The North Carolina General Assembly begins its annual work session Wednesday with a little extra money to spend and limited pressing issues to address ahead of key elections this fall and the departure of longtime state government leaders.
Following their historic 2023 session, which expanded Medicaid, restricted abortion, expanded gun rights, increased private school vouchers and weakened the governor, Republicans who lead the House and Senate are talking about the session traditionally ” short” will be precisely that: with the goal of finishing at the beginning of summer.
GOVERNMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA. COOPER VETOES 2 MORE LAWS, BUT BUDGET STILL ON PATH TO BECOME LAW ON TUESDAY
“We addressed a lot of important issues,” House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland County, told reporters recently. “There are still some things to do? Yes, let’s take care of them.”
With all 170 legislative seats up for reelection in November and Republicans who passed last year’s agenda holding the narrowest veto-proof majority, party leaders will be careful to promote measures that don’t sway public opinion. against their candidates in key districts. Legislation requiring local sheriffs to help with federal immigration enforcement and locate more funding for private school scholarships could qualify.
The legislature’s primary duty in even-numbered years is to adjust the second year of the government’s already enacted biennial operating budget.
Tim Moore, Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, walks across the floor, May 16, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C. The North Carolina General Assembly begins its annual work session on Wednesday, May 24. April 2024, with little extra money to spend and limited pressing issues to address before key elections this fall and long-serving state government leaders departing. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
A consensus forecast from the legislature and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration says the state will collect an additional $1.4 billion through mid-2025 than previously projected. This compares to the $30.9 billion that will currently be spent in the fiscal year that begins July 1.
As much as $400 million could be needed to make adjustments to Medicaid spending due to a lower contribution from the federal government and increased use of services by enrollees, Rep. Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County, the budget writer, said this week. of the camera.
And Moore and Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton separately said their Republican colleagues are prepared to set aside more money for the Opportunity Scholarship Program so that more families in the highest income levels can receive grants this fall to have their K-12 children attend private or religious schools. schools.
The current budget law eliminated the program’s income limits to qualify, leading to a six-fold increase in applications this year.
But the state authority that runs the program said there is not enough to help all qualified applicants and that no aid would go to higher-income groups of applicants. It was unclear whether Republicans would seek to fully fund the scholarships for next year, which Moore said could require $300 million more.
Still, “I think there’s a good chance that we’re going to make sure that parents who want options have options for their kids,” said Newton, a Republican from Cabarrus County.
Cooper, who is term-limited to run for re-election, will also present his latest budget proposal on Wednesday. Cooper hopes Republican lawmakers will heed his calls to stop spending on the Opportunity Scholarship program he has opposed for years until public schools are “fully funded” and teachers receive significant pay raises.
“We need to invest in public schools,” Cooper told reporters recently. “We know that to sustain the workforce of the future for all of these jobs we are attracting, we must make sure our public schools are strong.”
On immigration, Newton said he suspects the Senate would take up a bill passed by the House last year that would force sheriffs to help federal agents interested in detaining prisoners they believe are in the country illegally. Cooper successfully vetoed similar measures in 2019 and 2022, but that was when Republican lawmakers lacked supermajorities.
Passage of the state budget was nearly derailed last year when Senate Republicans attempted to insert language that would have allowed four more casinos to be built in the state and the sanctioning and regulation of video game machines statewide. But Republicans in both chambers have suggested that discussions about sanctioning gaming machines could resurface.
General Assembly staff estimated last year that revenue from the machines could generate more than $400 million annually by the end of this decade. That could help offset revenue losses now projected as enacted individual and corporate income tax rates decline further. Republicans have downplayed comments about long-term deficits as hasty.
Democratic lawmakers seeking to stop what they see as bad Republican bills will face the same challenges that began last April when Rep. Tricia Cotham switched her registration to the Republican Party. Her shift ensured veto-proof majorities in both chambers. All of Cooper’s vetoes from last year were overridden.
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“The numbers are what they are,” said House Minority Leader Robert Reives, a Democrat from Chatham County. “I can still count and I know that the Republican group will vote 100% together.”
This brief session also marks the last for Moore, who is likely headed to Congress in 2025 after a record five two-year terms leading the chamber. He handily won his primary election for the Republican-leaning 14th Congressional District.
