North Carolina State Government Buildings Bond (2015)

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This measure was not put on an election ballot

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The North Carolina State Government Buildings Bond did not make the October or November 2015 ballot in North Carolina as a legislatively referred bond question. The measure would have issued $1.5 billion in bonds to fund construction of and capital improvements to public state facilities, including the state's technology infrastructure, state agencies, the North Carolina National Guard, The University of North Carolina System and the community college system.

The bond measure was proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) during his 2015 State of the State Address. Legislation for the bond was introduced into the legislature as a section of the 2015 Governor’s Budget Bill, also known as House Bill 940. Part XXV of the bill, or the "Critical Highway and Infrastructure Needs Bond Act of 2015," addresses the bond, along with a transportation bond, and is about nine of the 202 pages comprising the bill. Approval of the governor's budget would put the bond on the ballot.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The proposed ballot title is:

“

[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST The issuance of one billion five hundred million dollars ($1,500,000,000) State of North Carolina Infrastructure Bonds constituting general obligation bonds of the State secured by a pledge of the faith and credit and taxing power of the State for the purpose of providing funds, with any other available funds, to fund capital improvements and new facilities for the State, including, without limitation: the construction and furnishing of new facilities; renovation and rehabilitation of existing facilities; and expansion and improvement of the State's technology infrastructure for the State, various State agencies, the North Carolina National Guard, The University of North Carolina System, and the community college system.

”

Support

Supporters

• Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce
• Rowan County Chamber
• Cabarrus-Rowan MPO Transportation Advisory Committee
• Winston-Salem MPO Transportation Advisory Committee

Media editorial positions

Support

• The Fayetteville Observer said, "This is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, and our crumbling, inadequate highway system can choke growth and economic expansion. … Pick up the phone or grab the keyboard. This should not be a political issue. The expansion is common sense and it won't add any tax burden. Like we said, it's a no-brainer."

Polls

See also: Polls, 2015 ballot measures

North Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bond (2015)
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Tel Opinion Research, LLC 5/14/2015 - 5/17/2015	69.0%	23.0%	8.0%	+/-3.2	1,000
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in North Carolina

State of the State

The bond was proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) during his State of the State Address on February 4, 2015. He made "the condition and inefficiency of our state buildings" an important point during his address. He promoted the following agenda:

“	We must also turn our attention to the condition and inefficiency of our state buildings. One of my first clues of the disrepair many of our state properties are in occurred when Ann and I walked up to the 1840 State Capitol for my swearing in. We noticed the two fountains in front of the capitol were broken and filled with trash and dirty water. They looked terrible. I asked why they were in such disrepair. I was told, “I don’t know, they’ve been that way for 5 years.” We can no longer afford a culture of neglect and apathy. Turns out all the fountains needed was a little routine maintenance to get the water flowing again. Now, on any day, you can see people having lunch, reading a book or simply enjoying the day next to those beautiful, historic fountains. Like those fountains two years ago, many of our state buildings are suffering from the lack of maintenance. Too many of our building s are obsolete with broken HVAC units, inadequate insulation, which cost taxpayers a fortune to operate. At Dorothea Dix, for example, North Carolina taxpayers spend approximately $8.5 million a year to keep the complex operating. It’s fantastic that our capitol city is gaining land for a destination park, and the maintenance costs of the Dix complex will finally go off the state’s books. Even better news is that we’ll get $52 million directed toward supporting mental health and the well-being of our citizens. We have structures all across the state that are a blight to North Carolina’s main streets. They have asbestos insulation, broken elevators, leaky roofs… We’re forced to rent office space in towns where we have buildings that are about half-empty because of the deteriorated shape they’re in. And we have many building that taxpayers are paying for that are essentially being used for storage - very expensive storage. Therefore, I will submit to the General Assembly a $1.2 to $1.4 billion general bond proposal for Project Phoenix. It will revitalize buildings that can be saved, tear down those that can’t and build new, workable and efficient facilities that will be points of pride, and help build economic development opportunities for their communities.	”
—Gov. Pat McCrory

Legislature

Melanie Jennings, a spokesperson for the state budget office, said McCrory's proposal would be introduced into the legislature by or before April 16, 2015. On April 16, the bond proposal was introduced as part of the 2015 Governor's Budget Bill, also known as House Bill 940.

The North Carolina Legislature needed to call a special election in order for the legislatively referred bond questions to appear on a ballot because no statewide elections were scheduled to occur on November 3, 2015, or on any other date in 2015. A simple majority vote is required in both chambers to refer the issue to the ballot.

The measure did not make it a ballot. It was referred to committee and lawmakers did not take it up for discussion.

Related measures

• North Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bond (2015)

See also

Suggest a link

• North Carolina 2015 ballot measures
• 2015 ballot measures
• North Carolina Legislature