North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell), left, and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) speak ahead of Gov. Josh Stein's State of the State address on March 12, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
North Carolina senators gave a Republican-authored budget a final vote of approval Thursday. It now goes to the House, where GOP leaders are expected to craft a largely separate budget and come to a compromise later.
The plan outlines $32.6 billion in spending for fiscal year 2025-26 and $33.3 billion for 2026-27. It gives modest pay raises to state workers, educators and law enforcement; cuts hundreds of vacant state jobs and some filled ones; and sets aside hundreds of millions for future hurricane relief.
Conservatives in the chamber have praised the spending plan as a safe but confident step in continuing North Carolina’s growth.
“It’s not probably the budget everybody wanted, but it is a good, sound, fiscally responsible budget,” Sen. Brent Jackson (R-Sampson) said Thursday.
Democrats have criticized the budget for lacking extensive investment in key areas, arguing that it fails to put the state and its residents on safe economic ground. And they continued to express frustration about a largely opaque budget process.
Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) (Photo: NCGA)“Perhaps invite us to the table next time, and we could talk to you about some of the amendments we have,” Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) told reporters Wednesday evening. “Because you don’t have the corner on the market to good ideas, especially when it comes to North Carolina.”
Batch said Democrats were open to working with any House Republicans who welcomed their input.
The final vote in the Senate on Thursday was 30-15. Sen. Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck), who had an amendment shot down by his Republican colleagues Wednesday, joined Democrats in opposition. Four Democrats, including former Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue (D-Wake) voted yes.
House budget writers are expected to craft their own plan that differs significantly from the Senate’s. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) told reporters Wednesday evening he had only had discussions with Speaker Destin Hall about top-level spending.
“They’re not going to take this budget as is,” Berger said. “They’ll make some changes. So we’ll just have to see.”
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