When state lawmakers finalize the new state budget, they’ll be talking about spending in the $19 to $20 billion range. But that’s only part of the story. In fact, as the John Locke Foundation’s Joe Coletti explains, the state actually receives and spends roughly $49 billion each year. Coletti identifies the sources of the funds and where they’re deployed, and discusses the current fiscal pickle and what to expect next year. Then we turn to the impact of a controversial piece of legislation. When state lawmakers approved the Racial Justice Act in 2009, supporters said it would help ensure that inmates could challenge racially motivated death sentences. Now critics say the act has had unintended consequences, including one case in which a white defendant charged with killing white victims is trying to use the Racial Justice Act to avoid the death penalty. Reps. Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, and Sarah Stevens, R-Surry, explain problems associated with the bill, and you’ll hear the concerns of Jennifer Shelton, widow of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer.  Next, we delve into efforts at bipartisanship in the state’s new budget. The Democrats who run the General Assembly write the state budget. But Republicans recently trumpeted their success in winning bipartisan support for several budget amendments. The amendments shifted money from some unnecessary school tests to classroom supplies, limited taxpayer funding of scholarships for out-of-state students at public universities, and ended “golden parachutes” for state workers who leave their jobs. You’ll hear highlights from a news conference explaining the amendments’ significance. That’s followed by a look at North Carolina’s election rules, which show signs of a state history that includes longtime disenfranchisement of black voters. Lee Craig, alumni distinguished professor of economics at N.C. State University, has studied the post-Reconstruction political developments that stripped blacks of their ability to vote. He discusses key elements of that history. And finally, a recent U.S. Supreme Court order about taxpayer financing of candidates in Arizona could have an impact here in North Carolina. In fact, John Locke Foundation Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies Daren Bakst says it should have an immediate impact. Bakst is calling upon state legislators to heed the order and make changes in the state’s taxpayer financing system. Bakst also explains why he believes a previous Court ruling also has a devastating impact on North Carolina’s law.