A busy week at the General Assembly starts today. Republican Leaders in the House and Senate hope to wrap up the session this week. But first they will have to approve a final budget.
That budget was posted online last night (pdf). It contains some provisions that are close to Senate President pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Thom Tillis, who have been meeting behind closed doors for several weeks to hammer it out.
Berger got his wish that teacher tenure be eliminated. It will be replaced by multi-year contracts and merit pay. Teachers also will no longer get raises for earning advanced degrees. Tillis won the battle to compensate eugenics victims.
“There were some significant policy differences between what the Senate put out and what the House put out,” said Senator Peter Brunstetter, one of the budget negotiators. “But our numbers were always very similar, so it fell into place quicker than what I thought.”
This evening, hundreds of protestors will be descending on the Legislature for the 12th Moral Monday event. The House also is meeting to vote on several bills, including voter ID, changes to concealed gun rules, and possibly, abortion restrictions.