• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • Ecumenical Immigration Alliance
      • Ideas for Action
      • Sign Our Statement
      • The NC Sanctuary Coalition
      • Immigration Bible Study
      • Contact
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Opioid Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Opioid Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Public Education
    • NC Sanctuary Coalition
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
    • NC No Torture
  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

On Special Provisions in the State Budget

North Carolina Council of Churches · October 28, 1998 · Leave a Comment

A Policy Statement Adopted by the House of Delegates, North Carolina Council of Churches,
October 28, 1998

Recent years have seen a proliferation of “special provisions” in the state budget. While special provisions are not new, their increased use to bypass parts of the legislative process and to weaken the voice of the people is troubling.

Special provisions are items included in the state budget that go beyond the mere allocation of state money. Some special provisions are clearly relevant and appropriate in the budget (example: a requirement that certain independent groups receiving state money report back to the General Assembly on how they spend it or a requirement that part of an appropriation be spent in a specific way). Other special provisions have only minimal relationship to the budget (example: increasing the penalties for drug crimes). And some special provisions have no discernible connection to the budget (example: extending alcohol sales to racetracks and surrounding areas without holding a local election). Finally, some special provisions are clearly related to how the state spends its money but are so important or so complicated that they need to stand on their own (example: welfare reform).

The inclusion of special provisions is nothing new, and both houses and both parties do it. Last year’s Senate budget, for example, incorporated the provisions of separate bills regarding habitual drunk drivers, gang crimes, and the creation of the Health Care Oversight Commission. But the use of special provisions seemed to be elevated to a political art form last year when the House of Representatives grafted the entire welfare reform package onto its version of the budget.

This year’s House and Senate budget bills include a host of special provisions. Among them are:

  • unifying juvenile justice functions and assigning the unified office to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.
  • making extensive changes in the state’s charter school laws.
  • altering the Smart Start system.
  • increasing staffing requirements for adult care homes.
  • developing a state plan to ensure that people with developmental disabilities get needed services more quickly.
  • studying the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of the public defender program.
  • increasing punishments for crimes, including cruelty to animals.
  • ending the use of the gas chamber and requiring future executions to be by lethal injection.
  • changing welfare reform, including reneging on last year’s compromise regarding so-called electing counties and changing the purpose of Work First to include fostering long-term self-sufficiency.
  • developing a prescription drug program for low-income elderly and disabled people who are not eligible for Medicaid.
  • transferring state government offices from one department to another.

Clearly, some of these provisions are good proposals, worthy of consideration and passage. The problem with special provisions is that many of them (including most, if not all, of the ones just listed) should be dealt with as separate bills. As such, they would have to be approved by the appropriate committees in both houses (judiciary committees considering increased criminal penalties, for example), debated on their own merits, and approved by both Houses, again standing on their own merits. What often happens with a special provision is that it is added by budget writers with little or no committee discussion, never considered by the committees with expertise in that area, and then debated (if at all) as one small piece of a multi-billion-dollar, multi-hundred-page budget bill. If floor debate on the budget is brief, some special provisions may be passed which the public, or even some legislators, may not be aware of. When the two houses pass different versions of the budget and send them to a conference committee, the special provisions become special bargaining chips and further slow down the process of reaching compromise.

The reasons special provisions are so popular with some legislators should be clear. Matters which might not survive on their own slide through in the budget. It takes less time and trouble to insert a special provision than to persuade two or more substantive committees and both houses to pass a freestanding bill. And, since the budget bill is eventually going to pass in some form, the various techniques for delaying or killing a freestanding bill (including the new gubernatorial veto) don’t work if your bill has become a special provision.

We are troubled by the proliferation of special provisions. Their too-frequent use robs the state’s citizens of the input and influence which they should be able to have on important matters of state governance. Their use further concentrates legislative power in too few hands. Their use prolongs already lengthy sessions and trivializes critical state issues.

Therefore, we call on the 1999 General Assembly to reduce the use of special provisions in the budget by a public agreement between House and Senate leaders, including budget leaders, regarding when their use would be appropriate or by writing the House and Senate Rules in a way that would limit their use or in any other effective manner. This agreement, however expressed, should prohibit the use of special provisions which have little or no relationship to the spending of the state’s money or which are so significant or complex as to warrant separate consideration as a freestanding bill.

Filed Under: Issue Statements Tagged With: Economic Justice, State Budget

North Carolina Council of Churches

About North Carolina Council of Churches

The Council enables denominations, congregations, and people of faith to individually and collectively impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ. Learn more about our work here: www.ncchurches.org/about

Reader Interactions

More Like This

Raise the Wage
Raleigh Report – April 29, 2019
Raleigh Report – April 22, 2019

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

On Special Provisions in the State Budget

Latest Tweets

Amazing news for the leaders in sanctuary! Jose Chicas, who has been living in sanctuary for more than 3 and a half years, is finally being reunited with his family. newsobserver.com/new… pic.twitter.com/iMVX…

About 2 days ago

You still have time to register for a webinar focused on the COVID-19 Vaccine roll out with @healthandfaith and @ncdhhs. We will discuss the process and how faith communities can get involved. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/meet…

About 2 days ago

What amazing news to finally see Jose Chicas leave sanctuary! It's been too long, but finally such a humble and gracious man can return home and be reunited with his family. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." -Philippians 4:4 twitter.com/WRALSara…

About 3 days ago

Faith communities in NC are supporting a peaceful transition now that former president Donald Trump has left office. Read the @PNS_NC Public News Service (PNS) quoting our Executive Director, @jec16 : publicnewsservice.or… @PNS_News

About 3 days ago

Calling on the new U.S. Congress to demonstrate immediate leadership in the national care movement by creating a permanent federal #paidleave program. #CareEconomy #CareisEssential Read: bit.ly/2LB3ZEZ

About 3 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

We are experiencing collective trauma in different spaces. It has been very challenging, but please know that you are not alone. Click below to read more about how the pandemic is affecting our #mentalhealth and steps you can take to manage it. #StrongerTogether #MindfulTogether twitter.com/MentalHe…

About 2 days ago

RT @StampStigma 🛑 Stop scrolling! 🛑 Relax your shoulders and try taking 5 deep breaths. Taking frequent breaks from social media is a good practice to start implementing in your daily routine!

About 2 days ago

There's still time to register - make sure to join us! #MindfulTogether @ncchurches @ncdhhs twitter.com/healthan…

About 3 days ago

We will heal together. #StrongerTogether #InaugurationDay twitter.com/ncchurch…

About 4 days ago

RT @CDCgov If you’ve had #COVID19, you should still get vaccinated. Experts aren’t sure how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering, and reinfection is possible. More: bit.ly/3g5amLz. #SleeveUp pic.twitter.com/Yrne…

About 4 days ago

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @DalaiLama I offer my profound congratulations to Joe Biden on becoming President of the United States of America. I am so pleased that he is giving high priority to the urgent issue of climate change. I pray for his success in meeting the challenges that lie ahead. bit.ly/3p5tAEy

About 3 days ago

RT @RevYearwood This was 2014 when I was a part of the Reject and Protect Interfaith Prayer Gathering. This was one of the many protests against the Keystone XL Pipeline. Almost 7 years We did it! Our work is NEVER in vain. ✊🏿✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/z7wg…

About 3 days ago

RT @billmckibben Head of the European Investment Bank: "Gas is over." I'd say the message is starting to sink in. euractiv.com/section…

About 3 days ago

RT @ClimatePower "We need to build our economy back, better than ever." —Transportation Secretary Nominee @PeteButtigieg on the DOT's central role in implementing President Biden's infrastructure vision, creating millions of good-paying, union jobs, and tackling the climate crisis pic.twitter.com/v4gp…

About 3 days ago

RT @EJinAction We have a new day filled with amazing possibilities for us to move mountains together but it’s gonna take incredible work and authentic collaboration to get it done. #BidenHarris pic.twitter.com/fpEw…

About 3 days ago

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2021 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine