Hours-long House session yields positive vote for the chamber’s budget proposal

With 78 votes to 37, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed its $29.7 billion budget bill Wednesday in the first step of a two-day vote.

The two-year spending plan — which proposes pay raises for teachers and long-awaited Medicaid expansion reforms — would determine state spending through the next biennium. It includes salary increases for government and state-wide employees, policies that would become law and funding plans for government-sponsored projects.

The current House budget proposal calls for roughly $3 billion less in spending than what Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper suggested in earlier budget recommendations, which included mandatory funding to be allocated to public schools, known as the Leandro plan. Last month, the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered a pause on transferring funds through a lower court until the General Assembly could assess how to distribute them.

“House GOP fail to fund the Leandro plan to meet state’s constitutional obligation for a sound basic education for all students,” Cooper wrote in a tweet Tuesday afternoon. “Instead, this budget prioritizes private school vouchers, even over funding early childhood education, competitive teacher pay & building new schools.”

Overall, Cooper’s proposed budget recommended $33 billion in spending within the first year and a billion dollar increase the following year.

If it passes a second vote Thursday, the House budget bill will next head for the state Senate, which is expected to revisit budget talks after the House and Senate’s week-long spring break that begins Monday.

A look into Wednesday’s floor vote

Rep. Donny Lambeth, a Republican from Winston-Salem and senior chair on the House Appropriations committee, said during Wednesday’s floor vote that the chamber’s proposed budget would allow for North Carolina to better work with start-ups and high-profile tech companies, including Apple and Toyota.

He also spoke of long-awaited mental health reforms, funding to aid classroom safety, school-choice initiatives and anti-bullying campaigns.

“This is a fiscally responsible, well-thought out plan that balances the needs of our citizens with the realities that we face,” Lambeth said.

Legislators debated 26 budget amendments over four hours during Wednesday’s session. Many were introduced by Democrats who urged the Republicans to strike portions of their proposal.

One of the amendments, raised by Rep. Amber Baker, a Democrat from Winston-Salem, sought to remove a section that would allow the State Board of Education to adopt an education plan and standard course of study for students and educators. It failed with 45 votes to 70.

Amendments to fund the 24-hour operation of a Charlotte IMap Center and increase state trooper presence through the district, failed in separate votes. Democratic Rep. Carolyn Logan of Charlotte — who introduced both — said these centers have been closing early across nine counties, and funding an all-day operation would prevent safety incidents on North Carolina highways.

Rep. Brenden Jones, a Tabor City Republican, argued the State Highway Patrol hasn’t asked for these measures, and that Logan should reach out to him directly to address the issues further.

“This is necessary for emergency responders,” she said in response. “Someone needs to come to me to talk about it because that’s what I used to do in Mecklenburg County.”

Wesley Harris, a Charlotte Democrat, said the proposed budget doesn’t match market needs for teacher and state employee pay, doesn’t address long-term solutions to transportation issues or offer sustainable solutions to rapid growth in urban areas.

“That just further drives a greater wedge between the urban and rural divide in the state,” he said.

Prior to the final vote, Lambeth said legislators should cast a strong vote on the bill, regardless of whether they don’t wholly support certain parts of it.

“We need a strong vote — whether you like it or not,” he said.

What’s included in the House budget bill

The House Republicans’ budget proposal includes a 10.2% average raise for public school teachers over the next two years, and a 9.5% raise for school bus drivers to help improve driver shortages across the state. Some other hard-to-fill roles would get extra raises to incentivize prospective applicants.

Most state employees would receive a 7.5% raise over the biennium and retired state employees would see a 2% cost-of-living-adjustment increase to their pensions.

The budget also includes $2 billion for water and sewer projects, as well as tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

The bill proposes several agency provisions and appointee changes, such as moving the State Bureau of Investigation out of the Department of Public Safety to establish it as an independent agency. There are also provisions to prohibit schools, local governments and universities from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine.

A few measures in the budget would block some of Cooper’s executive orders, such as requiring new trucks to be electric and a state-wide effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the largest and most-awaited provisions in the budget is Medicaid expansion. The measure, one of Cooper’s priorities since he took office, was already passed this session as an independent bill. But its enactment, which would extend federally subsidized health care to thousands of North Carolinians, depends on the budget’s passage.