With NC budget debate dragging on through summer, the 2024 election comes into play
The 2024 race for governor of North Carolina came to the legislature on Wednesday, with gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Josh Stein joining fellow Democrats to urge Republicans to broker a budget deal.
The new fiscal year is nearly two weeks in, so raises for state employees and teachers, as well as Medicaid expansion, are on hold.
“I’m disappointed by what appears to be a lack of concern for the real priorities of the people in North Carolina,” Stein told The News & Observer after a news conference by Democrats, noting the delay in Medicaid expansion, schools funding and “sufficient steps” to recruit and retain law enforcement officers.
A state budget impasse has become the norm rather than the exception the past few budget cycles, but this year the dispute is between the Republican-controlled House and Senate.
Top Republicans said Wednesday that there’s always a chance a budget deal could be reached next week, but more likely it will come in mid-August. Another reason for the delay, beyond the negotiations bottleneck, is lawmakers’ plans for summer vacation and politics conferences. If a deal isn’t reached within days, it’ll likely be postponed until most lawmakers are back the week of Aug. 7 or the week of Aug. 14.
Aside from raises, the final passage of Medicaid expansion — a bipartisan win that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper had been pushing for years — is tied to the budget.
“I want to echo Gov. Cooper’s urge to decouple Medicaid expansion from the budget,” House Minority Leader Robert Reives, a Chatham County Democrat, told reporters on Wednesday during the news conference at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.
“Because we’re looking at a prolonged standoff, it seems, and try to at least get that part done so that we can make sure that folks that need this insurance are insured. But also we need to keep in mind that everybody in this state is waiting on something from this budget, especially state employees, and we owe it to them to provide the best that we can,” Reives said.
House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger, who both lead Republican supermajorities in their chambers, have been meeting to talk about the budget, said the House head budget writer, Rep. Jason Saine.
Moore and Berger have told reporters repeatedly that taxes and budget reserves are the main reasons for the current impasse.
Casinos also part of budget talks
Saine, a Lincolnton Republican, told reporters after session on Wednesday that casinos are also part of the budget discussions.
Whether to allow casinos in the state beyond those on Native American land has been a topic that showed up late in session, around the time that lawmakers legalized online sports betting. Saine said it’s been proposed by the Senate during budget negotiations.
But a budget deal doesn’t hinge on that being worked out, he said. If the state allows more casinos , tax revenue would be affected, and so would the expectations for total tax collections.
“The budget doesn’t depend on whether casinos happen or not,” Saine said. “But how serious it is — it’s not being talked about, because it’s not in the package. So so it’s just kind of floating out there.”
Democrats’ criticism
During the Democrats’ news conference, Stein said law enforcement officers need raises and support.
He wasn’t the only statewide candidate to speak, as Rep. Wesley Harris, a Charlotte Democrat who’s running for state treasurer, said with increased inflation and Republicans’ goal to phase out the corporate income tax,“we are in a red-alarm situation in terms of our revenue.”
Reives and Rep. Julie von Haefen, an Apex Democrat and former PTA leader, said Republicans are responsible for “a continued assault on public education,” with recent legislation that spends public money on private schools through scholarships, and with bills that regulate teaching about topics including LGBTQ+ issues.
“On top of not knowing their budget, schools don’t know how much teachers will be paid because no salary schedule has been passed. The Republican budgets offered far less than what our students, our schools and our teachers deserve,” von Haefen said.
“And with the current impasse in negotiations, our school personnel are getting the worst option: Nothing at all,” she said.
Saine described the Democrats’ criticism as “political grandstanding,” which he said is to be expected because they’re the minority party.
“This is the legislative process. It’s what’s happened in the past — you know, to get to a good agreement, sometimes it’s better to wait. So if the Democrats would like for us to hurry up and agree to all the things the Senate wants, I wouldn’t think they’d be in a happy place,” Saine said.
No government shutdown
He said the delay is more about Republican lawmakers being “pragmatic” and working through the budget process. Unlike the federal government, North Carolina’s spending rolls over to the new fiscal year at the previous year’s amount, so there’s no possibility of a shutdown.
Stein served in the state Senate from 2009 to 2016, before running for attorney general. He’s in his second term and hoping to follow Cooper’s path from attorney general to the Executive Mansion. Stein’s campaign announced this week that his campaign received about $6 million in the first half of 2023. Campaign finance reports are due at the end of the month.
Stein also said that Republicans’ “priorities are to favor tax cuts for millionaires and corporations. Instead of investing in our kids and strengthening our public schools.”
Asked about CNBC saying this week that North Carolina is the top state in the country for business, Stein noted that North Carolina already has a low corporate income tax rate.
Eliminating the corporate income tax, which is a legislative Republican goal, “will be revenue that we no longer have,” Stein said.
Stein criticized Republican budget priorities. If he wins the 2024 gubernatorial race, the budget bill would go to his desk to sign or veto.
“And when you look at education and workforce development, we’re OK right now. But where are we going to be in five years? Where are we going to be in 10 years? And I think we are shortchanging our kids. We’re making it harder for our kids to compete in this global economy. And those are the wrong priorities.”
Three Republicans are running in the 2024 gubernatorial primary: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker and State Treasurer Dale Folwell. Robinson’s campaign announced Wednesday that he had raised $2.2 million.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 4:45 PM with the headline "With NC budget debate dragging on through summer, the 2024 election comes into play."
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