The General Assembly has continued to fail at its most basic duties this year. We are well over six months overdue on a state budget. That is leaving North Carolinians hanging while the cost of living continues to rise. We also face issues with health care costs as ACA subsidies expire. The state has yet to fund the Medicaid rebase, leaving health care coverage and providers uncertain as we enter a new year.
Some of these issues and more were covered in January through various press releases shared by our office. You can read an overview of many below, including links to the full, shareable posts. To receive emails when press releases are published, sign up here.
In this edition:
Rep. Reives joins WCHL in Chapel Hill for an interview
NC House Republican Leader: State unprepared for Medicaid funding cuts, Medicaid expansion at risk
Medicaid recipients left in limbo by NCGOP Leadership
Tax Cuts Stacked to the Benefit of Wealthy, Corporations
Looking Ahead
Rep. Reives regularly joins WCHL in Chapel Hill for legislative updates. This was his first check-in of 2026. Visit chapelboro.com to listen to the original audio recording.
District 54 Representative and North Carolina House Minority Leader Robert Reives spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey on Thursday, January 22. He discussed the ongoing budget debacle at the state level, which he expects to see little movement on until after primaries. He also reflected on 2025 for the state legislature, and looked ahead to what he expects to be some of the dominant storylines of 2026, and more.
Robert’s Rules is our regular check in with Representative Robert Reives, representing Chatham County in North Carolina’s 54th district, and leading the Democratic caucus in the state house. Every two weeks Rep. Reives shares the latest news from the General Assembly in Raleigh, and his unique perspective on state and national political news. On Air Today features conversations with the latest newsmakers in our community, including local elected leaders, educators, business owners, and anyone else with their finger on the pulse of the greater Chapel Hill community.
House Republican Leadership is admitting to North Carolinians that the state is unprepared to address the devastating impact of federal cuts to Medicaid. Watch:
“North Carolina needs a comprehensive state budget. We are the only state in the nation to have failed at this fundamental duty,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “On top of that, we now understand more clearly how disastrous the impact of federal policies will be with regard to Medicaid and SNAP in North Carolina. We need urgent action from legislators to shore up the safety net and to ensure that Medicaid expansion is protected. Working families cannot afford to lose that coverage.”
Read the full press release here.
WRAL’s NC Capitol reporter Will Doran discussed how Medicaid funding is at risk because of Republican leadership’s inaction over the past year. Given multiple opportunities to come back to Raleigh and address the urgent needs of Medicaid recipients, Republicans time and again refused, including when Governor Stein called for a special session.
“North Carolinians who rely on Medicaid are left in limbo while Republicans wait for their primary elections to be over in order to do their jobs,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “Hard-working people who need health care coverage do not care who wins a Republican primary this March — they care about whether they can go to the doctor and get the care they need. For the good of our state, we need Republican leaders to come back to Raleigh and get to work on funding Medicaid rebase and a comprehensive state budget.”
Read the full press release here.
In a presentation from the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, Alexandra Forter Sirota shared how North Carolina’s income and corporate tax policies are stacked in favor of the wealthiest while leaving the rest of the state on the hook.
Particularly striking is the amount of money saved by the top 1% — between state and federal tax changes, the top earners in North Carolina have seen their taxes slashed by approximately $74,000 a year. The poorest North Carolinians actually saw their taxes increase over that timeframe, according to the organization.
“North Carolina is long overdue on our state budget because Senate Republicans are hellbent on racing us to the bottom in terms of revenue,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “We are already struggling to fund the basics of state government. We will be crippled by a recession when — not if — one happens. Senate Republicans will not be content until North Carolina is another failed trickle-down experiment like Kansas tried and reversed not ten years ago.”
Looking to the future, we do not expect there to be any legislative business before the primary elections in March. Keep an eye out for updates here, on our social media pages and on the NCLEG Legislative Calendar.
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