THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230499
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Long : 131 lines
More than $1.6 million in funding for coastal programs over the next two years escaped the ax on Thursday as the state Senate and House of Representatives resolved their differences in the budget for existing programs.
The $19.27 billion spending package includes about $216,800 for Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park, $1 million for the state fisheries resource grant program, $275,010 for four Division of Marine Fisheries positions and $110,175 for the Partnership for the Sounds, a four-county ecotourism project in northeastern North Carolina.
Most of these programs are pet projects of Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, who was credited by coastal leaders for helping preserve many of the coastal programs in a tight budget year.
``Clearly, those who live on the coast realize the importance of making an investment in marine fisheries and other coastal programs,'' said Bret Kinsella, a spokesman for Basnight, after the Senate vote on the budget.
Most members of the Albemarle-area legislative delegation supported the compromise plan, approved by budget negotiators Wednesday and OK'd Thursday morning by votes of 87-21 in the House and 37-12 in the Senate.
Rep. Howard J. Hunter Jr., a Northampton County Democrat, was the sole northeastern legislator voting against the budget bill.
The plan cuts $170.8 million from the $9.8 billion spending package originally requested by Gov. James B. Hunt Jr., and cuts 607 jobs from the state payroll in 1995-96.
The plan also includes $9.7 billion in General Fund spending for 1996-97, a $162.3 million reduction from Hunt's request.
Generally, the major budget differences were in the areas of education, human resources and public safety.
The compromise budget cuts $17.3 million and 43 jobs from the University of North Carolina system after House negotiators reduced their cuts by $31.5 million and the Senate increased its cuts by $8.6 million.
Also cut is $32 million from the Department of Public Instruction and related education programs after House negotiators reduced their cuts by $6.5 million and the Senate reduced its by $1.3 million. The budget funds the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, which had been proposed for elimination by Hunt and the Senate.
The main sticking point between the House and the Senate was disagreement between House Republicans and Senate Democrats over funding for Smart Start, which helps disadvantaged children under 6 years old.
An agreement on Smart Start, announced Wednesday afternoon by legislative leaders, gives county programs - including Pasquotank - the $58.1 million the governor requested, but provides only planning money for 12 new counties instead of the full funding sought by Hunt. The agreement also calls for increased legislative oversight of the programs.
``What we have done is very publicly stand up for the families and small children of this state,'' said Sen. Beverly Perdue, a Craven County Democrat, when she presented the budget on the Senate floor. ``Education is maintained as the focal point of spending in North Carolina.''
State environmental and coastal leaders were delighted that most of their programs survived intense scrutiny by lawmakers who had earlier targeted many natural resources and community development agencies for large cuts or elimination.
``I think we did a good job of showing that what we do is needed,'' said Debbie Crane, spokeswoman for the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources. ``And I think the continuation budget debate reflects that the legislators realized that.''
The big winner in the state budget among coastal agencies was the Division of Marine Fisheries, which saw more than $1.65 million in proposed cuts restored in the budget approved Thursday. This restored spending includes $275,010 in program and staff cuts recommended by Hunt and $1 million in reductions in a fisheries grant program sought by the House.
Robert V. Lucas, the state's top fisheries official, said the decision by legislative leaders to restore most cuts in fisheries programs represents a growing awareness of the importance of the state's coastal fishing industry and of the budget needs of the agency that regulates and protects that industry.
``The real significance of it is a realization by the decision-makers that fisheries has done without for many years in the past and has not had the monetary resources devoted to it that it should,'' Lucas said from his law office in Selma after the General Assembly vote.
``This kind of appropriation also shifts an extra responsibility on the division and the commission to demonstrate a high degree of accountability on our part.''
Other highlights of the spending plan for coastal and environmental agencies include:
No change in the continuation budget for the Division of Coastal Management, which received about $1.5 million from the state in 1994-95. That agency is slated for a $3,038 reduction in appropriations for supplies and equipment and a cut in one staff member for the next two years.
Restoration of $110,175 in proposed cuts over the next two years for the Partnership for the Sounds.
Restoration of the director's post in the Washington regional office of the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources.
About $216,800 in restored funds for the seafood park in Wanchese over the next two years.
This is the first of three budget measures that the General Assembly must develop. A second budget, known as the expansion budget, will cover any salary increases and spending for new programs. The third bill will cover one-time spending for construction projects and equipment purchases.
``The expansion items are absolutely necessary,'' said Lucas. ``And there are no guarantees on how things will shake out.''
Hunt has asked for $10.6 million for the coast, including $5.7 million for new programs and $4.9 million for capital projects.
Most longtime legislative observers agree that competition for funding for new programs and construction projects, expected to begin in earnest next week, will be intense as lawmakers and special-interest groups vie for their share of about $84 million reportedly available for such projects.
In addition to a list of expenditures, the 100-page continuation budget bill contains about 92 pages of fine print, known as special provisions, that generally issue spending instructions, establish studies or designate other special programs.
Here's a look at some of the special provisions for coastal programs:
A legislative study of whether to charge fees on most of the state's ferry routes was scrapped by budget negotiators.
The Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources has been asked to identify all state-funded environmental education programs and, by Jan. 15, to develop a plan for consolidating these programs.
The Partnership for the Sounds will be required to report on all of its programs every March 1.
The Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources has been given the option of studying whether the state needs three aquariums and the benefits, if any, of consolidating the sites. That report, if undertaken, is due April 1, 1996.
A Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on oysters has been given about two more years to report its findings on how to improve the state's oyster stock and an additional $200,000 to continue its study. The council's final report is now due by June 30, 1997. by CNB