The North Carolina Senate approved its Republican-crafted $32.6 billion budget on Wednesday, with GOP members hailing it as fiscally responsible and Democrats decrying its lack of investment in key areas.
“This budget continues the success that North Carolina has seen in the last decade-and-a-half,” said Sen. Brent Jackson (R-Sampson), a lead budget writer.
North Carolina Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) on the chamber floor during debate on the state budget on April 16, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)The legislation would cut hundreds of vacant state government positions, and some filled jobs. Under the plan, educators would see an average 2.3% raise next year and bonuses across two years. Most state employees would receive 1.25% raises and two-year bonuses; correctional officers, law enforcement officers, and highway patrol officers would receive more extensive boosts.
It also increases the subsidy rate for child care providers, sets up money for future Hurricane Helene recovery and funds a new children’s hospital to be built in the Triangle, among other provisions.
Democrats have offered praise for parts of the budget, including pay raises that they say are overdue. But they urged more extensive investment, and warned that planned cuts to state jobs and income taxes did not meet the economic moment.
“Right now, North Carolina needs a record investment in its people, because our house is on fire,” said Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake). “But this budget sends a sympathy card to them instead, saying ‘sorry for your loss,’ instead of a fire truck.”
After a final vote in the Senate that’s expected Thursday, the proposal will go to the House, where members will write and pass their own version. A compromise between the two chambers will eventually go to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk.
Debate on tax cuts and more as Democrats propose flurry of amendments
The Senate budget continues a plan for tax cuts, despite state economists’ warnings that North Carolina is facing a shortfall in the coming years. It keeps the previously planned cuts to personal income tax rates and continues the phase-out of the corporate income tax.
Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said earlier this week he did not believe the economic forecast, expressing faith that the state’s growth would continue to exceed expectations.
“What we have seen is the state’s economy continuing to grow and flourish,” Berger said this week.
North Carolina senators on the chamber floor during debate on the state budget on April 16, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Orange) failed in his attempt Wednesday to stop the corporate income tax phase-out. The scheduled cuts primarily benefit the wealthy, he argued.
“This is a cheapskate budget. We are not a cheapskate state,” Meyer said.
“We are leaving North Carolinians behind,” he added, while creating “a structural deficit that is going to leave us in trouble for years to come.”
Among Democrats’ other proposed amendments was one from Sen. Kandie Smith (D-Edgecombe) that would have added a 10% earned income tax credit that Democrats have touted as a more equitable tax break. The state had such a credit earlier in the century, but it was repealed when Republicans gained control of the legislature in 2011. The amendment also proposed to cut the amount of money going toward the Opportunity Scholarships school voucher program.
Sen. Joyce Waddell (D-Mecklenburg) tried to add a 2% cost-of-living raise for state retirees. Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) sought to boost funding to the state’s struggling DMV. And Batch, the Democratic leader, offered a final unsuccessful amendment to raise the state’s minimum wage, as she decried the budget as “anemic.”
Berger, in his closing comments after almost five hours of debate, praised the budget and criticizing Democrats’ attempted amendments.
“The minority caucus, what do they offer the people of North Carolina?” Berger said. “Higher taxes, curtail options that parents have for their children’s education, increased debt, more bureaucracy and higher utility bills.”
Helene recovery
Senate Republicans’ plan sets aside $700 million for future aid in western North Carolina. Gov. Josh Stein is expected to outline a spending request in the coming weeks, after which lawmakers will draw up a new round of relief.
State officials remain wary of reduced and slow-moving money on the federal level.
“We remain hopeful that the federal government will provide increased and expedited reimbursement,” Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell) said Wednesday. “But we must be prepared to fend for ourselves.”
Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) ticked off a list of provisions she wished were in the budget to support the region. That included a grant program for small businesses and money to help local governments avoid looming shortfalls.
“Federal money is not flowing yet, and a lot of people are doing stuff about that but we can’t open that spigot,” Mayfield said.
Stein: Senate budget ‘falls short’
Stein, a Democrat, said Wednesday that the Senate’s budget “falls short.”
He added that he would work with lawmakers to “improve this budget” and send additional money to western North Carolina.
“We should be making investments in what makes North Carolina a great place to live: educating the next generation of North Carolinians, growing a strong workforce that drives our economy, and keeping communities safe,” Stein said in a statement.
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