Alcohol research might face cuts

N.C. legislators are searching for ways to shave a few more dollars off this year’s budget proposal, and it might be the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies under the knife.

The Fiscal Research Office for the General Assembly suggested to the House budget committee last week that this program could be an option when considering cuts.

The center, which is based on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus, conducts research on the effects of alcohol on the body, works toward understanding the causes of and treatments for alcoholism and is involved in rehabilitation for alcoholics.

This would not be the first time the center has seen budget cuts.

“The last four years, everyone’s been cut a little bit,” said Mark Fleming, UNC-system lobbyist. “I am sure they have had their budget cut every year.”

This time, the proposed cut would come from the program’s state endowment. Originally, the endowment totaled $500,000, but the cuts could reduce it to $250,000.

“We’re just saying, at least for a couple of years, (we are) cutting the money going into the endowment,” said Richard Bostic, legislative researcher.

But with the cuts during the last few years, Leslie Morrow, the center’s associate director, said the new reductions would hit the center’s programs hard.

“Having survived the cuts over the past five years, we are not in a position to manage such a huge cut,” she said. “It would devastate the center’s programs.”

Research is the largest component of these programs, with laboratory and research needs taking a sizable portion of funds. With a reduction of the endowment, a simultaneous reduction in volume of research also would occur.

“(Alcoholism) is the largest public health problem in the world, and scientists around the world are on the verge of breakthroughs,” Morrow said. “It’s a very inopportune time to cut money.”

However harmful this cut would be to the center, Kevin FitzGerald, UNC-CH’s legislative liaison, said these types of cuts have become another fact of life during the state’s economic crisis.

“The University received a number of cuts, and I wouldn’t say the Center for Alcohol Studies has been singled out,” he said. “We’re worrying about a lot of other issues in our budget in addition to that.”

The good news for the center is that this cut is only a suggestion — so far.

Fleming said he hopes this cut will not end up in the final draft of the appropriations bill. “Generally, I think there will be support in the leadership to not cut it,” he said. “On top of that, it’s a good program.”

The Senate budget proposal is expected at the end of this month and the proposal from the House in late May. The final budget that will bear the fate of the center’s funding should be finalized before July.

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.