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RALEIGH – State senators could avoid $207 million in new taxes and fees tied to the N.C. House’s state budget plan, while cutting spending and addressing more budget priorities. That’s…

Although state revenue estimates are growing at the rate of about $100 million each month, the North Carolina House managed to pass a $17.1 billion budget that requires even higher taxes than the Senate’s bill. Spending would grow 7.5 percent. Despite this, some representatives claim that the budget is a model of fiscal responsibility because it ties recurring funds to recurring obligations. Fiscal responsibility does not require $778 million in new taxes or $376 million in transfers and new fees. “Reverse logrolling” in the conference is the last best hope for the General Assembly to become responsible.

Political observers may welcome the North Carolina House’s uncharacteristic speed in devising its 2003-05 budget plan by its previously announced deadline of Easter weekend, but state taxpayers are unlikely to view its nearly $860 million in extra taxes over the next two fiscal years as timely given the weakness of the state’s economic recovery. By working harder to identify budget savings, lawmakers could have avoided the tax increase without adversely affecting teachers, prisons, or other core services of state government.