Every year when the budget comes out people focus on the big items such as education and Medicaid, but what about those small things that no one really talks about? I want to highlight some of those today. All of these spending items came from the Senate Budget as of June 17th.

K-12 Education:

  • Transportation – Reduces the transportation budget by 4%, or $20 million each year. This includes salaries, diesel fuel, replacement parts, and the maintenance of yellow school buses.
  • Non-instructional staff – Replaces General Fund dollars with lottery funds. Total swap is $345.5 million in the first year and $361.6 in the second.
  • Department of Public Instruction – Reduces budget by 10%, or $4.7 million each year.
  • Licensure – Eliminates the Licensure section of DPI, and creates a new entity, the Office of Educator Licensure. There is no direct budget impact.

Community Colleges:

  • Truck Driver Training Program – Caldwell Community College gets this new program, $150k each year.
  • Career advisers – Program to place career advisers in high schools, $500k in the first year, $1 million in the second.
  • Botanical Lab – Increases funding for the Fayetteville Botanical Lab, total funding is $200k each year.
  • Motorcycle Driver Safety – Funds a study for a motorcycle driver safety, $200k in the first year only.

UNC System:

  • Management – Mandates management flexibility cut for UNC operating budget, cut of $17.9 million each year.
  • Summer Bridget – Eliminates funding for the program, reduction of $1.2 million each year.
  • Hunt Institute – Ends state funding support, cut of $737,230 each year.
  • Tuition – Provides in-state tuition for non-resident veterans, $9.3 million each year.

Health and Human Services:

  • Data analytics – Funds a contract for a new data analytics program for the department, $1 million in the first year and $1.3 million in the second.
  • Paramedics – Starts a pilot program for paramedics to start providing house calls for non-emergency medical conditions, $350k in the first year.
  • Infant mortality and birth outcomes – Justification Review of public health programs to see if they are performing as intended:
    • Maternal and Child Health Contracts – $2.4 million
    • High Risk Maternity Clinic – $375k
    • Healthy Beginnings – $396k
    • Pregnancy Care Case Management – $300k
    • Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting – $425k
    • Triple P-Positive Parenting Program – $828k
    • NC Perinatal and Maternal Substance Abuse Initiative – $2.7 million
    • Perinatal Substance Abuse Specialist – $45k
  • Foster care – Expand the foster care age to 21, which will result in a caseload increase, $4.5 million in the first year and $9.5 million in the second.
  • Adoption – assistance for youth adopted after age 16, $200k in the second year.
  • Minority Health – Eliminates the office, savings of $3.1 million each year.
  • Physical Activity and Nutrition Branch – Eliminates the program within Public Health, savings of $266k.
  • Wright School – Eliminates funding and closes the school, savings of $2.1 million in the first year and $2.8 million in the second.

Natural and Economic Resources:

  • Food and Drug
    • Registration Fee – drug manufacturer’s’ fees increased from $500 to $1,000 and drug wholesalers increased from $350 to $700.
    • License Fee – drug manufacturer’s’ fees increased from $500 to $1,000 and drug wholesalers increased from $350 to $700.
    • Dairy Inspection Fee – dairy retailer fees increased from $10 to $50 and dairy wholesalers increased from $40 to $100.
  • Agricultural Marketing – increases funding for marketing of NC-based agricultural products, total division expense is $8.3 million each year.
  • FFA Foundation – gives additional funding for the program, total expense is $100k each year.
  • Mine & Quarry Inspections – eliminates funding for the division, savings of $346k each year.
  • Marine Fisheries:
    • Shellfish Rehabilitation – total funding is $600k in the first year and $900k in the second.
    • Oyster Sanctuaries – total funding is $483,969 over two years.
    • Oyster Research and Development – $450k in the first year and $500k in the second.
  • Museum of Natural Sciences in Whiteville – eliminates funding, savings of $300k each year.
  • Dredging – increases funding for the Shallow Draft Navigation Channel, total funding next year will be $20 million
  • Underserved & Limited Resource Grant – eliminates program and savings of $1.25 million each year.
  • Biotechnology Center – eliminates funding, savings of $8.6 million each year.
  • High Point Furniture Market – gives additional funding, total funding is $1.2 million each year.
  • Tryon Palace – provides additional funding, total expense is slightly less than $3 million each year.
  • Roanoke Island Festival Park – increases funding, two year expense is $517k

Justice and Public Safety:

  • Samarcand – funds to start-up the Samarcand Training Academy in Moore County, $1.6 million in the first year and $1.9 million in the second.
  • Medicine Drop – provides funds for a program to let citizens dispose of expired or unused medicine, $120k in the first year.
  • Inmate Education – reduces budget by 5.6% or $500k
  • Capital Defender – reduces funding for the capital defender’s office by $750k or 18.9%
  • Underage drinking – increase funding for the initiative to reduce underage drinking outreach and marketing, $3.1 million each year.

General Government:

  • Battlefield – provides funding to the Averasboro battlefield commission to help with buying and relocating the Shaw Halfway House, $50k first year only.
  • Human Relations Commission – eliminates the commission, savings of $545k in the second year.

Transportation:

  • Ferry – provides additional funds for the Hatteras Inlet route and training to meet new federal requirements for oil spill responses, total ferry division funding is $39.7 million each year.
  • Bridges – increases funding for the bridge program, total budget is $202.9 million in the first year and $242.9 million in the second.
  • Temporary Plate Fee – increases the fee by $5 for a 10-day temporary tag
  • Ports Authority – spends $35 million each year to modernize the ports.