NC Policy Watch

2 — number of days until the state Senate is scheduled to pass its biennial budget, according to Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (“NC Senate on track to pass its budget plan next week,” Associated Press)

29 — number of days since the last meeting of the full Senate Appropriations Committee (Ibid)

0 — number of committee hearings held on the Senate budget as of Monday, May 8 (N.C. General Assembly)

0 — number of days the Senate biennial budget has been available for the public and rank and file Senators to read (Ibid)

50 — estimated percent of Senate tax cut proposal that will be received by the top 20 percent of income earners in North Carolina (“Still walking the path to zero,” N.C. Budget & Tax Center)

$3.2 billion — amount less that the state revenue code will bring in next fiscal year than it would have before tax changes made since 2013 if the Senate tax plan passes (Ibid)

$1.15 billion — budget pressures facing the state in the next two years, including increases in school enrollments, State Health Plan, Medicaid, teacher pay, and disaster recovery (Ibid)

$600 million — state budget shortfall in three years if the General Assembly passes the Senate tax plan, according to the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly ( “Budget hole projected if $1 billion tax-cut plan passes” News & Observer, April 18)

$20,119 — average annual tax cut the top 1 percent of income earners will receive since 2013 if the Senate tax plan becomes law (“Still walking the path to zero: The Senate tax plan will harm North Carolina’s goal of building a stronger, inclusive economy, N.C. Budget & Tax Center, March)

$15 — average annual tax cut the bottom 20 percent of income earners will receive since 2013 if the Senate tax plan becomes law (Ibid)

22 — rank of North Carolina among the 50 states in average teacher pay in 2003-2004 (“How to Build an Economy that Works for All: Attract —and Keep — High-Quality Teachers,” N.C. Justice Center, October 2016)

41 — rank of North Carolina among the 50 states in average teacher pay in 2015-2016 (Ibid)

8.1 — percentage decline in per-pupil K-12 spending since 2008 when adjusted for inflation (“2017 Fiscal Year Budget Falls Short of Being a Visionary Plan for North Carolina’s Economic Future,” N.C. Budget & Tax Center, July 2016)

14.7 — percentage decline in state funding per student for the UNC system in the 2016-2017 budget compared to 2008 (Ibid)

58 — percent that state funding for classroom materials and instructional supplies is currently below spending levels in 2010 when adjusted for inflation (Ibid)