NEARLY a month after the June 30 deadline, California’s Legislature and governor have finally agreed on a budget for the new fiscal year. The embarrassing debacle of paying the state’s bills with i.o.u.’s will come to an end — at least for a while. Though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had pledged not to “kick the can down the road,” the budget he intends to sign today relies on $8 billion in accounting and revenue gimmickry, virtually guaranteeing another fiscal crisis next year. Read the rest of this entry

The budget and tax debate in the General Assembly went from the confusing to the bizarre Tuesday. Leaders of the Legislative Black Caucus and the State Employees Association called for legalization of video poker to help the budget crisis Read the rest of this entry

Quick take: Though frustrating to all, the latest breakdown in state budget negotiations provides state leaders with another opportunity to “get things right.” Lawmakers should seize the moment and revisit a progressive revenue proposal developed during the spring that would have raised more than a billion dollars in critical revenue while actually cutting taxes for most North Carolinians. Read the rest of this entry

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina misleading health reform websitehas a nifty little link that promises to sort out “health care reform myths vs. facts.”

This is actually a great section of the website if you read “fact” every time you see “myth” and “myth” every time you see “fact.” Let’s take a look. Read the rest of this entry

It’s never easy putting together something as complicated and important as a state budget. Contrary to the image conjured up by anti-government zealots of cigar smoking, fat cat politicians happily carving up pork in posh surroundings, a majority of it is actually time-consuming drudgery carried out by serious and sober men and women.

Excerpt: Reportedly it is one of those corporate loopholes that has emerged as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to an agreement.  The House wants to end the practice of allowing multistate corporations to shift profits to subsidiaries in other states to avoid paying state corporate income taxes. Read the rest of this entry

Gov. Bev Perdue’s approval rating continues its steady drop, Public Policy Polling reports today. It’s fallen to only 25 percent. Even among Democrats, only 38 percent think she’s doing a good job. Read the rest of this entry

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue is now getting into Roland Burris territory. Perdue’s approval rating continues to plummet, with the latest survey showing that only 25 percent of voters approve of the job she’s doing, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning polling firm. Fifty-five percent disapprove, reports Rob Christensen. Read the rest of this entry

As Adam Searing noted in a previous post, the drug industry lobbying group PhRMA is running ads supporting Senator Kay Hagan. Although I haven’t seen these ads, they allegedly praise Hagan for supporting a public option. What’s going on here? PhRMA says that it opposes a public option. Read the rest of this entry

From N.C. Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg:

The 2009 session of the N.C. General Assembly will end soon. The 2009-2010 budget is the session’s most significant legislation. Projected revenues for 2009-2010 are $19.2 billion, including non-recurring federal stimulus money. Actual expenditures for 2008-2009 are $20.3 billion. To close the $1.1 billion gap, the legislature must either reduce spending, raise taxes, or both. Read the rest of this entry