Another month into 2026 means another month without a state budget for North Carolinians as state lawmakers show no sign of progress in negotiations. North Carolina Governor Josh Stein warns that the lack of a budget puts North Carolina’s economic growth at risk.
North Carolina remains the only state in the country without a comprehensive state budget since the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1st, 2025. Stein has urged the general assembly multiple times to put disagreements aside, most of which are over tax cuts, to fund the state to support the people and state agencies that serve them.
Recently, Stein has released a $1.4 billion budget proposal that he says addresses the state’s immediate and critical needs, including raises for teachers and state employees, and funding for Medicaid, which is set to run out of funds on July 1st.
At an event with the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, Stein said the lack of funding could risk the state’s economic and developmental momentum.
“The state has kept operating at this baseline, limping along …” he told the crowd, giving the example of the state’s low rankings for public school funding and law enforcement pay. “If we accept the status quo, we risk losing our competitive advantage that we’ve worked so hard to achieve.”
State agencies and sheriffs across the state have been calling for a new budget that includes funding for their employees, citing a dip in employees and trouble with retention as workers move on to higher-paying jobs.
“To keep people safe, we need more well-trained officers on the beat, in their communities, building trust and relationships. And to hire and keep the best people, we must adequately compensate them,” Stein argued.
You can review Gov. Stein’s full budget proposal here.
Lawmakers are set to return to Raleigh in April, but with a number of incumbents in both parties being ousted in the recent primary election, some worry about how much work will get done in the short session.
