Three Fourths of North Carolina Voters Want A Vote on New Debt

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Authorizing additional unapproved state debt this year will be not only fiscally irresponsible, but widely unpopular

Public Demands a Vote of New State Debt

• An overwhelming 77 percent of voters believe that the North Carolina General Assembly should not be allowed to borrow money without voter approval.¹

North Carolina’s Debt-Financed Capital Spending Spree Needs a Break

• More than $4.1 billion in debt has been authorized since 2000 for UNC capital projects.²
• For sake of comparison, with $4.1 billion the State could have paid the salary and benefits of roughly 7,000 school teachers for an entire decade.
• Adding in Repair & Renovation expenses along with annual capital improvement appropriations, the state has authorized roughly $8 billion since 2000 for state building construction and maintenance.

Government-Financed Construction Projects do not “Stimulate” Job Growth

• Former Governor Mike Easley “fast-tracked” nearly $750 million in state government capital improvement projects back in January 2009. Easley promised that the state’s “stimulus package will help keep North Carolinians on the job.” A press release from the Governor’s office at the time boldly predicted that “these projects will produce nearly 26,000 new jobs.”³
• North Carolina has in fact lost more than 38,000 construction jobs since January of 2009. This job loss represents a contraction of 18 percent of North Carolina’s construction industry.⁴

State Debt Rapidly Climbing, Threatens State Bond Rating

• Per capita state debt has more than doubled since 2000.
• In the 2010 Debt Affordability Study, the State Treasurer concluded that North Carolina has “substantially exhausted” its General Fund-supported debt limits until fiscal year 2012.
• The study further recommended using voter-approved debt as the “preferred method to provide debt financing for its capital needs” if it wishes to maintain its current bond rating.

1. May 2008 Civitas Institute Poll. Available at: http://www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/may-2008-decisionmaker-poll
2. 2 Fiscal Research Division, North Carolina General Assembly. Annual “Highlights, Fiscal and Budgetary Actions,” report capital sections. Available at: http://www.ncleg.net/fiscalresearch/highlights/highlights.shtml
3. “Council of state approves Gov. Easley’s capital improvement projects,” WBTV, Jan. 2009 http://www.wbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=9624199
4. Current Employment Statistics; North Carolina Employment Security Commission, Labor Market Information Division. Available at: http://esesc23.esc.state.nc.us/d4/CesSelection.aspx