After weeks of negotiations, Republicans in the General Assembly announced the details of their $23 billion budget agreement Monday, outlining plans to increase teacher pay and slash taxes by a projected $530 million.

An oft-cited provision in the GOP budget would raise teacher pay by an average 3.3 percent and give other state employees a flat $1,000 bonus. The budget would also make a series of tax cuts effective in 2019: lowering the corporate income tax rate from 3 to 2.5 percent, reducing the personal income tax rate from 5.499 to 5.25 percent, and decreasing the franchise tax on small businesses.

Critics argue that the state is sacrificing much-needed investmentsโ€”not just in schools, but also in infrastructure and economic developmentโ€”at the altar of tax relief for the wealthy. Republicans see recent budget surpluses as evidence that their philosophy is working, so thereโ€™s no need to change course.

While lawmakers are more than happy to talk about tax breaks and teacher salaries, one subject has gotten less attention: abortion. More specifically, two abortion-related budget decisions: funding for abortion providers and crisis pregnancy centers. Early budgets included provisions that would prohibit state funding for โ€œany provider that performs abortions,โ€ including hospitals. Others sought to funnel additional money to CPCs.

The prohibition on abortion providers ultimately got the ax, but budget writers did see fit to award $2.6 million over the next two fiscal years to Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, a nonprofit network for CPCs in the state. As Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowshipโ€™s website makes clear, the organization is in the business of dissuading women from getting abortions.

CPCFโ€™s services have been supported by taxpayers since 2013, says Tara Romano, the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, when the budget allocated $250,00 for the nonprofit over two years. In 2015, that amount jumped to $300,000 a year. But thatโ€™s significantly less than the $1.3 million allocated in this yearโ€™s budgetโ€”along with another $1.3 million the following yearโ€”an amount Romano was shocked to see.

โ€œThat big jump was really a surprise,โ€ she says. โ€œWith CPCs, there just doesnโ€™t seem to be much oversight with how itโ€™s spent. And for them to increase it so much, this is really concerning to us. Itโ€™s disturbing that they are giving out so much money without having any real oversight.โ€

A message left with CPCF was not immediately returned. The legislature is expected to approve the budget later this week.