Mini-Budgets Can’t Solve Big Problems
NC Speaker of the House Destin Hall and NC Senate leader Phil Berger have got to be the least anxious– or most apathetic– politicians in North Carolina. They are now 87 days past due on passing a full state budget, roughly 3 months late, and have no plans to pass one any time soon.
It’s been an embarrassing display from Republican leadership, who seem unable and unwilling to work with one another. With no agreement this week, legislators are going on break until October 20, meaning the stalemate could go on for at least another month. It’s becoming increasingly likely that we may NEVER see a comprehensive budget pass this year.
Imagine telling your boss that you’re going to be a quarter late on a work deadline, your teacher that a paper will be submitted three months after the semester ends, your spouse that their anniversary gift is on its way, you promise, but it’s already been 87 days and the package hasn’t shipped. You’d get fired, receive an F, or get divorced. And no one would feel bad for you.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly has been able to get away with this by passing a series of “mini-budgets”– bills that keep the government running at its current capacity, without solving any of the major problems facing North Carolinians.
The lack of a full state budget will have huge implications for North Carolinians. Here’s just a few reasons why.
Teachers Will Remain Underpaid
North Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in teacher pay, far too low for a state with the 11th biggest economy in the country.
Gov. Stein has been advocating for teacher pay raises for months, initially calling for a 10% raise in March. The NC House agrees that teachers need a raise, but Phil Berger and the NC Senate are refusing to take the issue up.
Negotiations around teacher pay began during the 24-25 school year. We’re now over a month into the next academic year, and teachers are continuing to work without a meaningful raise. This doesn’t just affect teachers, it affects students.
“Teachers outweigh all other classroom factors in determining how well students perform,” Gov. Stein said in February. “For North Carolina to attract and retain excellent teachers, the state must pay them more.”
People Could Lose Access to Health Care
Congressional Republicans made huge cuts to affordable health care programs over the summer. In the MAGA budget, Republicans ended ACA subsidies and cut $1 trillion from Medicaid. Hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians could lose their health care, and most North Carolinians will likely face higher premiums.
With all of the federal cuts, our state has to pick up the slack in order to ensure people don’t lose their health care, that providers get paid, and that hospitals don’t close. Both the NC House and the NC Senate acknowledge that this is a problem they need to address. In fact, both chambers passed a bill to partially fill this funding gap. But the NC House has stalled it over a dispute regarding a children’s hospital. Berger’s coalition wants to fund it, Hall’s doesn’t.
Gov. Stein warned that without Medicaid funding, we could face severe cuts as soon as October 1: “Failure to act will lose us critical federal funding and take more than a billion dollars total out of our state’s health care system, needlessly hurting people’s health, health care providers, and our economy.
Stein continued: “What’s crazy is that both the House and Senate agree that more funding is needed, and they agree on exactly how much, but they’re allowing a separate disagreement between the chambers to sink this critical funding. They’re putting their politics ahead of our people. It’s inexcusable.”
Hospitals Could Close and Jobs Could Be Lost
North Carolinians won’t just lose their health insurance, they may lose access to care altogether. Due to all the cuts coming out of Congress, the state must adjust the Medicaid reimbursement rate, meaning providers will get paid less for providing services to Medicaid recipients. This means they may have to lay off workers, close locations, or stop serving Medicaid recipients altogether.
Rep. Sarah Crawford said the looming cuts are worrying families of people with disabilities. In addition to serving in the NC House, she runs TLC, a nonprofit that offers programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“I have been sick to my stomach, and that is not an understatement, as we get closer and closer to October 1,” Crawford said. “Providers will not be able to sustain these cuts. They’ll have to do it by cutting services, laying off workers, and making the most difficult call to moms, dads, sisters, and brothers and tell them, ‘Sorry, we can no longer provide services to your loved one.’”
This Is Embarrassing
Budgets should be deliberately crafted and thoroughly debated. But they also need to get done. And now North Carolina is one of only two states in the COUNTRY that has not passed a comprehensive state budget three months into its fiscal year.
This whole debacle is even more upsetting when you see what Republican leaders are prioritizing instead. Yesterday, Berger threatened to redraw our state’s congressional maps in order to further tilt the 2026 election toward Trump and MAGA Republicans. More political games, less problem-solving.
NC Republicans control 60% of the Senate and 59% of the House. They can pass a budget without a single Democratic vote. But the stubbornness of two men– one looking to prove himself as a young leader, the other desperately clinging to power in the twilight of his career– is harming all of us.
So here we are, using tiny band-aids for gaping wounds, mini-budgets for much, much bigger problems.
