My SPIN: New continuing resolution deadline should be October 31st

by Tom Campbell, Executive Producer and Moderator, NC SPIN, August 25, 2015.

For the third time our legislature will miss the deadline for establishing a state budget that was due to begin July 1st. There's no way they can meet the current August 31st date they set. Even after announcing they had reached agreement on spending targets for the year there are still too many big issues unresolved.

Medicaid, whether to fire or retain teacher assistants, incentive money to recruit new industry and infrastructure funding are among the issues they can't agree on. Insiders say they aren't even in serious negotiations, usually an indicator that negotiations are reaching a point of final agreement.

What's the big deal? State agencies will have operated 1/6th of the year without a budget. Public school officials have been gambling about whether to hire teacher assistants or not...and if not, how to handle the crowded elementary school classrooms. Local governments don't know how to operate given the possibility of changing tax policies. Businesses looking to come to our state face empty coffers while other states throw money their way. Not a problem, you say? Maybe so, but this is no way to run a government, especially from lawmakers who pledged to run government more effectively.

It's time for more than Band-Aid solutions to the continuing state budget disaster. First, let's change the date for the start of the state budget year...from July 1 to January 1. In the meantime let's get realistic about these trick-or treat-continuing resolutions and go ahead and set them for October 31st, then hope we don't have to get the Christmas decorations out.