Friends,
Last week, Governor Cooper and House and Senate Democrats released a counter-proposal to the compromise budget previously announced by House leadership.
The Governor's compromise proposal would:
- Expand Medicaid healthcare coverage for 500,000 North Carolinians.
- Increase teacher pay by an average of 8.5% over two years with no plateaus and a provide a pay raise for every teacher. This is an improvement on the conference budget, which proposed an average teacher raise of 3.8% and a one-time bonus.
- Reinstate advanced degree pay for teachers.
- Provide a 5% raise for state employees, non-certified school personnel and UNC employees, and a 4% raise for community college employees.
- Increase retirees’ cost-of-living adjustment to 2% for state employee retirees. This is up from 1% in the conference budget.
- Accept tax cuts from the previous compromise budget proposal by raising the standard deduction on income tax, but the Governor's budget would also eliminate nearly $400 million in corporate tax cuts.
- Maintain private school vouchers in the base budget for those who now use them, but would not include additional money or special provisions that expand and promote additional private school vouchers. I would prefer to eliminate private school vouchers entirely, but this is a compromise offer.
- Increase investment in early childhood education and Smart Start to reach more children.
- Increase investment in clean air and water through the Department of Environmental Quality with a focus on GenX and other PFAs and emerging compounds.
For a spreadsheet on the compromise proposal with specific numbers please click
HERE
.
Where do we go from here? North Carolinians elected a Democratic Governor and a General Assembly with a Republican majority. But now, Democrats have enough members in the House and Senate to sustain the Governor's veto. By electing a divided government, voters expect us to compromise and reach common ground. That is what I am committed to doing, and I will work toward that goal until we have a state budget that works for all of North Carolina.
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Sincerely,
Representative Julie von Haefen
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Invitation: Wake County Listening Tour
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Rep. Cynthia Ball, Rep. Sydney Batch, Rep. Allison Dahle, Rep. Rosa Gill, Rep. Joe John, and Rep. Julie von Haefen invite you to attend their listening tour. All of the Representatives listed and pictured above will attend as many events as possible
(pending their availability)
, with the goal of creating space for constituents to talk with their Representatives about their ideas and concerns for the county.
- Date & Time: Wednesday, July 17th from 6:00-7:30PM
- Location: Holly Springs Town Council Chambers: 128 S Main St, Holly Springs, NC 27540
- Date & Time: Thursday, July 25th from 6:00-7:30PM
- Location: American Legion, 8523 Chapel Hill Rd, Cary, NC 27513
- Date & Time: Thursday, August 1st from 6:00-7:30PM
- Location: Beth Meyer Synagogue, 504 Newton Rd, Raleigh, North Carolina 27615
If you are interested in attending any of these events,
please RSVP using the link below
so that we may notify you if an event must be delayed or postponed.
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Update on Crisis Pregnancy Centers
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I was happy to speak with national press outlet
Rewire.News
about the irresponsible funding of Crisis Pregnancy Centers & I am quoted in their article exposing the lack of oversight. “Whether you agree or disagree with the Human Coalition’s mission or their goals this is just bad government,” Rep. Julie von Haefen (D-Wake County) told Rewire.News. “I mean, we’re putting more money into a program that we have had no oversight over.”
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DHHS has also allowed crisis pregnancy centers like the Human Coalition to purchase religious materials, including materials intended to help men “discover authentic manhood as modeled by Jesus Christ.” I am working to continue to shed light on this misuse of taxpayer money and the lack of oversight on crisis pregnancy centers.
Earlier this month, I stood on the floor and spoke out against the irresponsible spending which quadruples funding for the Human Coalition. Ignoring Departmental recommendations by recklessly funneling more money towards organizations like the Human Coalition is irresponsible government and a misuse of taxpayer dollars, plain and simple.
You can read the entirety of my statement below
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Crowder County Park Expands!
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Great news for District 36- Crowder County Park is growing! Wake County Commissioners recently voted to quaduple the size of the park.
"Park upgrades should be completed by 2025, and uses could include hiking/walking trails, fishing, environmental education and other recreation."
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Our current Legislative Building opened its doors in 1963. At the time of construction, the building and furnishings cost $5.5 million, or
$1.24 for each citizen of North Carolina.
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