Here is NC’s overdue budget: Read the documents about spending of your tax money
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- The budget documents became public Tuesday, June 30.
- The published budget allocates billions for programs, construction, teachers, and state.
- Governor Josh Stein has 10 days to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without.
North Carolina’s state budget bill, which shows how lawmakers plan to spend taxpayer money, is now published.
It comes a year overdue, with pressure building on legislators to appropriate money for teachers and state employees. It would spend billions of taxpayer money on various programs and construction projects throughout the state.
Although a high-level deal on raises and tax policy was announced by top Republicans in May, there weren’t any public documents until this week.
There are two main budget documents. One is the full budget bill itself, written out in paragraphs as well as numbers and tables. The other document is the money report, which focuses on just that: spending items.
Here are the budget documents, which became public Tuesday, June 30:
- Full budget bill
- Budget committee report, which includes specific spending amounts
- Table of contents
- Bill page with latest action for Senate Bill 257
In a statement shortly after the documents were published, Republican Senate leader Phil Berger called the budget “a responsible spending plan that takes aim at bureaucratic bloat without endangering core services.”
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said in a statement that the budget “delivers historic raises, keeps taxes low, strengthens public safety, and protects taxpayer dollars by making targeted investments to crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Hall and Berger highlighted the budget’s 8% average raise for teachers, raising base pay for starting teachers to $48,000, across-the-board 3% raises for state employees and raises for law enforcement ranging from 10.1% to 27.5%.
Lawmakers plan to hold votes on Wednesday and Thursday in both chambers before adjourning ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
Budget will go to Gov. Stein’s desk
Once the House and Senate pass the legislation, it would go to the desk of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who then has 10 days to sign, veto or let it become law without his signature.
Stein told reporters at a healthcare event on Tuesday that he would be reviewing the budget “incredibly closely in the coming days.”
“What we want is for the state to pass a budget that invests in our people, and by that I mean making sure that our young people get the knowledge that they need in our K-12 schools, so that they can choose to have a great career or continue on to college,” Stein said. “We want to make sure we’re investing in people’s safety, so that parents don’t worry when their kids are playing in the neighborhood over the course of the summertime. We want to invest in people’s health, so that folks are well, they can enjoy their lives, they can go about their daily life without worrying, am I going to be able to afford my medication this month or not.”
“So, there are many things that the state needs to invest in, and we will be scrutinizing it just as everyone else is to see if it meets that test,” he said.
If the governor vetoes the bill, Republicans have enough votes in the Senate but just short of enough in the House to override his veto without help from Democrats or independents.
This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Here is NC’s overdue budget: Read the documents about spending of your tax money."
