NC Governor calls GOP budget "irresponsible"

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Cooper warned that the corporate and individual tax rate cuts included in the plan "will blow a major hole in our budget just a few years down the road, handcuffing our ability to invest in education and the economy." "This budget prioritizes tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations and shortchanges education and economic development," he said. "That is a demonstration of priorities that are out of line."

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Following are some of the highlights:

A 3.3 percent average raise for teachers, and a 9.6 percent average raise over the next two years. Meanwhile, principals and assistant principals would see their salaries go up by 8.6 and 13.4 percent, respectively, over two years.
A $1,000 raise for all other state employees
Three bonus days of leave for all teachers and state employees
A permanent 1 percent cost-of-living adjustment for state retirees
Adds $363 million to the state's "rainy day" reserve fund, bringing the total to nearly $1.84 billion, which tops the statutory requirement of having 8 percent of annual spending in reserve
Personal income tax rates would drop from 5.499 percent to 5.25 percent in 2019
Corporate income tax rates would go from 3 percent to 2.5 percent in 2019
The standard deduction, the amount on which people pay no income tax, would go from $16,500 to $20,000 for married couples filing jointly and from $8,250 to $10,000 for individuals in 2019.
Another $100 million for Hurricane Matthew relief
$27 million to add 3,525 slots to North Carolina Pre-K, which legislative leaders said would wipe out 75 percent of the current waiting list for the pre-kindergarten program
$100 million in state lottery funds to help rural school districts with their construction needs. The state would match local funds on a 3-1 ratio.
$10 million for treatment programs statewide to address the growing opioid addiction problem
A provision to no longer try all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults by the end of 2019, including money for planning for the move and to construct more juvenile detention facilities
An additional $320 million for the Strategic Transportation Initiative highway-building program over two years

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