Why I Supported the House Budget

Hello,

Last week I voted in support of the House Budget proposal. At the top of this note I want to clarify that I would not support this budget if it were the final product. This vote was part of an ongoing process that will continue playing out over the next few weeks and months.

Here’s a quick overview of the budget process as it stands:

1. Senate passes their budget proposal

2. House passes their counterproposal ← (We just finished this step)

3. A Conference Committee with legislators from both Chambers iron out differences

4. Both Chambers approve the compromise budget

5. The Governor signs the budget, vetoes the budget or lets it become law without his signature

6. If the Governor vetoes it, both Chambers would have to override the veto for it to become law

The Senate began the budget process this year and the product they sent over to the House was unacceptable. Their budget would push us toward “tax triggers” that automatically cut income taxes. Our state is facing a fiscal cliff: According to nonpartisan analysis from state economists, we are on track to bring in less revenue than we need to fund the basic operations of our state. You can see in the graphic below from the NC Budget & Tax Center that we are projected to take in less revenue in 2026-27 than we did in 2024-25 and 2025-26. We will see if the updated revenue forecast bears out this projection soon.

In stark contrast, the House Budget would have raised the “triggers” so that revenue would not be further reduced. It was the first time that House Republicans acknowledged that we cannot continue to slash taxes while underfunding the essential services and functions of state government. That is a major reason why I supported this part of the budget process — step 2 of at least a few more.

In a statement released last week, Governor Stein said this about the House Budget:

Importantly, the House budget cuts taxes for working families while recognizing that North Carolina is a growing state and reduces personal income tax rates after this year only when the economy is growing. In contrast, the Senate’s fiscally irresponsible revenue scheme will result in fewer teachers and law enforcement officers and diminished services that would harm our people.

Nearly everything we do as a General Assembly is downstream of how much money we bring in. I am mindful of the fact that we are talking about your money — we need to spend it efficiently. But we also need to bring in enough revenue to ensure the state can operate. We need money to improve the DMV, to pay our teachers, to recruit and retain law enforcement and to ensure state agencies like DHHS have the staff on hand to keep North Carolinians healthy.

There were other parts of the House Budget that I support and would love to see in the final compromise. Teachers would get raises, enough to make starting teacher pay among the highest in the region. And it restores Master’s pay for teachers, too. There were strong investments in child care to ensure you don’t have to choose between a job and raising a family. And there were raises for law enforcement to keep our state safe.

I voted yes because this is not the final product. I wanted to send a strong message as the House and Senate go into negotiations that this is what a serious policymaking process looks like. It is not the budget that I would have written, but it is far better than the alternative we see from the Senate. Importantly, it starts a dialogue about how we can arrest the decline in state revenue that would lead to extremely difficult decisions in the very near future. We cannot afford to re-learn the lessons of Kansas just a decade ago.

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Carolina Public Press: NC House unites to back latest Helene recovery package

N&O: Democrats split, but most vote for NC House GOP budget. What got their support.

NC Newsline: NC House passes its budget with a prediction of tough negotiations ahead

Carolina Public Press: Bipartisan support helped pass NC House budget. Key differences with Senate remain.

WUNC: NC House approves budget bill with employee raises, tax cut delays

NC Newsline: More than 3 million people would lose SNAP benefits under GOP bill, nonpartisan report says

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