The North Carolina General Assembly convenes its annual work session on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, with a modest surplus and a limited agenda to tackle before crucial fall elections and the departure of several veteran state government leaders.
Following a landmark 2023 legislative session that expanded Medicaid, restricted abortion, broadened gun rights, increased private-school vouchers, and weakened the governor’s authority, the Republican-controlled House and Senate are aiming for a brief session, with a goal of concluding proceedings by early summer.
“We dealt with a lot of weighty issues,” House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican from Cleveland County, recently told reporters. “Are there still some things left to be done? Yes, we’re going to deal with those.”
With all 170 legislative seats up for reelection in November and Republicans who approved last year’s agenda holding a narrow veto-proof majority, party leaders will tread carefully to avoid alienating voters in key districts. Potential measures include legislation compelling local sheriffs to assist with federal immigration enforcement and allocating additional funding for private-school scholarships.
The legislature’s primary responsibility in even-numbered years is to adjust the second year of the state’s two-year government operating budget, which has already been enacted. A consensus forecast by the legislature and Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s administration projects an additional $1.4 billion in state revenue through mid-2025, compared to the $30.9 billion currently allocated for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
As much as $400 million may be required to adjust Medicaid spending due to a reduced federal government match and increased utilization of services by enrollees, according to Rep. Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County, a House budget writer.
House Speaker Moore and Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton have both indicated that Republican colleagues are prepared to allocate more funds to the Opportunity Scholarship Program, enabling more families in higher-income brackets to receive grants for private or religious K-12 education this fall. The current budget eliminated income caps for program eligibility, resulting in a six-fold increase in applications this year. However, the state authority administering the program acknowledges that there are insufficient funds to support all eligible applicants, and no assistance will be provided to applicants in the highest income brackets.
It remains unclear whether Republicans will seek to fully fund scholarships for the upcoming year, which Moore estimates could require an additional $300 million. Nevertheless, “I think there’s a high probability that we’re going to make sure the parents who want choice get choice for their children,” said Newton, a Republican from Cabarrus County.
Governor Cooper, who is term-limited and ineligible for reelection, will also present his final budget proposal on Wednesday. Cooper hopes that GOP legislators will heed his calls to halt funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program, which he has consistently opposed, until public schools are “fully funded” and teachers receive substantial pay raises.
“We need to invest in public schools,” Cooper recently told reporters. “We know that to sustain the workforce of the future for all these jobs we’re attracting, we’ve got to make sure that our public schools are strong.”
Regarding immigration, Newton anticipates that the Senate will consider a bill passed by the House last year that would require sheriffs to cooperate with federal agents seeking to apprehend jail inmates believed to be in the country illegally. Cooper successfully vetoed similar measures in 2019 and 2022, but at the time, GOP legislators lacked supermajorities.
Last year, state budget approval was nearly derailed when Senate Republicans attempted to include language authorizing the construction of four additional casinos and the legalization and regulation of video gambling machines statewide. Discussions about legalizing gambling machines may resurface, according to Republicans in both chambers. General Assembly staff estimated last year that revenue from these machines could exceed $400 million annually by the end of the decade, potentially offsetting projected revenue losses due to declining individual and corporate income tax rates.
Republicans have dismissed concerns about long-term shortfalls as premature. Democratic legislators seeking to block what they perceive as harmful GOP bills face an uphill battle, as Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham’s party switch in April 2023 secured veto-proof majorities in both chambers. All of Cooper’s vetoes last year were overridden.
“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 caucus is going to vote 100% together.”
This brief session also marks the last for Moore, who is expected to run for Congress in 2025 after serving a record five two-year terms as Speaker of the House. He easily won the Republican primary for the 14th Congressional District, which has a Republican lean.
