Gov. Easley

Gov. Mike Easley has proposed an annual cap on the growth of state spending in North Carolina that would be tied to personal income growth. In considering the idea, lawmakers should examine recent data that show state spending caps to be effective particularly if they rebate excess revenues to taxpayers and enjoy constitutional, rather than just statutory, authority. Without a spending cap, it is likely that fiscal discipline will disappear as the state’s economy recovers.

RALEIGH — Gov. Mike Easley’s just-announced state budget plan for the 2003-05 biennium includes an immediate $461 million tax increase and allows spending to grow by nearly 5 percent next…

RALEIGH — Gov. Mike Easley announced Monday a proposed spending cap for North Carolina that would limit annual budget growth to average changes in the state’s personal income — a…