NC Senate District 46 August 2022

Friends,
Recently I was invited to give a presentation to a local business group in Buncombe County. The presentation centered upon legislative and fiscal highlights from the perspective of a member of the North Carolina General Assembly. I thought I would share some of the information in a series of newsletters. Since there may be new residents of the district, I’d like to offer a review of the fiscal shape of NC over the last dozen years. 
Deficits to Surpluses
Coming out of the recession of 2009-10, the state was looking at a $2.5 billion budget deficit for 2011. There were structural changes that needed to be made and some tough decisions were required to correct some of the issues. As a result of the structural problems the projected deficit of 2011 was turned into a series of revenue surpluses beginning in 2015. In FY 2019-2020 the projected budget surplus was looking to actually become a projected loss of $1.13 billion, due to the shut-down of the economy due to COVID-19. However, the state used cash reserves (the Rainy Day fund) and CARES Act funding in order to plug the budget hole and provide funding for high priority projects, and to protect state employees from furloughs similar to those that affected teachers and state employees in 2009-10. 
While we don’t yet have the final numbers for the amount of revenue surpluses in 2021 and 2022, over the course of the biennium it is projected to be approximately $10 billion. This is the result of continued tax reform (reductions) and smart fiscal management by the Republican General Assembly over the past 10 years, which have in turn led to strong economic growth in our state.   
SAVING FOR A “RAINY” DAY
Saving for the future has been a crucial priority.  Over the past 12 years, the Republican General Assembly has increased the savings reserve (often called the “Rainy Day Fund”) from $150 million under Democrat leadership in 2010 to a balance of $4.25 billion in FY2022-23. In addition, since 2016, NC has had to spend nearly $1.5 billion from the savings reserve on disaster relief for multiple natural disasters, including hurricanes, severe storms, fires, flooding, and an earthquake. The Republican led General Assembly has and will continue to make having a robust savings reserve a continued priority so that our state is prepared for the next natural disaster or the Biden recession.  
NORTH CAROLINA IS NOW A NATIONAL BUSINESS LEADER
These fiscal policies have helped to raise the esteem of North Carolina in many national business publications such as, Site Selection Magazine, Forbes, CNBC, the Tax Foundation, and Chief Executive Magazine. Here are a few: 
  • No.1 Best Business Climate 2021
  • No.1 Best State for Business 2019
  • No.2 Top State for Business 2021
This is just a small part of the good news that in happening in North Carolina. I will share more information from the presentation in future newsletters.
As always, if I may be of assistance to you, please contact my Raleigh office via phone or email. It is a pleasure to serve you in the state Senate.
 
—Warren Daniel

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