N.C. Senator Ellie Kinnaird's Newsletter

July 15, 2008 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Ellie Kinnaird

Greetings from Raleigh.

Last week, the Senate and House both passed the state budget. The budget was sent to Gov. Easley for his signature.

The budget:

Strengthens our economy. The budget invests in training our workforce to compete in the global economy with an emphasis on strengthening technology training at our community colleges and universities. The budget provides funds to help stabilize the housing market and help keep people from losing their homes to foreclosure.

Invests in education-from pre-kindergarten through college. The budget provides a 3% pay raise to teachers, reduces class sizes, $15 million for initiatives to reduce the dropout rate and encourage students to stay in school, and expands More at Four high-quality pre-kindergarten education. It fully funds enrollment increases at state universities, allowing over 8,082 new students to attend this fall and funds building projects throughout the UNC System so that schools are equipped with the facilities to continue providing a world-class education.

Improves health care for children and for senior citizens. The budget helps 7,341 more uninsured children get access to medical care, providing free health care to low-income and uninsured patients, and provides in-home community health care for senior citizens. It also funds cutting-edge disease research to improve the health of the people of our state.

Makes our communities safer. It restores funds for juvenile crime prevention. The budget starts a pilot technology program to help law enforcement agencies talk to each other to make sure offenders and probationers don’t fall through the cracks. It also provides assistance for victims of rape and domestic violence.

Protects our environment. The budget provides $100 million investment in the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to combat water pollution in our state. It will protect sensitive land with $50 million for Land for Tomorrow and provides funding for water resource projects in light of the drought. It also invests in the NC Green Business Fund to expand North Carolina's growing "green" economy and "green" workforce development.

Now that the budget is complete, the Senate plans to continue working in the next week in order to finish up a number of non-budget bills and complete the business of our state as soon as possible. As always, please don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts on these initiatives or any other issue you feel is important. I hope you have a good weekend, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the Senate.

Paid for by Ellie Kinnaird for Senate • PO Box 668, Carrboro, NC 27510 • 919-929-1607 •