The final round of interim committee meetings was held this week as members of the North Carolina General Assembly gear up for the start of the short session next week, Wednesday, April 24. Just in time for the start of the short session, legislators received some positive news regarding the state’s financial position. The Consensus Forecasting Group, which consists of economists at the Office of State Budget and Management and the General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division, reached an agreed upon consensus revenue forecast for FY 2023-25 that shows an estimated $413 million in additional collections for the remainder of FY 2023-24, and $1 billion in additional collections in FY 2024-25. The consensus revenue forecast attributes the increased revenue to stronger than expected individual income tax collections and higher sales tax collections due to low unemployment rates, wage growth, and increased consumer spending.
Elections Update
Members of the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee met Wednesday afternoon to hear a report from the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) on the 2024 primary elections. NCSBE Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell, along with Paul Cox, NCSBE’s General Counsel, provided the committee with a detailed overview of the primary elections. Their presentations focused on the implementation of new laws recently passed by the legislature, challenges facing NCSBE in the administration of future elections, and additional resources needed.
This year’s primary election, held on Tuesday, March 5, saw about a 24% turnout with 1.8 million ballots cast. Since the 2020 primary, North Carolina has seen an increase in registered voters from 6.9 million to over 7.4 million.
Executive Director Bell shared the success of the state’s requirement of photo ID implementation with 99.94% of voters showing a valid photo ID when voting in person during the March primary. NCBSE spent $100,000 on efforts to educate voters about the new photo ID requirement and plans to continue investments in educating voters about photo ID requirements prior to the November general elections.
Additionally, Executive Director Bell spoke to the committee about the process of implementing provisions included in SB 747: Elections Law Changes, which made various changes to North Carolina’s elections laws starting January 1 of this year. SB 747 established a process for voters casting absentee ballots to cure the ballot if deficiencies on their absentee ballot envelope, such as missing the voter’s signature or photo ID, are found by providing additional documentation. Voters were notified if there were issues with their absentee ballot and were provided instructions on how to cure their ballot, resulting in 474 absentee voters curing their ballot.
SB 747 also directed the State Board to launch a pilot program to examine signature verification on absentee ballots using a third-party vendor’s software. NCSBE’s initial invitation for bid failed to locate a vendor that was able to meet all the requirements prescribed in the law and has restarted the procurement process.
Executive Director Bell also highlighted the staffing challenges NCSBE is facing, particularly at the county level, noting that there have been 60 changes in county election directors since 2019. This level of turnover means that between 28-31 county election directors will work their presidential election in 2024. Bell also noted where the General Assembly may be able to help the State Board: investing in adequate training and support for new election directors and restoring field support specialist positions, as well as providing additional investments in critical IT software and positions.
DIT Presentation
Members of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology met Thursday morning to hear a legislative update presentation from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (DIT). DIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer James Weaver kicked off the meeting by highlighting the Department’s partnership with the General Assembly to disburse about $380 million in various grants to extend broadband to more than 150,000 households and businesses throughout the state. In addition to providing greater access to broadband, DIT has focused on measures to help ensure that North Carolinians are safe and secure when accessing the internet, provide a more streamlined and user-friendly IT procurement process, and increase the state’s IT workforce.
Nate Denny, Deputy Secretary for Broadband and Digital Equity, provided the committee a status update on several broadband expansion programs, including the Completing Access to Broadband “CAB” program. To date, DIT has awarded $27 million of the $400 million allocated to the program. 34 of North Carolina’s 100 counties have committed to participate in the program and provide the required local match. However, Deputy Secretary Denny expressed concern about the matching requirement and urged lawmakers to remove the county match requirement so DIT can maximize its impact across all 100 counties and invest the program’s remaining funds.
Lastly, Torre Jessup, Chief Deputy/Deputy State Chief Information Officer, provided the committee with an update on the Department’s IT procurement process. Over the last year, DIT has implemented an IT procurement tool to track all procurements, established an Internal Procurement Improvement Committee, and developed dashboards for tracking procurements. Chief Deputy Jessup emphasized that while there is still work to be done to improve the procurement process, the Department has seen a reduction in the number of days it takes to complete the procurement process, as well as a dramatic increase in the total number of procurements.
Upcoming Legislative Meetings
Wednesday, April 24
12:00 PM House: Session Convenes
12:00 PM Senate: Session Convenes