Vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper III

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the state budget for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2019.

Highlights:

• Establishes budgets for all public higher education institutions in North Carolina, including community colleges and 4-year universities (Sec. 2).

• Appropriates $10.58 billion for the state Department of Health and Human Services for the next biennium (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that there should be roughly $307 million in unappropriated funds for the fiscal year 2017-2018 in the state general fund and $97.6 million unappropriated funds for the fiscal year 2018-2019 in the state general fund (Sec. 2).

• Requires the State Controller to transfer $120 million  to the road Repairs and Renovation Fund by June 30, 2017 (Sec. 2).

• Transfers $147.5 million each fiscal year of the biennium to municipalities to help with their operation of the Division of Highways and the Department of Transportation (Sec. 3).

• Prohibits all state agencies from accepting grants that would obligate the state to future expenditures to meet the terms of the grant (Sec. 5).

• Establishes the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund, which will be administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to award grants to counties designated as development tiers 1 or 2 (Sec. 5).

• Prohibits a country from receiving more than $10 million from the Needs-Based Public School Fund in any single fiscal year (Sec. 5).

• Prohibits any department, officer, agency, institution, commission, bureau or other state-organized activity from employing private counsel unless expressly approved by the Governor and Attorney General (Secs. 6 & 7).

• Specifies school districts that become ineligible for need-based aid will have their aid phased out over a 5-year period (Sec. 7).

• Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Education to hire up to 5 full-time equivalent policy-making employees if they so choose (Sec. 7).

• Prohibits any funds from being transferred out of the limited English proficiency program allotment (Sec. 7).

• Requires the Department of Public Instruction to begin to implement the School Business System Modernization Plan for state and local education systems (Sec. 7).

• Expands the TAs To Teachers Program to place new teachers in Alamance-Burlington, Ashe, Beaufort, Duplin, Jones, Nash, New Hanover, Randolph, Rowan, Stanly, Watauga, and Yancey Schools (Sec. 7).

• Requires the Department of Public Instruction to refund the costs of driver’s education spent by students between the ages of 15 and 18 who successfully achieve a Level 1 limited learner’s permit on their first attempt (Sec. 7).

• Requires any school that receives a D or F grade at the end of each school year to notify parents and guardians about the calculation of the school performance grade and why it was received (Sec. 7).

• Requires charter schools to ensure the issuance of report cards and distribute them  through either local press or another medium widely available to the public (Sec. 7).

• Establishes the Third Grade Reading Teacher Performance Pilot Program, which administers bonus pay to reward teacher performance and encourage student improvement in non-charter schools (Sec. 7).

• Prohibits school boards from suing counties to challenge the sufficiency of funds appropriated (Sec. 7).

• Increases the annual salary for full time, noncertified public school employees by $750 or 1.5%, whichever is greater, beginning July 1, 2017 (Sec. 8.)

• Establishes the Community College High-Cost Workforce Program Grant to assist community colleges in developing new degree programs that require significant start-up funds (Sec. 9).

• Authorizes at least $3 million in additional funds to be given to the University of North Carolina to increase the amount of available slots at the university’s School of Medicine (Sec. 10).

• Establishes the Future Teachers of North Carolina Program to encourage high-achieving high-school students to consider a career in teaching  by offering students with a B average or higher dual credit at the University of North Carolina if they pursue a degree in education (Sec. 10).

• Prohibits any recipients of grants from the Office of Rural Health from using such funds to enhance or increase benefits, finance or satisfy existing debt, or supplanting existing funds (Sec. 11).

• Specifies that childcare subsidies from the Department of Health and Human Services may not exceed 200% of an individual’s income for a child at or below the age of 5 or 133% of an individual’s income for a child between the ages of 6 and 12. (Sec. 11).

• Establishes that noncitizen, legal residents of North Carolina are eligible for child care subsidies if all other eligibility requirements are met (Sec. 11).

• Requires the North Carolina Child Support Services to retain up to 15% of received annual federal income to enhance centralized child support services (Sec. 11).

• Requires the Office of State Budget and Management to develop and issue a request for proposal no later than January 15, 2018 to improve outcomes for children and enhance state supervision of local welfare programs (Sec. 11).

• Requires the creation of a Child Welfare System Transparency and Wellness Dashboard to serve as a report card for North Carolina’s child welfare agencies (Sec. 11).

• Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to implement an evidence-based diabetes prevention program targeting minorities to reduce the prevalence of diabetes (Sec. 11).

• Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to use Adjusted Gross Income as the calculator for determining eligibility for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (Sec. 11).

• Authorizes the expenditure of $40 million until fiscal year 2019 to purchase new psychiatric inpatient beds across the state (Sec. 11).

Full Bill Text