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It is going to be a very busy week or is expected to be a very busy week across the North Carolina legislature as we are keeping an eye on what is expected to be the final week of votes before the July the 4th break and what could end up being the final couple of days of the legislative short session here in 2026. Looking at a calendar published by House Speaker Destin Hall months ago, back in early April, before the legislative short session really kicked into full gear, votes were expected at the 29th, 30th of June and the 1st and 2nd of July. That is Wednesday and Thursday ahead of a very Very busy July the 4th weekend here in North Carolina. There remain a couple of main priorities for Republican lawmakers, the biggest arguably being at this point the full unveiling and votes on a state budget. We are going to be keeping a very close eye as to whether lawmakers will introduce that this week or if they will take a break in and around the July the 4th holiday and come back sometime in mid-July.
A couple of other things that we'll be watching as well. Relates to one final veto override. A vetoed bill to allow permitless carry in North Carolina does remain stalled in the North Carolina House. This is even after Republicans successfully overrode several of Democrat Governor Josh Stein's veto just last week. The hesitation comes as those vetoes were overridden on immigration enforcement, diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, clearing a backlog of long-stalled measures that had been on the North Carolina General Assembly's House calendar for months.
Those votes all passed 71 to 47. That was aided by the absences of Representative Carla Cunningham, the independent or the unaffiliated elected official from Mecklenburg County and Democrat Shelly Willingham from Edgecombe County. Both of those individuals were defeated in their March 2026 primary by Stein and Democrat Party-backed challenger. After previously breaking with the Democrat Party on key votes during the legislative long session in 2025, Senate Bill 50, the Constitutional Carry Act, was not among the measures taken up, leaving it right now as the only remaining veto override awaiting action in the North Carolina House. Senate Bill 50 is titled Freedom to Carry NC, and it would allow eligible North Carolinians 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun without obtaining a special permit, also known as constitutional carry.
The Senate already voted to override Stein's veto. They did that months ago, but in the House, where Republicans lack a supermajority, the bill has remained on the calendar without receiving a final override vote. Andy Jackson, the director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal: the fact that House leaders have not brought Senate bills. Bill 50 up for a vote is a clear sign that they just don't have the votes to override Governor Stein's veto. They have problems on a couple of fronts.
First, it lacks Democrat support, Representative Cunningham and Willingham, both of whom cooperated with Republican veto overrides on June the 24th by staying away from the House floor, voted against it, and appear to continue to oppose it. Jackson said the problem extends beyond Democrat opposition in the House.
However, noting that there are Republicans that are also not in favor of the legislation, the House voted 59 to 48 to pass the bill in June of 2025, with all Democrats and two Republicans, Representative William Brinson, the Republican from Bladen County, and Representative Ted Davis, the Republican from New Hanover County, voting no. Jackson went on to say the bill also has weak support among Republicans in the House. Those two Republicans who voted against its final passage and 10 more were absent from the vote. It is probably no accident that nine of those 12 members represent competitive districts according to the Civitas Partisan Index. Both Brinson and Davis did not respond to a request from comment from the Carolina Journal by the time of publication.
However, sources around the General Assembly say that both remain opposed to the measure. Both lawmakers are also serving their final terms in the North Carolina House as they have decided that they are not going to seek re-election coming up in November. Brinson told the News and Observer back last year that opposition from his constituents have influenced his stance on the legislation to this point. Saying in part back in 2025, my people at home are pretty much against it. I can tell you that.
I wasn't in favor of it, and I can't understand why it is here to begin with. Davis also expressed concerns about removing some existing requirements here in North Carolina, saying, I don't see what the problem is requiring somebody, number one, to get a permit and number two, to access training to make sure they know what they're doing with a gun that they're going to buy. He again tells that to the News and Observer back in 2025. Without either changing their votes or favorable absences, House Republicans simply just don't have the votes. They simply do not have the three-fifths majority required to override the governor's veto, which is required and would be required for this to move forward.
For Republicans in competitive districts, a recorded vote on Senate Bill 50 also carries risks in either direction. A vote to override could in Vite criticism from Democrats and gun control groups across the state in these very competitive swing districts. And a vote against the override could anger gun rights organizations and conservative primary voters who many of these Republicans will need to show up to vote for them in November. Given those realities, Jackson says he does not expect House Speaker Destin Hall, the Republican from Caldwell County, to force the issue unless the votes are there. Jackson said Hall would probably prefer not to put those members on the spot.
Governor Stein vetoed the bill more than a year ago. He did that in early June of 2025, arguing that it would weaken public safety and responsible gun ownership across North Carolina. Going back to that period of time, the governor said this in a veto message: this bill makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsibility. Responsible gun ownership. The bill eliminates training requirements associated with concealed carry permits and lowers the age to carry a concealed weapon from 21 to 18.
Authorizing teenagers to carry a concealed weapon with no training whatsoever is dangerous. It would also make the job of law enforcement officers more difficult and less safe. We can and should protect the right to bear arms without recklessly endangering officers and our communities. Those in favor of the legislation point to The Second Amendment in the United States Constitution. It is important to note that under this proposal, again, we are talking about Senate Bill 50, freedom to carry NC.
Anybody that would be going through this process of purchasing here in the state of North Carolina would still have to go through a fully squared-around federal background check that goes through a system called NICS that looks at individuals and their criminal past, any sort of run-ins with law enforcement or run-ins with the judicial system that would make them ineligible to purchase and carry and own a firearm. This piece of legislation does not make any changes to that. It simply removes some of the requirements which requires a lengthy clasp before purchasing and getting a pistol carry here in North Carolina. And so, as it stands right now, as we have continued to keep a very close eye, not only on this legislation, but so much else in the North Carolina General Assembly. Over the last couple of months, the math just simply does not seem to be in place right now for House Speaker Destin Hall and Republicans in the majority.
I would imagine that there is still work that remains with Representative William Brinson, the Republican from Bladen, and Representative Ted Davis, the Republican from New Hanover, who voted against this legislation back in June of 2025 to try and convince them to come around and vote in favor of it.
However, if they choose not to do so or if they are not convinced or swayed to change their vote, the math is simply not there for the Republican majority. That is something that we will be keeping a close eye on this week, as well as some potential details on a state budget being released and potentially voted on this week according to the House calendar. We will not only have Andrew Pomerance, but other members of our team down at the General Assembly this week. We'll be keeping you up to date over. On our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and of course, the latest each and every weekday morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
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It's 5:21. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM. WBT, we already talked a little bit about some statewide news.
Now transitioning up to Washington, D.C., U.S. Senator Ted Budd, said that he cannot support a supplemental funding request. From the White House and President Donald Trump, because additional Helene recovery funding was not included. We are inching ever closer to the two-year mark of Hurricane Helene and the unimaginable amount of devastation and destruction in western North Carolina that caused an estimated $60 billion worth of damage. The Office of Management and Budget stated that the $87.6 billion request to Congress that was made last week by the White House is needed to fund urgent needs such as Operation Epic Fury, the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, and American farmers.
While U.S. Senator Ted Budd said that he supports strengthening the military and rebuilding the munition stockpile along with assisting farmers affected by disasters and combating unfair trade practices, Budd said that he was in fact disappointed that the request didn't include any funding. Funding for recovery in western North Carolina communities as the two-year anniversary of the storm approaches. Bud submitted and issued a press release last week saying, Nearly two years since Hurricane Helene ravaged our state, debris still clogs waterways. Roads, bridges, and dams require repair or replacement.
Homeowners are paying mortgages on properties that were wiped out. Quite simply, the need continues to outweigh what state and local communities can bear. Bud went on to say, for that reason, he will be voting against this or any other form of supplemental appropriation package that does not include additional funding for Western North Carolina. Bud has been very vocal, along with other members of North Carolina's congressional delegation, Democrat Governor Josh Stein, who was just up in D.C. a couple of weeks ago, and the General Assembly about the ongoing need for funding.
Over $7 billion in federal funding to this point has been awarded or allocated, and state lawmakers have appropriated some $2.5 billion. If we use some helpful accounting there, let's say that that gets us to $10 billion. That is expected to be less than one-sixth of all the money that is needed to make a western North Carolina whole.
So, obviously, still some major work to go on there to get the state back into the position that it was and it needs to be moving forward. Earlier this month, the governor, alongside state senator Kevin Corbin, the Republican from Macon County, met with North Carolina's congressional delegation, including Bud, to seek more than $10 billion in a Additional federal funding for Western North Carolina and Hurricane Helene recovery. Bud also noted in his most recent press release that FEMA, that's the Federal Emergency Management Agency, approved approval times on public assistance projects has greatly improved under the new Secretary of Homeland Security, Mark Wayne Mullen, as opposed to former Secretary Christy Noam. He said in part, Bud said in part, excuse me, Secretary of Homeland Security Mark Wayne Mullen has empowered FEMA to move rapidly in terms of reimbursement for state and local governments for public assistance projects. I am pleased that these projects are now being approved on a regular basis, something I called for more than a year ago.
I'm immensely grateful to my former Senate colleague, but FEMA is only one piece of this puzzle. He added that the Small Business Administration and the SBA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, and other major federal entities play a major role in disaster recovery and the disaster funding that Congress passed back in December of 2024 for those agencies has already been largely allocated. Senator Ted Budd went on to say, Western North Carolina's water infrastructure remains particularly vulnerable. In places like Beach Mountain, residents face major uncertainty with their water system as replacing it could take years and tens of millions of dollars that they just don't have. At a visit by Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen to Western North Carolina a couple of months ago, back in April, that was hosted by Bud, Henderson County Manager John Mitchell, said that local governments acted quickly in the storm's aftermath and continue working to restore infrastructure and services, but that certainty remains surrounding federal approvals, that that has created some major strain for many of these relatively small municipalities, counties, and towns in Western North Carolina.
The Henderson County manager and John Mitchell said at the time, We can endure almost anything if we know what the answer is, but uncertainty and delay makes recovery very hard. Bud said it's people like Mitchell that need to hear from fellow lawmakers that are not alone in the recovery process and that additional appropriations will be secured. With Bud wrapping up his press release saying, Every time I'm in Western North Carolina, people ask me. me to make sure that they're not forgotten. I'd ask my colleagues in Washington and Raleigh to send a clear message that they're with them by passing additional funding for disaster recovery.
There is a lot, similarly to what we've talked about here in the North Carolina General Assembly. There is a lot going on in Washington, D.C. right now as Republicans in our nation's capital leading up to the midterm elections would like to take a final crack at any major priority items before the possibility of losing control of one or if not both chambers of the United States Congress coming up in November of this year. With this announcement, U.S. Senator Ted Budd not going to be in support of a supplemental funding package.
It is not clear if there will be any other lawmakers that will be against this or if Republicans will still have the majority in the United States Senate to move forward. We will be keeping an eye on that as it relates to potential additional funding in western North Carolina. You could read more from U.S. Senator Ted Budd. We've got a full breakdown of his press release last week after this announcement from the White House and the Office of Management and Budget.
It's over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the story with the headline: Budd rejects Trump funding request lacking Helene Relief. July 4th paint deals are here at Lowe's. Right now, buy one can of Select Valspar or HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams One Coat Interior Paint. Get another can free via rebate, starting at $45.98 per gallon.
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It's 5:36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM. WBT, I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. As lawmakers are expected to make their way back to Raleigh and the North Carolina General Assembly this week, all eyes remain on when a state budget will be unveiled between state lawmakers in both the North Carolina House and Senate.
Back just a couple of weeks ago, Brian Balfour, the Senior Vice President of Research at the John Locke Foundation, joined us right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour to walk through some of his priorities that he thinks state lawmakers should focus on as the budget is unveiled. Here's that conversation with Brian Balfour. Brian, fingers crossed, waiting a year plus for a state budget at this point. You've got a great article over at the John Locke Foundation about some of these priorities. Walk us through some of them if you would.
Yeah, yeah, great. Thanks for having me on today. Appreciate it. Yeah, so we're looking forward over the next month to see what sort of a budget deal gets worked out. And so I figured I'd put down on paper kind of a 20,000-foot view of a handful of priorities that we at the Locke Foundation are hoping these legislators keep in mind as they work on this budget process.
And kind of starting obviously with. Let's try to keep spending in check. Governor Stein put out his budget proposal a little while ago, and that. Showed an 11% increase year over year in spending. Double-digit percentage increase is just completely uncalled for and unsustainable.
It would mark a 27% increase in spending over just the last four years.
So let's kind of dial that back, have some more realistic total spending goals. A couple other things that I'd like to look at is. This whole shell game that they started a few years ago of putting money into special reserve funds. And then they withdraw the money out of that reserve into the spent into the general fund, but it's not counted under the general fund spending because it's considered, they classify as a receipt-supported expenditure, because it's supported by a receipt from that reserve fund that they just dumped the money into. And we looked back at the last actual full budget bill they passed in 2023, they did this to the tune of $7 billion, moving these monies into these various reserve funds.
And there was 30, a total of 30 of these reserve funds. That they had to choose from, basically, 20 of which had been created just since the year 2020.
So, this was kind of a new, really emerging trend that really obscures any sort of budget transparency and kind of hides the The true nature of the full spending of the general fund.
Well, let me ask you about that.
So, let's say that the final budget is $30 billion. Let's just use that as a benchmark number. They transfer $7 billion from these rainy days, the technology fund, all these other reserve funds. The final spending is $37. But as you're saying, what the people are seeing and what the final announcement is, is only a $30 billion budget, which I guess is, in this case, with $7 billion worth of additional funding, Brian, is nowhere near the final total.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly right. And kind of budget nerds like myself, insiders, they call that above the line, that money that they move into reserves like that. And so it's. Considered not available for spending, but then it's withdrawn from the reserve fund immediately, and it's counted, as I said, as receipt supported, which then does not count against the general fund total.
And that was a recent phenomenon, like I mentioned. And I look back, even just a handful of years ago, even monies that they would put into the Rainy Day Fund, the Savings Reserve Fund, that would count. Against the general fund total.
So they were counting all those monies being put into reserve funds, and that shifted just in the last handful of years, really.
So I, you know, I. I just think that's a really bad budgetary practice, especially to what it does to transparency. It just does not fully express the amount of funds that are being appropriated by the state budget. Yeah, I mean, it's a large sum. We're not just talking about a couple hundred thousand dollars squeaking out here or there, Brian.
We're literally talking about, in some cases, could be 15, 20% of the budget, depending on what some of those final numbers look like.
So, some big-time dollars there. Before you get into a couple more of your bullet points, I want to go back to the first thing you mentioned. You know, the state of North Carolina, no question about it, over the last 15 years has really been exploding in terms of growth. A lot of folks moving here, a lot of businesses being here. Brian, we're seeing something different than other states.
Florida, for example, has seen similar amounts of population growth. Their state budget has actually gone down year over year with the leadership of Governor DeSantis and their Republican-led legislature. We have not seen that here in North Carolina. The budget continues to creep up each and every year. Or is it maybe a fairy tale or a fantasyland dream here to believe that we can get to a period of time in which we continue to see that growth, but spending actually goes down here in the state of North Carolina?
I think that's going to be real difficult. And one of the biggest challenges is the recent expansion of Medicaid. We've seen Medicaid expenditures explode in the last few years since we expanded. I think there's 700 creeping up on 800,000 people now that have signed up on the expansion part of Medicaid. And that just becomes really unsustainable.
And so. Just that and all the other pressures, the majority, when you stop and think about it, the majority of the money that the general fund, that the state budget spends, is paying employees, right? Salaries. Benefits and retirees, their pension benefits and health care benefits. That's the overwhelming majority.
So, until we take a closer look at that, there's no way we can really kind of rein in spending.
So, what we mean by that is agencies looking at how can they become more efficient, how can they do more with less and still provide the services that they're duty-bound to provide to the North Carolinians, and also look for ways maybe that they could. outsource the labor, contracting with third parties where they just pay a flat fee and therefore the state's not on the hook for these benefits and retiree benefits and pensions for decades to come. Yeah, I mean, you can pay somebody $50,000 or $100,000 a year. You, of course, incur all of those extra fees associated with that versus going to an outside party who, by the way, also could be located here in the state of North Carolina, Brian, pay them $100,000 and not have to deal with any of the retirement, the health care, all of the other things associated with having an employee on the payroll.
Some interesting work that could be done there by some of these agencies. All right, back to your list over at the John Locke Foundation, a couple of other major priorities. You do highlight the importance of setting aside dollars, dealing with the Rainy Day Fund, of course, coming off, almost hitting the two-year anniversary, the devastation of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. That's something that the state did not have 15 years ago after 100-plus years of Democratic control. The state was, for all intents and purposes, practically broke.
Yeah, yeah, exactly right. And even going back to 2008 when the economic recession hit. The Democrats in control, they were not setting aside money into the Rainy Day Fund, even though revenues were growing pretty dramatically year over year. They just They just spent it as soon as they got it in. It was very short-sighted.
And so North Carolina was caught really flat-footed when that recession hit and revenues dipped. They didn't have any savings to dip into.
So right now we're up at $3.6 billion in the Rainy Day Fund. There's another $800 million in a stabilization and inflation reserve fund.
So almost $4.5 billion right there. But I'd like to see them continue to try to aggressively put some money aside, maybe get up more closer to like $6.50 to $7 billion in reserves. As I mentioned in the article, I'm in good economic times. They don't last forever.
So, I think legislators would be far more responsible to continue to prepare for that rainy day that's going to come so that. When it does hit, They don't have to get take desperate measures like quote unquote temporary taxes or anything like that, then they have a nice, healthy cushion to buy them some buy them some time and absorb the drop in revenues when a recession hits. And so I think they would be well served to continue to stock that rainy day fund. Yeah, great points there. And you mentioned some of these temporary taxes that we have seen in the past during some of these economic issues or natural disasters, whatever the issue might be that has the state on the hook for potentially billions of dollars.
You do, however, highlight that lawmakers do need to continue their process over the last 15 years of reducing the tax burden on not only individuals, but corporations across the state of North Carolina. Brian, this has been all the rage in North Carolina politics over the last couple of weeks, a real ideological battle between the political left and right. Why do you think lawmakers should continue down the path they have been walking the last couple of 15 years or so? Sure, yeah, absolutely. I mean, a few important reasons.
Number one, just look at the economic success that is brought to North Carolina. Economic growth, income growth, job growth have been really bolstered by these tax cuts, making North Carolina a far more attractive place for investors and job creators. Secondly, other states are being more aggressive. Neighboring states like South Carolina, Georgia, other states like Louisiana are getting more and more aggressive about cutting their taxes.
Some even having discussions about eliminating their state income taxes altogether.
So, if North Carolina stands still, we have, you know, we risk getting passed over by other regional states like that. And thirdly, all the warnings, we've been hearing the warnings for nearly 15 years now about how tax cuts are just going to starve the state budget. We're going to be facing constant shortages. But the opposite has actually been true. We've enjoyed massive surpluses basically year in, year out, for the last dozen years, significant surpluses, revenues come.
In far ahead of what expectations and projections are because those projections always overstate the decrease in revenues from tax. Rate decreases, but that doesn't happen. The additional economic activity that the tax rate reductions encourages creates more revenue than they anticipate.
So we want to continue to do that. And then, lastly, again, when and if we do hit a recession, we'd be far better poised to absorb that if our tax burden is lighter on workers and businesses. It has very much become a boy who's cried wolf situation as it relates to the impending fiscal cliff, Brian, that we have been apparently looking over over the last 15 years here as Republicans have consistently, and in some cases, more than cut the tax rate in half as it relates to the personal income tax that everybody and most small businesses, I'll note, pay here across the state of North Carolina. Your final out of your five priorities for state lawmakers is something that we've been keeping a very close eye on over at CarolinaJournal.com and at the John Locke Foundation, a group that I don't think a lot of people actually know the name of, NC Innovation. We're not talking about a couple dollars here, Brian, as well.
Half a billion dollars worth of state funding just a couple of years ago. Yeah, half a billion dollars to NC Innovation. And for those who are unfamiliar, this was a new group that was formed basically to try to fund research ideas taking place in universities across North Carolina and try to take those ideas and new innovations and bring them to the market, commercialize them to a commercial product. But that's. Taking taxpayer dollars.
and putting it into basically a venture capital fund. And that's not the role of state government. Taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for these kinds of often risky investments. Of course, the taxpayers aren't themselves going to get any sort of return on that investment. It's going to be the private companies, if they are successful, that get that return on any sort of investment.
So it's just outside of the realm of what state government should be doing with our taxpayer dollars. And somewhat surprisingly, Governor Stein has even recognized this. And in his budget proposal, he proposed to claw back that half a billion dollars from NC Innovation and put it towards other uses.
So in this, this could be a very unique opportunity for the state legislature and Governor Stein to be in lockstep on a policy proposal. And the Locke Foundation would certainly support it as well. Yeah, we don't often see a lot of bipartisanship as it relates here in the state of North Carolina between some members of the executive branch, including Governor Josh Stein and the Republican-led legislature. An interesting marriage on this issue of NC innovation. We will be keeping a close eye on these ongoing budget negotiations in Raleigh as we lead up to the July the 4th holiday this week.
You can read more about some of the budget priorities from Brian Balfour by visiting our website, johnlock.org. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Granger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog, HVAC on its last leg?
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It's 5:54. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM. WBT, here could be some concerning news if you are looking forward to kicking back and enjoying a couple of drinks over the 4th of July holiday coming up this weekend. A new report out ranks North Carolina the fifth highest state tax on distilled spirits at $18.23 per gallon and sixth for beer at $0.62 per gallon, according to this brand new report out from the Tax Foundation. What is the most expensive ingredient in beer in the United States?
Well, it's none of the actual ingredients, in fact, it is taxes, according to this brand new report, which accounts for much more of the final price tag than labor and ingredients combined. Between state and federal taxes, it can amount for as much as 40% of the Retail price tag. The U.S. federal excise tax varies from 0.11 cents per gallon for the first 60,000 gallons produced by qualifying small domestic brewers to 0.58 cents per gallon for imported beer, according to the report. Each state then also adds on top of it an additional excise tax on beer in addition to its state and local taxes.
Tennessee, our neighbor, has the highest beer tax at $1.28 per gallon, followed by Alaska at $1.07, Hawaii at $0.93, Kentucky at $0.89, followed there by North Carolina, with Wyoming, Missouri, and Wisconsin having some of the lowest taxes in those states. Brian Balfour, the senior vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, said, often referred to as a syntax, high taxes on items like alcohol and cigarettes are designed to extract money from the purchases of products that politicians deem to be bad for you.
However, in reality, such taxes are typically quite regressive, hitting low-income people disproportionately hard. It is disappointing to learn how heavily North Carolina taxes beer and liquor compared to other states. For instance, North Carolina's tax on beer is more than four times as high as New York's, and its liquor Tax is nearly three times of New York State.
So, for those that are looking to kick back and enjoy this weekend, well, you'll be paying the old tax man on the 250th anniversary of the United States. You can read more on the report out from the Tax Foundation. We've got the link over this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That's going to do it for a Monday edition. WBT News is next.
Followed by Good Morning, BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT.
