Fiscal discipline on the General Assembly?
April 8th, 2008, 11:28 am · Post a Comment · posted by Barry Smith
Should the General Assembly spending powers be limited? Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina, a conservative policy organization based in Raleigh, thinks so.
AFP-NC is pushing what’s called a “Taxpayer Bill of Rights,” also dubbed TABOR, which would limit the General Assembly’s authority to increase spending to the inflation rate plus the increase in population. Five gubernatorial candidates have signed on supporting that proposal.
Two that haven’t are the major Democratic candidates, Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and Treasurer Richard Moore.
Supporting the spending restraints are Libertarian Michael Munger along with four Republicans, former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, Salisbury attorney and activist Bill Graham and Johnston County state Sen. Fred Smith.
It will take some constitutional discipline if such spending control is to become reality. State government doesn’t have the self-discipline to effect such spending restraints. Earlier in his tenure, Gov. Mike Easley tried to restrain spending to growth in personal income of North Carolinians. That hasn’t worked. During the 1990s, when the economy was booming, money was plentiful and Republicans held majorities in the state House, the General Assembly went on a spending spree.
The North Carolina population has also got to decide if it really wants a state government that’s fiscally tight-fisted. I haven’t seen that reflected in election results in recent years, to any significant degree. It is important to note, however, that voters did turn down land transfer taxes in referendums last fall. We’ll see in a few weeks if that trend continues.
In addition to limiting spending, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights would set up a budget stabilization fund, sort of like a rainy day fund, for surplus revenue. That money could be used during economic slowdowns to avert major budget cuts. Once money in that fund reaches a certain threshold, money would be rebated to taxpayers. It would also set up a mechanism for higher spending or tax increases, should there be a public demand for it. Those increases would likely require either a vote of the people or a supermajority in both the House and the Senate.
One state, Colorado, has a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Dallas Woodhouse, AFP-NC’s state director, said that on occasion, spending increases have been approved on the local level.
