could be an advocate for it if they did not vote for it,” Rand said.

Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said he perceives political motivations behind the move.

“That’s not a surprise,” Berger said. “I think that it’s a confirmation of the fact that the Senate, and apparently increasingly the House, is making decisions in a smaller and smaller group.”

Republicans and all other members of the House and Senate will have a voice in the final decision, said House Majority Leader Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange.

“There will be a debate on the floor, and they can express their opinions,” Hackney said.

There still will be a game of give and take, said Sen. Charles Albertson, D-Duplin.

“We’ll have to sit down with our counterparts and work out the best deal we can,” he said. “We won’t get everything we want, and they won’t either.”

House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg, maintains that there is some rhyme and reason to what is happening in the N.C. General Assembly.

Black said the differences between the two versions of the budget could have other motives, and could ignite further discussion.

“It doesn’t mean we’re against it,” Black said. “It creates controversy.”

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.