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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – It’s been nearly two months since the initial July 1 deadline for North Carolina lawmakers to pass a state budget, and top Democrats say Republicans are not doing their jobs.
Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly. Democrats say they have largely been left out of budget talks, so their hands are tied, and the blame for the budget delay falls on Republicans.
“Here in North Carolina, it feels like Groundhog Day, because year after year we wake up with the same reality, and that’s the failure of Republicans in the General Assembly,” Senator Sydney Batch said.
At the General Assembly on Wednesday, it was mostly empty halls as Republicans opted to make this week a non-voting week, meaning no chance of any budget passing.
“After school programs like the Boys and Girls Club shutter their doors because they can’t pay their rents, and frankly, we have food banks whose shelves are bare, and children go to bed hungry,” Senator Batch said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for House Republicans said, “Senate Democrats and their fear-mongering are entirely irrelevant to this process. House Republicans will not rush the budget process at the expense of our state employees, teachers, and other needs of the state.”
Senator Batch and Representative Robert Reives, heads of the Democratic caucuses in the state Senate and House, say they do want to work with Republicans to get the budget done and passed.
“I, and many of my House Democratic colleagues, actually supported the House Republican budget this year because we knew it was the best deal North Carolina was going to get,” Representative Reives said.
But both lawmakers say they are often not given a seat at the table, especially on the Senate side. Senator Batch says top Republicans aren’t even working with each other.
“Have they worked with each other? No,” she said. “I don’t understand how you’re part of the same party and you have just as much animus with your fellow colleagues as you do with Democrats.”
Representative Reives says instead of working with their colleagues across the aisle, Republicans are laser-focused on what he calls culture war bills, like banning DEI initiatives and defining gender.
“If it’s a culture war bill they have us back in this building, ready to rock and roll, and then proudly talk about it on social media, how they’ve defeated this and done this and done that,” he said. “And not one of those bills puts more money in your pocket, not one of those bills brings prices down, not one of those bills gets your healthcare cost under control, not one of those bills makes your life better.”
A spokesperson for Senate Republicans said in part, “Democrats conveniently ignore that North Carolina does have a budget. Hysterical theatrics don’t change that fact.”
The statement went on to say what Republicans have accomplished this session, including “proposals to lower healthcare costs, fund new DMV positions, support continued Hurricane Helene recovery needs, tackle the immigration crisis, rein in government spending, protect Second Amendment rights, and cut tax rates.”
Right now, Democrats say they just want to formally be back in session and work on the budget negotiations. Since this is a non-voting week, the earliest they could pass a budget is at the end of September.
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Deana Harley
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