The North Carolina House and Senate have passed separate state budget plans and legislative leaders are working on a compromise. The author voted against the House budget because it does not address a potential $480 million shortfall. Two Republican budget amendments the author hopes will survive aim to eliminate unnecessary tests, saving $2 million for classroom supplies, and require full scholarship programs to pay out-of-state tuition rates for non-residents, saving $6 million for career technical education. While not supporting the overall House budget, the author would view these provisions as a minor victory. Other bills on jobs, the environment, and water resources are under consideration before the legislative session ends.

1. Capitol
Commentary
418B Legislative Office Building
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
(919) 715-3009 – ruths@ncleg.net
June 11, 2010 Legislative Update Raleigh, NC
Capitol Commentary from Ruth Samuelson
Budget has priority.
Now that both the N.C. House and Senate have approved their own separate state budget
plans, legislative leaders are working on a spending compromise that both chambers can
agree on. I voted against the House version of the budget that passed last week because it
does not address a potential $480 million budget gap if Congress fails to grant the state extra
Medicaid money this year. The word from Washington is that the money is not coming and I
believe that failing to make plans for that now is not only irresponsible, but also
unconstitutional.
However, there are a few provisions in the House budget that were successfully inserted by
the Republican minority. I hope they will survive the legislative process, because together

2. they ensure that millions in taxpayer dollars will be spent more wisely. One such provision
would eliminate certain end-of-grade tests that are not required by the federal government
and are generally seen as unnecessary by educators. The savings: $2 million, which could go
to pay for classroom supplies that many teachers had been buying with their own, hard-
earned money.
Another smart budget amendment would eliminate a costly perk currently enjoyed by full
scholarship programs. These foundations have been allowed to pay in-state-tuition rates for
their out-of-state recipients, effectively relying on the taxpayers of North Carolina to help
cover the cost of their scholarship. By requiring them to pay out-of-state rates for out-of-state
recipients, we will save $6 million. That money will now go to the highly effective high
school Career Technical Education program, which has a graduation rate of 90 percent.
So, while I don’t support the House version of the budget as a whole, if those two provisions
make it into the final spending plan, I will consider it a minor victory for legislators such as
myself who are trying to find creative ways to make the best of a bad budget situation.
Yet we are still at work on other matters.
As a small group of legislative leaders work – mostly behind closed doors – on that final
spending plan, a number of non-budget bills are being considered by various legislative
committees as well as the full House. Most local bills are sailing through the legislative
process as expected in “short session”, although – as you may have read -- a pair of
Mecklenburg County bills that I sponsored appear to be grounded – at least for now! There
are also several bills before us – of uncertain effectiveness, in my opinion -- aimed at spurring
job creation.
As a member of the Environment and Natural Resources committee, I am seeing significant

3. activity on environmental issues. You will be pleased to know that legislators and staff are
making plans now for how we will respond if oil from the horrific Gulf of Mexico spill
makes its way to our state’s beaches. Out intent is to do this without taking any extreme and
reactionary measures that would completely bar the possibility of offshore drilling, a
potentially important energy source. And finally, though we are not currently in drought
conditions, we are continuing to address proposals – including one bill that I am sponsoring –
that would help us to maintain abundant and clean water resources.
House leaders have said they want to wrap up this legislative session quickly once a budget is
approved. So if you have any questions or comments you’d like to make before the session
ends, please don’t hesitate to contact me at my legislative office at (919) 715-3009 or by
email at ruths@ncleg.net or samuelsonla@ncleg.net.
Best wishes,
Rep. Ruth Samuelson
District 104, Mecklenburg County
P.S. On a personal note, the proud parent in me needs to let you know that my oldest son was
in the Wall Street Journal last week! He started his own company last summer and the Journal
needed an expert on that particular subject matter. Though he was not mentioned by name,
his company SamuelsonDesign, was named in the article. :)