Raleigh, N.C. – Bipartisan legislation proposing a $3.1 billion bond for North Carolina’s education communities and transportation needs was given initial approval by the State House of Representatives on Thursday.
House Bill 1225 Education and Transportation Bond Act of 2020 is sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Elmore (R-Wilkes), Rep. John Torbett (R-Gaston), Rep. Michael Wray (D-Northhampton), and Speaker Moore.
H.B. 1225 passed a preliminary House vote by 113 to 4 on Thursday and another vote is scheduled in the state House next week.
The bill proposes $1.15 billion in bond funding for the North Carolina Department of Transportation, $1.05 billion for K-12 public schools, $600 million for the University of North Carolina system, and $300 million for the State’s community colleges.
The bill sponsors released a joint statement:
“North Carolina has taken a critical first step to leverage our smart financial management with powerful investments in the future of our state’s economic connectivity and educational success,” Speaker Moore, Reps. Elmore, Torbett, and Wray said in a joint statement Thursday.“We appreciate the bipartisan support of our House colleagues for a bond proposal that builds on North Carolina’s rapid growth and economic success to ensure we outpace competitors in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Last month, analysts for the General Assembly’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division and the Office of State Budget and Management predicted a total net drop in expected tax collections of $5 billion for the current budget biennium due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina.
The figure includes an expected $4.2 billion drop, or 8.2%, in General Fund revenues plus an expected $774 million drop, or 9.7%, in the Highway Fund and Highway Trust Fund.
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