Created: 7/1/2009 5:55:18 AM 
Greensboro, NC - New this morning, you could be spending more on gas and less on health insurance starting today in North Carolina. Several new laws begin this morning and many of them affect your wallet. The laws range from a new state health insurance plan to property tax breaks for the elderly. But the major missing piece in all this is an actual budget. Lawmakers have not agreed on a way to balance the budget or relieve the state's $4 billion shortfall. Balancing that gap could lead to a quarter cent sales tax. That's still up for debate, but what's certain is that gas is not getting any cheaper. Starting today, there are no limits to the tax on gasoline. The state's 29 cent "maximum" tax on gas now becomes the minimum. That means there's no limit to how high the gas tax could reach over the next two years. Department of Transportation experts say without a cap you could pay an additional 10 cents or more per gallon for gas. The higher tax will bring in hundreds of millions of dollars to the state at your expense. "It's not fair because a couple months ago it was low and reasonable now they're jacking it up again and taxes doesn't help the situation at all so I'm pretty disappointed in what's happened," said a Greensboro tax payer. North Carolina already has the highest tax on gas in the region. Lawmakers considered lowering it 2 cents, but passed the no limit cap plan instead. Other new laws include a $675 million-plus bailout on the health insurance plan for teachers and state employees. Recently with governor-ordered furloughs, state employees felt slighted. This law aims to make their health insurance benefits more affordable. However, many people affected by the law say the plan actually increases their premium and out of pocket co-pays. We wanted to know how you feel about the changes and here's what some of you had to say. "I don't think it's fair that they're going to cut their pay but then say we're going to make it up to you with these other things," said one woman. "What they do is really important because it's about the future for our children. So I think whatever they get they deserve and they probably should get more," said another Greensboro tax payer. Other new laws include property tax breaks for the elderly and disabled veterans. But what's next on lawmakers table is how to balance the $4 billion budget gap. They're meeting for the next two weeks to iron out those details. For a complete list of the new laws going into effect today, July 1st, click here.
WFMY News 2
