NC House begins advancing GOP budget, with votes set for next week. Here’s what’s in it. ...Middle East

North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Republicans in the North Carolina House began unveiling their plan for the state budget Thursday, laying out a spending proposal separate from the Senate’s in a series of committee meetings.

Senate Republicans approved their own version of the budget weeks ago, sending it to the House. But as is standard practice, the House will pass a budget of its own, requiring budget writers from both chambers to sit down and hammer out a compromise.

Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth), a lead House budget writer, remarked that the proposal developed by him and his GOP colleagues was “better than the Senate’s.” But he said concerns about the national landscape, as well as a busy few weeks that also included the “crossover” deadline, complicated matters.

“Are there cuts in here that I don’t like?” Lambeth said. “Absolutely. But we’re up against a really challenging time economically … we’ve just had to balance out a lot of priorities.”

The rapid process Thursday drew frustration from Democrats, who did not have access to the budget’s hundreds of pages until just prior to committee hearings. And their ability to amend the budget was limited by a series of watertight legislative rules that prevented almost all substantive changes.

“With respect, we should really have more time — at least a day,” said Rep. Phil Rubin (D-Wake).

Early next week, larger committees will approve the budget before it heads to the full floor for debate.

Education: Cell phone ban, internet restrictions, UNC tuition hike. Teacher raises TBD

The House budget is widely expected to include raises to teachers, principals and school staff, much like the Senate’s. But the specifics of those raises aren’t yet known; details will come next week.

Lawmakers have debated different variations on cell phone restrictions for K-12 classrooms this session. A version is included in the House education budget that would require all districts to eliminate or severely restrict phone access.

School boards would also be required to adopt guidance for policing how students can access the internet. They would be limited to “age-appropriate subject matter,” and wouldn’t be able to access social media through school-provided internet.

And $10 million would be earmarked yearly to train teachers on the “science of reading,” a method for teaching literacy in schools championed by the last two state Republican superintendents.

The UNC System would be hit with funding reductions — $61 million in the first year of the budget, and $69 million in the second. The Board of Governors would be asked to prioritize cuts to the system office and systemwide initiatives before making cuts to individual campuses.

Tuition rates would also likely go up. Lawmakers are asking the system to generate at least $30 million from tuition in new revenue in fiscal year 2026-27. The system has not raised tuition in nine years.

Health care: Cutting equity office, Medicaid work requirements and removing weight loss drugs

On the chopping block under the House’s budget for the Department of Health and Human Services is the Office of Health Equity.

The office, which describes itself as working to “eliminate health disparities,” is eliminated under the plan. Legislative staff said the cut would mean the removal of three full-time positions, and save around $3.2 million.

Lawmakers are also aiming to cut long-empty positions, tasking HHS with cutting $10 million worth of vacant roles. That would roughly equate to 200 cut positions.

The state’s expanded Medicaid program would also see major changes under the budget.

Like the Senate version, House lawmakers are moving to attach work requirements to Medicaid coverage. House Republicans in Washington are working to include similar requirements in the federal budget.

The budget would also end coverage of weight management drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for Medicaid enrollees.

And the House plan takes a slightly different tack than the Senate on child care, but still aims to increase the subsidy reimbursement rate.

Justice and courts: Keeping innocence commission, carving out SBI

The House declined to follow the Senate’s lead in eliminating the Innocence Inquiry Commission, which investigates post-trial claims of actual innocence. Instead, it proposes to rename the program to the “Postconviction Review Commission.”

Budget writers in the House are also proposing to make the State Bureau of Investigation an independent agency, removing it from the purview of the Department of Public Safety. Lawmakers made a similar move with the highway patrol last year — a measure currently being challenged in court.

Republicans are also making a number of changes to judgeships — removing them from some counties and adding them to others. Those changes drew Democratic opposition, with Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham) filing an unsuccessful amendment to reverse the removal of a judge from her district.

The House budget also amps up funding for the Center for Safer Schools, providing $50 million in school safety grants. The Senate plan allotted $35 million.

General government: Election board changes, state agency insurance and lieutenant governor cuts

Like teacher pay, details on raises for state workers — which are expected to be higher than in the Senate’s budget — were not included in the draft budget Thursday.

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections would see major changes under the House plan. It creates seven new “exempt” (politically protected) staff positions for the board, a $1.5 million litigation fund for the hiring of private attorneys and $2 million to move the board into the same building that houses the state auditor’s office.

The board recently came under new, Republican-appointed leadership after the legislature passed a law shifting governance of the board to Dave Boliek, the Republican state auditor. Amendments offered by Rubin, a Democrat, to remove or delay the provisions were shot down by Republicans.

The House is also proposing a new self-insurance system for state agencies, designed to replace a current system to protect state property. It would cost $200 million.

House budget writers also included a laundry list of bills introduced this session to adopt new state symbols, including a state star, cookie and television show. And they set aside money to keep the legislative building’s snack bar open later than usual when lawmakers remain in session.

Committee on Agricultural and Natural and Economic Resources: More cuts to DEQ, small boosts to cultural resources

As has been the pattern for several years under Republican legislative leadership, the House proposal targets the Department of Environmental Quality for cuts to funding and programming

Among other things, the proposal would eliminate the Office of Environmental Education, three positions assigned to the Environmental Justice initiative, and four positions in the Facilities and Health Services and Public Information Office sections. The proposal also axes funding used to support a pathologist position at North Carolina State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology.

In contrast, the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources would realize some modest funding increases. This includes exhibit updates at state historic sites, as well as positions and operating costs for the expanded visitor center and grounds at Fort Fisher State Historic Site and North Carolina Transportation Museum.

The budget allows funding to add a conservator, a museum park director, and a curator of Judaic art at the North Carolina Museum of Art, as well as additional funds for the North Carolina Symphony.

The proposal also proposes more funding for costs associated with renovating and expanding the Fort Fisher Aquarium, and the new Asia complex at the North Carolina Zoo.

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