Last Wednesday, North Carolina lawmakers filed a bill to claw back half a billion dollars in state taxpayer funds from NCInnovation (NCI).
Hi there,
Last Wednesday, North Carolina lawmakers filed a bill to claw back half a billion dollars in state taxpayer funds from NCInnovation (NCI), a private nonprofit founded to help commercialize more applied university research in the state. The organization’s goals are laudable, if it were a fully independent organization dealing with private dollars, but not with taxpayer funds.
State House Oversight Committee co-chairs Reps. Harry Warren and Jake Johnson are among the primary sponsors of House Bill 164, which aims to reclaim the $500 million given by the state to NCI in 2023 to allow those funds to be redirected to more pressing budgetary needs (like disaster relief for western North Carolina).
Under the proposed bill, any interest or investment earnings on the $500 million endowment would remain with NCI, and they can continue to award grants and accept applications.
This is excellent news, and a step in the right direction!
Venture capital is not a legitimate use of taxpayer dollars. NCI’s lack of transparency, potential conflicts of interest, and accounting woes more than justify state lawmakers reclaiming taxpayer funds.
“The 2023 allocation of $500 million in taxpayer funds to NCInnovation, which has fought public oversight at every turn, has raised serious concerns about transparency and fiscal responsibility. House Bill 154 seeks to address these concerns by ensuring that state funds are properly accounted for and returned to the General Fund. At the John Locke Foundation, we believe taxpayers deserve clear and accountable stewardship of public resources, for constitutional core government services – venture capital is not among them. With North Carolina facing pressing needs—including recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene—reclaiming these funds is a prudent step toward responsible governance and ensuring taxpayer dollars are directed where they are needed most.”
North Carolina has more pressing needs to address than funneling taxpayer money to a corporate welfare scheme that only benefits the most well-connected, and this is a good first step in the right direction from the state legislature.
You can read more about the issues with NCInnovation here, here and here.
Esse quam videri,
Donald Bryson
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Audits are vital for maintaining public confidence in elections, particularly procedural audits
But what exactly are procedural audits?
Also known as, “forensic,” “compliance,” or “performance” audits, procedural audits determine whether election laws and procedures are followed, including ballot chain-of-custody
Procedural audits differ from election audits, because they focus on verifying overall adherence to legal procedures, rather than verifying the accuracy of the vote counts
To illustrate their importance, Utah’s use of procedural audit helped uncover major issues with their election procedures
A 2024 “performance audit” report identified three significant issues over the past two years:
Failure of election officials to properly execute post-election audits
Minimal state oversight of local election officials
Inadequate control and tracking of ballots
Two Utah counties were found to have violated state election law, compromising election security
The report made 20 recommendations, including procedural changes for county and state election officials, and legislative action to improve election integrity and streamline administration
North Carolina should adopt similar audit practices, including:
Auditing over multiple election cycles to uncover systemic issues
Ensuring audits are conducted by independent bodies, like the State Auditor’s office
Including responses from the state’s chief elections officer, to improve transparency and accountability
North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management projects a $544 million surplus for the current fiscal year
This boosts the total General Fund revenues to $34.71 billion—1.6% above estimates—due to strong economic growth and higher-than-expected tax revenues
Some lawmakers fear that cutting taxes would drain North Carolina’s budget, directing resources away from community needs
The state’s individual income tax is scheduled to drop from 4.25% to 3.49% by 2027, and the corporate tax from 2.5% to 2% by 2026
While growth remains strong, inflation remains a concern, complicating long-term budget planning
Governor Josh Stein needlessly warned of an impending “fiscal cliff,” citing challenges in funding infrastructure, public schools, and disaster recovery
But the handwringing about revenue shortfalls comes down to the differences in static and dynamic models of revenue forecasting
Static revenue forecasting projects future tax revenue based on current trends
While simple, it may miscalculate revenue changes by assuming people and businesses won't change their financial behavior in response to tax policy changes
Dynamic revenue forecasting predicts future tax revenue by factoring in how people and businesses might react to tax changes, using economic models
Because if we think that people don’t respond to tax changes, then we are kidding ourselves
As budget discussions get underway in the new legislative session, lawmakers will have to balance planned tax cuts with budget needs, such as Hurricane Helene relief efforts
The New York Post recently ran a story on how New York spends a staggering $36,200 per student, the highest in the nation
That amounts to $89 billion annually on education
With all that money spent on education, are New York’s students among the best in the nation?NO!
New York students rank mediocre to below average on the National Assessment of Education Progress
Their test scores are declining faster than the national average
And enrollment is dropping while spending continues to rise
Despite ever-growing budgets, there is little oversight on how funds are used
Teacher salaries have climbed to an average of $92,696, the second highest in the country, with generous retirement and health benefits as well
Yet, there’s no clear strategy to improve student success or hold underperforming districts accountable
It is well past time for the state to improve student outcomes and ensure that schools’ vast resources meet the needs of students by improving oversight
Interventions must be made to ensure districts are effective and innovative
And when school districts do not deliver results, they must be held accountable
Otherwise, New York taxpayers will continue footing the bill for an education system that isn’t delivering results
The next time policymakers are being asked to fund expensive new initiatives, all of which promise to improve education, they should ask our New York friends first how that worked out for them
