North Carolina’s Late Budget Shows Little Sign of Appearing Soon

Legislators in North Carolina are working to pass a budget bill 3 months past the typical deadline. Source: WRAL

North Carolina remains without an updated state budget this year, as legislators have not yet decided on a new state budget for the fiscal year. The fiscal year began on July 1st, so the state budget is now over two months late.

One might wonder how a state functions without a budget. North Carolina has experience in this regard, as no budget has been passed since 2018, since the Republican supermajority in the state legislature overruled Democrat Governor Roy Cooper’s veto on the budget bill. As Republicans lost their supermajority status and both parties have found themselves unable to broker compromise, 2018 spending numbers have continued to roll over, aside from budget bills passed to address pressing issues or non-controversial issues.

Lawmakers this time around are more optimistic a budget will be passed this year. The Republican-controlled House and Senate of the North Carolina General Assembly both have different budget bills they are working to reconcile, though both agree on the spending number of $25.7 billion. Contentious issues between them include tax cuts, teacher or state employee pay, and education spending — which North Carolina is notoriously weak on. Additionally, North Carolina received much more federal funding than lawmakers had initially planned for, with the COVID-19 American Rescue Plan alone sending $5.7 billion in federal aid, and the extra resources created another source of dispute over their area of allocation.

Conflicts between the governor and legislative leaders have also arisen, particularly as the budget bill contains measures largely unrelated to fiscal policy. Republicans have implemented measures to limit the governor’s power in an emergency and limit the attorney general’s power to join federal lawsuits. Both positions are currently held by Democrats. Republican state legislators attempted to place similar restrictions on Governor Cooper’s gubernatorial power as he first came to power in 2017, and Attorney General Josh Stein caught the ire of Republicans as he expanded the accessibility of absentee ballots in the 2020 elections. Additionally, the House version created a system of local tribunals to hear public complaints over coursework taught in schools, likely in response to nationwide controversy over the teaching of critical race theory. 

If Governor Cooper vetoes a budget bill, the Democratic minority in both the House and Senate could theoretically block an override of the veto. However, it is unclear if all Democrats will adhere together, as 13 Democrats in the House and Senate voted in favor of their chamber’s budget bill. Bipartisanship has also been a feature of rhetoric around the budget bill, with both the governor and legislative leadership expressing a spirit of compromise.

Nevertheless, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger expressed his skepticism at a speedy resolution, saying: “I don’t see us getting to the finish line before the end of September.” At the time of writing, negotiations between the governor, the House, and the Senate are set to start at the beginning of October. Until then, much like years past, North Carolina will have to wait to see if a bipartisan bargain can be struck and a long-overdue budget finally passed.