State budget proposals vary -

Final bill must be given by July 1st

Closing a $1.2 billion budget gap won’t be easy, and state legislators are in the last and longest stage of deciding which programs will be hurt most severely.

Gov. Bev Perdue has given her recommendations and the N.C. House and Senate have passed their own versions of the Appropriations Act of 2010. Now, senators and representatives appointed Monday by their respective leaders must work out the differences between the two bills.

The process, called “conferencing,” could take more than three weeks and will have started by the end of this week. A final bill must be presented to Perdue by July 1.

Points of contention:

— House amendment to eliminate in-state tuition rates for nonresident and foreign student recipients of the Morehead-Cain and Park scholarships, saving taxpayers $6 million annually.

“If we lose the provision, we’ll have to reduce the number (of scholars) by about a third. The provision allows us to bring in about 10 more North Carolina (students) each year than we otherwise could,” said Morehead-Cain Foundation Executive Director Charles Lovelace.

— House provision to implement a UNC-system enrollment cap at 1 percent growth starting in 2011.

“We need to do something in order to get better statistics concerning enrollment growth before we’re doing the budget so we can be more realistic about those figures,” said N.C. Rep. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenberg.

“I do think that will be discussed in trying to see if there might be a better way to reach the same goal.”

The UNC system will keep fighting this provision, along with cuts to the system that exceed $175 million.

“Clearly the cuts proposed in the House budget would be devastating … and we’re going do everything we can to reduce those cuts,” said Anita Watkins, UNC-system vice president for state government relations.

— House amendment to eliminate End-of-Grade tests in U.S. History, civics, economics and physical science. The $2 million in savings would be used to supplement classroom supply purchases.

— House provision to open N.C. Education Lottery funds to classroom teachers of public charter schools. Public charter schools would get $5.3 million in additional funding.

— Senate provision to lower tax rates on small-businesses and a House provision to give tax credits to small businesses that provide employee health insurance and create jobs.

— Senate provision to cut Smart Start, a subsidized preschool program, by 5.2 percent. Smart Start proponents argue that it helps close the achievement gap.

— Senate provision to reduce funding for in-home personal care services. Only those needing help with three or more daily activities will receive aid.

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