Legislative Report

Report 10-06
June 11, 2010

SENATE AND HOUSE BEGIN BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS

Members were appointed this week to the joint conference committee to resolve differences in the 2010-11 budget revisions adopted by the Senate and the House. The conference committee includes a total of 115 members; 33 Senators and 82 Representatives. The list of members is posted and can be accessed on the General Assembly web page (www.ncleg.net) .

The leaders of the conference committee announced a schedule of meetings on Thursday to reach agreement on the revised budget for 2010-11. The seven joint appropriations conference subcommittees were directed to meet and report by next Wednesday. The full conference committee is slated to finalize a budget agreement during the week of June 20th which would allow time for the budget to be adopted prior to July 1.

KEY RETIREMENT SYSTEM ISSUE

As stated in last week’s Legislative Report, The N.C. Retired Governmental Employees’ Association support the House position on funding for the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS). The House version of the budget includes a direct appropriation of $40 million for TSERS and the potential for an additional $135 million from excess collections of delinquent business taxes through the Department of Revenue Settlement Initiative.

One obstacle to this additional funding surfaced this week. According to the Department of Revenue, proposals to strip the Department of the authority to assess penalties to delinquent business tax payers would seriously weaken the Settlement Initiative and eliminate the likelihood of the additional $135 million in late tax payments. The Department believes that the threat of penalties is a useful tool to encourage tax delinquents to pay what they owe. Currently, there is a special provision in the Senate budget and a separate bill (Senate Bill 1172 – Fair Tax Penalties) that would remove the penalty authority of the Department of Revenue.

TAKE ACTION!

If you have not already done so, please contact your members of the House and the Senate in the next several days. If your legislators are serving on the budget conference committee, ask that they support the House position on funding for the TSERS. In addition, urge them to oppose any effort to remove or limit the penalty authority of the Department of Revenue. Aside from the important link between the Department’s Settlement Initiative and TSERS funding this certainly is not the time to give up any state revenue sources.