(The Center Square) – No budget was enacted Tuesday by the 170 members of the North Carolina General Assembly as required by law.
And no stoppage of government will ensue.
Nine years ago, on July 14, 2016, Republicans were majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, and Pat McCrory was the governor from the party signing House Bill 1030. Inside the 2016 Appropriations Act is law that still stands today keeping the state on the same previous spending plan in the event a two-year budget is not passed.
That’s unlike the federal government, which risks shutdown periodically.
Two Democrats in the Senate and 19 in the House joined unanimous Republicans approving the measure 36-14 and 91-22, respectively.
When former Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed two-year budgets for 2017-18 and 2019-20, state government kept running because of the law signed by McCrory.
Interest is high to see if first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is different than this friend and predecessor when it comes to appropriations.
Cooper signed one two-year budget (2021-22), one midterm adjustment (2022) and allowed a two-year budget to become law without his signature (2023-24), the latter tied to his long-sought request for Medicaid expansion.
In addition to the two biennial budget vetoes, Cooper vetoed midterm adjustments in 2018 and 2024. Veto overrides enacted two-year budget legislation for 2017-18 and midterm adjustments in 2018 and 2024.
Being late is nothing new. Four years ago, Cooper received the budget on July 1 and affixed his signature on July 11 – the last of a 10-day window he could either sign, veto or allow to become law without his signature.
Two years ago, the deal was 84 days late that put universal school choice in the budget so Medicaid could be expanded.
Many of the state’s 115 school boards and 100 county commissions across the state are accustomed to including a regular meeting agenda item or scheduling an extra meeting the final week of June to create an alternative plan pending state fiscal resources.
On June 5, a team of 34 senators and 45 members of the House – there are nine Democrats included – were named as conferees to bring a two-year spending plan forward. On Thursday, lawmakers moved through a flurry of legislation and departed for an extended holiday break without a specific resumption date.
The 2025 Appropriations Act, known also as Senate Bill 257, is a duel of different routes to $65.9 billion in spending by the two chambers.
Stein proposed a plan of $67.9 billion.
The House plan included larger raises for state employees and smaller income tax cuts than does the Senate. Stein wants larger raises for teachers, though he did offer praise for the amount from the House.
