As the Senate swept two gang bills to passage, lawmakers were trying to resolve complaints by the state's court system that their funding was being slashed in separate talks over the state budget.
"We can't do that," said Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat who ushered the gang bills through the Senate. "We can't say we're going to spend $10 million for gangs on the right hand and cut $9 million on the left hand."
The anti-gang legislation created a set of new gang-related crimes and provided for new programs to keep youths out of gangs and help those who are in one to get out. Senate budget writers have discussed providing $10 million for the prevention programs.
The bills, which now go to the House of Representatives, are the product of years of lobbying and work by mayors across the state, including Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz, and legislators involved in the issue.
While senators passed the gang bills, lawmakers from both the House and Senate negotiated proposed cuts to the state's courts, including those that would handle gang crimes.
Legislators on the budget committee initially asked for $9 million in possible cuts out of a $430 million budget.
"Court operations would be stifled," wrote Ralph Walker, head of the Administrative Office of the Courts, in a memo to lawmakers Monday.
On Wednesday, the chairs of the appropriations subcommittee on public safety from the House and Senate agreed on $4.3 million in cuts that Walker's office called reasonable.
Lawmakers also underscored that the court system's budget has grown by 40 percent since the 2002-03 budget year, from $310 million to $430 million, according to legislative data. This year's budget, for example, included money for 650 new positions, including prosecutors, victim witness assistants, clerks, magistrates and judges.
House leaders will now look at the proposed courts budget and could ask for further cuts, but legislative leaders cautioned that they're still early in the process.
"We're getting pieces of the puzzle and the (courts funding) target is one of those puzzle pieces, but in the end there may be money from somewhere else that may be used to fill in those gaps," said Sen. Linda Garrou, a Democrat from Winston-Salem and co-chair of the full appropriations committee. "Public safety is a top priority with us. We're going to do what we can to keep people safe."
