The state legislature isn’t back in session till January. But incoming Republican leaders are asking Governor Bev Perdue to start cutting spending now.
At a special budget meeting Wednesday, leaders of state agencies painted a grim fiscal picture, projecting that next year’s revenue will fall around $3.7 billion short. That means lawmakers will either have to raise revenue or cut spending by about 20%.
House Speaker designee Thom Tillis is urging Governor Perdue to withhold money from this year’s budget as a cushion for next year:
"That has a significant impact. It doesn’t take a mathematician to know how that can help us eliminate the risk of cuts of teachers and other core services that we’re all trying to do our best to protect."
Perdue says current law doesn’t give her much power to manage for future emergencies. She’s asking lawmakers to change that. Tillis says lawmakers will give her that power.