The latest battle in North Carolina’s legislature

Lucille Sherman
·4 min read

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“There’s nothing we can’t do if we work hard, never sleep and shirk from all other responsibilities in our lives.” -Leslie Knope

Happy Friday. I felt it fitting to kick this week’s newsletter off with a Parks and Recreation quote, as it fits today’s theme of the budget, which is a major undertaking whether you’re a journalist covering it or a lawmaker or staffer working on it.

I will say, though, that I’m not sure the North Carolina General Assembly is fully embracing the Leslie Knope mindset when it comes to hashing out an agreement to fund the state for the next two years.

This week, the House and Senate finally agreed on how much money they want to spend in this year’s budget. I’m told this kind of agreement usually happens far earlier in the session, so we’re at least a few weeks behind schedule this year.

That’s because the two chambers, both Republican-controlled, struggled to agree on how much to spend in the first place.

The simple explanation: The House wanted to spend more, and the Senate wanted less.

The more complicated explanation: The House and Senate have different priorities, and there’s likely more infighting happening between the two chambers than we know (or maybe you know about what’s happening behind closed doors, but I don’t). Republicans in each chamber have proposals they want to see passed by the other chamber, and though those proposals might not end up in the budget, they can become a bargaining chip in the budget process.

At this point in the legislative session, everything is related, and almost any issue can be used for leverage over the other chamber.

One example of this is a Senate criminal justice reform bill sponsored by Sen. Danny Britt, a Republican from Lumberton.

The bill passed the Senate weeks ago with unanimous support, but the House has yet to discuss, debate or vote on it.

That could be because the House has at least one criminal justice reform bill similar to a provision in Britt’s criminal justice reform bill.

Both bills impose harsher penalties for rioting, but the House’s version would let people sue those who destroy their property. The Senate still hasn’t taken up the bill, though it’s sponsored by Republican House Speaker Tim Moore himself, creating somewhat of a stalemate between the two chambers.

This is a small example of legislation that probably won’t end up in the budget but could end up helping one or both chambers strike some budget deals in exchange for getting their legislation to the governor’s desk.

The same kind of stalemate can happen with provisions one chamber wants in the budget but the other doesn’t.

One measure I’ll be watching for is funding for East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. Moore and House Majority Leader John Bell have been vocal about their support for passing funding for the school, but it remains to be seen if the Senate feels the same way.

I’m not sure what the House might be willing to sacrifice to ensure the Brody School of Medicine has a line in the budget, but I’ll be keeping an eye out.

The House and Senate will hash out a budget agreement over the next few weeks and are expected to send a final version to the governor in July or August. If the governor vetoes the budget, the bargaining between chambers might have to start over again.

Until then, we wait.

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WHAT WE’RE READING

MORE BIG STORIES FROM THE TEAM

  • Disciplinary records for teachers, state employees and government workers could become public under proposed legislation, Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan reports.

  • Gov. Roy Cooper announced Thursday his plan to offer cash and scholarship incentives to vaccinated North Carolinians, Danielle Battaglia reports.

  • A bill that would ban providers from performing abortions on parents who are doing so because of their fetus’ race, sex or possible Down syndrome diagnosis cleared the Senate Thursday. It now heads to the governor’s desk, where it is likely to be vetoed, I reported.

  • The Senate passed a bill Thursday that would phase out corporate tax cuts with support from some Democrats, Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan reports.

  • And our #ncpol summer intern’s first story this week, on activists who want Congress to address poverty. Give Avi Bajpai a follow and a warm welcome!

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Thanks for reading. See you next week.

— Lucille Sherman, state government reporter for The News & Observer. Email me at lsherman@newsobserver.com.