The North Carolina General Assembly is back. 

The good news is that Republican leadership finally funded Medicaid, heeding Gov. Stein’s call to protect the affordable health care program that serves 3 million North Carolinians. 

The bad news is that we’re still waiting on Republicans to finally pass a budget. North Carolinians are going above and beyond to advocate for one. Thousands of educators came together for an inspiring rally last week, where they called for a budget that fully funds our public schools and our children’s futures. 

While we wait on a budget, it’s worth looking at some of the other legislation that you probably won’t hear as much about– but could change our lives if they became law. 

Every year, there are some great ideas brought forward that never even receive a vote. They get buried by Republican leadership who tend to prioritize gerrymandering over budgeting, seizing power for themselves over addressing the affordability crisis.

So each year, we try to show you a better alternative– the Democratic bills that may not make it to a vote, but could absolutely address the problems that you and your family care about. 

Here’s just a few of our favorites. 

1. HB 1056:Relieving Housing Bottlenecks
   There’s a massive shortage of affordable housing in our country. This bill would increase the housing supply and bring down costs by making it easier to build new housing. It provides funding to speed up building approvals, restricts large-scale corporate ownership of single-family homes, and creates a workforce housing loan program. More housing supply means lower costs, something we’d all appreciate right now.
    
2. SB 907 / HB 1172: The Ciji Graham Act
   Ciji Graham should be alive today. A Greensboro police officer and mother, Graham died as a result of Republican abortion restrictions passed in 2023. Doctors sent Graham home without treating her rapid heartbeat because of her pregnancy, and she was unable to quickly obtain an abortion because of new restrictions. Graham’s family supports the legislation, hoping that it will fix a system that is continuing to endanger women with high-risk pregnancies. 

3. HB 1066: Child Care Stabilization & Affordability Act
   Childcare costs are rising rapidly. The average annual cost of infant care in North Carolina was $12,370 in 2024, and it’s continuing to rise. This bill would lower costs for parents and strengthen the child care workforce through things like family tax credits and childcare worker salary supplements. 

4. SB 788: Guarding Freedoms & Public Safety Act
   This bill would reduce gun violence through commonsense reforms. It would strengthen background checks, support safe storage programs, and prohibit those with a record of domestic violence from obtaining firearms. These are reforms with broad public support, and this bill would make those reforms a reality.   

5. HB 1168: Limit Electrical Utilities Historic Fuel Cost Recovery
   Duke Energy has already raised NC’s electricity rates by 22% since 2020, and now they’re seeking to raise them by another 18%. To add insult to injury, the NC Court of Appeals recently ruled that Duke Energy was overcharging its customers, but with the passage of SB 266 over Governor Stein’s veto last year, Duke didn’t have to issue refunds. There’s no reason that a massive corporation that sees billions in profits each year should be able to continue overcharging North Carolinians without consequences. This bill would fix that– allowing North Carolinians to get refunds from Duke Energy moving forward. 

BONUS: SB 806: No Budget, No Pay Act 
If you don’t do your job, you shouldn’t get paid. This bill applies that standard to the NCGA, which embarrassed North Carolina by making us the only state in the country to fail to pass a budget last year. These sorts of failures have consequences for everyday people– Republican leadership needs to see some consequences too.

Democrats have a plan to get costs under control, support working families, and make our communities safer. Any of these bills stick out to you? Call your legislators and let them know. When we all come together to demand better of our leaders, we see results.