No gift of state budget expected Monday

(The Center Square) – Lawmakers return to sessions in Raleigh on Monday without the gift of North Carolina’s two-year budget expected to be in tow.

Four committee meetings listed for Tuesday and Wednesday do not include ties to the budget, or a meeting of the 79 legislators appointed from the Senate (34) and House of Representatives (45) as conferees on the 2025 Appropriations Act. Senate Bill 257, as it is also known, has been without action since the respective June 3 and 5 appointments in each chamber.

The state budget, by statute, is to be enacted July 1 of odd-numbered years. North Carolina is the only state without one, having relied on the nine years old law that keeps spending levels the same as last passed and two bills since the deadline colloquially known as mini budgets.

The proposal of first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein was $67.9 billion, both chambers of the General Assembly came in at $65.9 billion, and the Senate and House of Representatives need compromise for their routes. Biggest disagreements are the Senate wan...