Emery Dalesio uses the five-year fiscal note in a story on the bill to expand movie-making and other targeted tax breaks, take over the Yadkin River dam, and collect DNA on arrest (HB 1973). That fiscal note shows a net tax reduction of $242 million. The bill would increase fees immediately and assumes that more economic activity related to the credits will expand the revenue reductions to $75 million in fiscal year 2015.
In fact, every targeted tax break given by state and local governments has been reported based on its multi-year price tag, whether Google or Goodyear. This may seem disingenuous to some, but it actually sets a good precedent for reporting the size of the entire budget.
Every other year the governor offers a two-year budget plan based on the desires of state agencies. The legislature crafts and passes a two-year budget bill (to which the governor and legislature make significant changes in the second year) and everyone involved, including me, talks about the state general fund appropriations in the current fiscal year with only a passing reference to the future.
If we had a five-year fiscal note on the entire state budget, it would show the state spending between $104 billion and $120 billion but having between $88 billion and $105 billion to spend. That’s a $3 billion hole each and every year for five years before tacking on the need to pay for retiree health benefits, increase payments for pensions, or adding 500,000 people to Medicaid to comply with the Dennis Berwick health care rationing plan ObamaCare health care reform.
