Tonight Governor McCrory gave his first State of the State address, making known his administration’s three areas of focus: Economy, Education and Efficiency of services. With regards to spending and budget items, McCrory made clear the forecast revenue numbers are not as high as some expected, thus there will be no new money spent this year. He wants a more efficient government that pays debts first.
Borrowing funds from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits is not something he is going to let continue, he will sign the unemployment insurance legislation into law tomorrow to ensure North Carolina can pay back its federal debt in a timely manner.
Other areas of focus with regards to the budget that were mentioned tonight:
- Medicaid reform
- Electronic tracking of state vehicles and downsizing for fuel efficiency
- Streamline Office of Administrative Hearings to avoid the long waiting periods
- Fix and refurbish state buildings
- Reestablish drug treatment courts
- Spend education dollars on virtual learning
- Fix/Change the tax system to attract and retain business
- Spend money on energy exploration offshore
- Evaluating and updating corporate incentives procedures
In the upcoming weeks we expect to see Governor McCrory’s budget proposal, and the John Locke Foundation will thoroughly review and inspect his budget to see if it stays in line with the comments he made tonight.
