July 31, 2025 • 34 mins
Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley is set to announce his U.S. Senate campaign Thursday in Gastonia. At the legislature, lawmakers approved an interim spending plan as budget negotiations remain at a standstill. A new tax credit school choice bill has been sent to Governor Stein, and legislators continue to scrutinize the slow pace of Hurricane Helene recovery. Six additional vetoed bills did not receive override votes.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Thursday edition
of The Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to
you as we round out the month of July. Major
political news expected across North Carolina today as former NCGP
chairman current head of the Republican National Committee Michael Wattley
(00:32):
is expected to officially announce his plans to run for
North Carolina's open United States Senate seat coming up a
little bit later on today. The announcement is expected to
be made in Gastonia, just west of Charlotte, where he
lives and has lived for quite some time. As the
race continues to heat up earlier this week, of course,
(00:54):
former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper made it official on Monday,
releasing a campaign video launching a campaign website in his
attempt to take over the what will now be open
United States Senate seats as a current congress or current
Senator from the state of North Carolina, Tom Tillis has
(01:14):
announced that happened about a month ago almost to the day,
that he would not seek re election after serving two
terms in the United States Senate. Democrats attempting to flip
one of the four seats in the twenty twenty six
general election as they try and gain control of the
United States Senate as they head out of the midterm
(01:34):
elections next year. In terms of Michael Wattley, if he
were to win the GOP primary, which from all of
our analysis and all of the great guests we've talked
to here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, it will
be a face off between Wattley and Cooper. As we
learned yesterday morning that US Representative Wileye Nickel, a former
(01:55):
Democrat congressman, has suspended his campaign. Both Wattley and Cooper
are seen as primary clearing candidates and not much of
a primary which will be heading our way coming up
in March of this year. We will, of course a
March up next year. I should say, we'll be keeping
an eye on all of those details throughout the day today,
breaking news coverage of that announcement as it unfolds over
(02:18):
on our website Carolina Journal dot com. And of course
we'll have the latest coming up for you right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's now five oh eight,
News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT. It
has been ten months since Hurricane Helene ravaged the western
half of North Carolina, dumping dozens of inches of rain,
(02:38):
causing mass mud slides and road washouts all over the
western half of North Carolina. This week in the North
Carolina General Assembly, lawmakers met with Will Ray, the head
of Emergency Management, as well as officials from Grow and See,
which is an entity set up by Governor Josh Stein
to manage the recovery of western North Carolina. To walk
(02:59):
us through that committee meeting, Teresa Opeka, Carolina Journal dot
Com joins us on the news hour. Teresa, wasn't a
super long meeting, some interesting information coming out. Give us
the top rundown of what you made of this meeting.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Sure, good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So this is about the second meeting that the subcommittee
has had. They had their first one on Helene recovery
back in March. At this one, we had Representative Carl
Gillespie of Macon County and Senator Ralph Hie of Mitchell
County co chairing the hearing. Basically, they were talking with
the North Carolina Emergency Management Director, Will Ray and the
(03:39):
director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina
growen ce Matt Colabria about recovery efforts surrounding debris removal
and also anything to do with house repairs, building of houses,
thing of that in nature. They you know, COLLABORA and
Ray went over specific you know, fifteen million tons of
(04:02):
dry debris or they equate that to fourteen million cubic
yards have been removed from roads and waterways and municipalities
things like that, but there's still much more to do.
They said that the FEMA process that they have to
follow is exact, going a little further explaining this at
(04:22):
the moment and gave a brief overview of what needs
to be done. But aside from that, there was definitely
some frustration in the air with some of the legislators,
particularly one which we can go into.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, let's talk about that Representative Mark Plus. He is
the representative out of Heywood County. His area, like many
other representatives out west, were slammed by this storm late
last year. He was, I would probably argue Theresa the
most hostile individual in the committee hearing, and he had
some pretty poignant questions that he asked, Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You're right, Yeah, but the only one. There are all
pretty much you know, complimentary toward Array and Collabria. But
Representative Plus asked Collabora how many homes have been built
with the one hundred and twenty million in the General Assembly
had sent to them, and Collaborate replied that the funds
have not yet been converted into actual construction activities because
(05:21):
by statute, they needs to be reimbursable by the federal
government and it's got to go into a HUT program.
That's the cd to bg d R, which is Community
Development Block Program, and HUT is always slow with that,
so they're kind of like he was trying to explain
away why things were taking such a long time. Plus
(05:41):
kept going and said, the growing Zee website said, it's
spent eighty one million dollars. What's going on with that?
Collaborate reply back, you know, with the Division of Community
Revitalizations running the program, and it's typical in these scenarios
for them to say, well, they've got this money set aside,
but they actually haven't provided it, you know, and Plus
was growing more and more frustrated, and he said, you know,
(06:04):
the process is so slow, and this is his quote,
I think you're misleading the public to believe that there
are funds being spent in a way that's helping folks
in western North Carolina. But those folks are calling me
and they're saying, when can I get something done. You know,
I've applied, I haven't heard anything. I'm trying to move forward.
Can't The folks who have funds to do this aren't
calling me. But this is for lower income, middle income
(06:26):
people who have no other options except us, And he said,
we've promised them we're going to help them. In the storm.
Governor's office also promised them they're going to help them,
and so far that hasn't happened. You know, he was
really really upset about all of this, which I mean, yeah,
we're ten months out and there's not a lot of
recovery work as far as home building at this point.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, and I kept kind of going back to this
same thing, Teresa, that you know, we're waiting on FEMA,
we're waiting for reimbursement from the federal government. And I
understand that point. If the stake can get reimbursed at
you know, either forty to fifty ninety, the numbers are
all over the place, depending on the project. Get that
reimbursement from the federal government. You can definitely see why
they would want to maybe slow things down a little
(07:10):
bit to potentially tap into tens, if not hundreds of
millions of dollars that could be available. But at the
same time, those comments there from representative plus people in
my district, lower middle income that do not have extra
money aside to do these repairs themselves. I guess they're
just supposed to sit and wait. That doesn't seem like
a good solution either.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
No, no, you are correct. You're saying, you know, we're
waiting on FEMA money. Get that completely, But you know,
the legislature has appropriated so many what billions, they have,
billions of dollars, millions of dollars, you know, for certain areas,
and why isn't anything being done with that, you know,
while they're waiting for FEMA funding. Of course, I think
(07:52):
they did go through the hearing and say, well, you know,
the legislature can also give us some more more funding
while we're waiting for more FEMA money. But of course
that lichens are hearkens back to Encore hearings, which I've
covered a ton of those for hurricanes Florence and Matthew
and Eastern North Carolina. Well, if you give us more money,
we can get more things done. It's like, what are
you doing with the money we already gave you, Why
(08:14):
should we give you more now? They didn't say that today,
but that's kind of throwing me back to those hearings
that I covered, and it's just like, yeah, you know,
people sum it up. At the end of the meeting,
Gillespie had important point. He says, keep the survivors in mind.
You've got to remember this. Folks in western North Carolina.
(08:35):
They don't care what we're talking about about female funding
or requirements or this, that or the other. They care
about somebody showing up in the driveway and helping them
right now. I mean, it's ten months out. There has
been some progress. Yes, let's not say there hasn't been
with everything with the businesses, with getting roads open. Ninety
eight percent of the roads that were closed or after
(08:55):
the storm we're partially or fully reopened. That's awesome, that's great,
But there's much more to be done. And the question
really is, well, why is it more being done with
the money the legislature has given for Helene recovery?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
And this maybe goes into a larger discussion that we'll
likely have some time later this year, Teresa. But there's
been a lot of criticism from the current administration in Washington,
d C. Over FEMA and its lack of response to
natural disasters. It wasn't said by either of the individuals
in the hearing earlier this week, but I think the
point could be made, well, if this is being slowed
(09:30):
down by FEMA, then maybe some changes need to be
made there, which President Trump has already hinted at coming
up later this year.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh yes, right, you're you're correct, You're you're right again
with that is that's what that was what was said,
and you know, with wait and see what's going to
come of that. But absolutely so.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
As we watch this process continue to unfold, as you knowed,
the General Assembly has already allocated some some two billion
dollars for hurricane relief. Again, a lot of that seemingly
kind of in a holding or a waiting pattern right now,
as lawmakers wait for some of that federal reimbursement. However, Teresa,
the General Assembly, at least from all accounts, is pretty
(10:11):
much done for the rest of the year. Yes, there
are a couple of dates where they can come back.
There may be another committee hearing or two, but things
are going to get pretty dark and Raleigh over the
next couple of months as lawmakers head back to their districts.
So it's probably gonna be some time before we hear
from this entity again, would be my guess, I would think.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So. I note that Representative Jake Johnson of Polk County,
who he represents the Lake Lurch and the Rock area, says,
you know, they may have some more funds appropriated it
maybe later this year or early next year. He wasn't
too specific, but he did mention that something might happen
later in the year. But you're right, we're winding down,
(10:51):
getting maybe hopefully a mini budget, getting all this stuff situated. Now.
Things are slowing greatly in Raleigh at this point. We're
going to have to wait and see. Hopefully they will
come back and pass some more appropriations out there, but
hopefully also some more things will be done to help
alleviate some of the housing issues that obviously there's a
(11:12):
lot of things. Representative moffitts that this is going to
continue for some time, and I definitely agree with them
on that.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
YE had no question about that, Teresa, we didn't have
a chance to get into everything. You've got a very
detailed and lengthy piece this morning that has got quotes
and pictures of various reports and PowerPoint presentations. Where can
folks get those details?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Sure they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It's a great update this morning. We appreciate the time.
Teresa Opeka from Carolina Journal dot com joins us on
the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's twenty two minutes past
the hour. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour.
News Stock eleven, ten ninety nine three WVT continuing our
(11:58):
coverage of what has been a very busy week in
the North Carolina General Assembly. Lawmakers meeting once again on
Wednesday to potentially deal with more veto overrides. There were
six on the calendar for Wednesday. One of them probably
getting the most coverage across the state. That Senate Bill
fifty Freedom to Carry and See, also known as Constitutional Carry,
(12:23):
which would allow permitless concealed carry of handguns for adults
ages eighteen and over. It successfully passed the Senate earlier
this year. It did receive a Senate veto override earlier
in the week but as the House so worked through
some business yesterday, Senate Bill fifty did not come up
for a veto override. Many folks frustrated by that on
(12:44):
social media, and it really just comes down to the math.
Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina House are one Democrat
vote shy of that supermajority, meaning if every Republican votes
in favor of a veto override, one Democrat would have
to cross the isle, and based on the fact that
that did not come up Wednesday morning in the General Assembly,
(13:05):
indicates that no Democrats are on board for supporting Senate
Bill fifty. It does remain on the calendar. It has
still not been voted either up or down, meaning that
sometime potentially later this year it could come back, but
as we chat about that this morning, no indication that
it's set to be taken up anytime soon, so it
would appear once again for another session. That constitutional carry
(13:29):
is essentially dead in the water as it stands right now. However,
we'll keep an eye on that. A couple of other
pieces of legislation that did not receive a vote, including
Senate Bill two seventy seven and Senate Bill five point
fifty eight. Both of these bills do similar things. They
eliminate DEI in both K and K through twelve public education,
(13:49):
as well as eliminating DEI in public higher education, which
would be the UNC system and community college community colleges,
with lawmakers saying that both pieces of these legislations prohibiting
DEI offices and diversity training programs in K twelve and
public higher education, neither of those receiving a vote either
(14:14):
on Wednesday. Also House Bill one seventy one Equality and
State Agencies, also prohibiting a diversity, equity and inclusion. Similar
to the couple of other pieces of legislation, it bans
diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in state government agencies. No
House Democrats originally supported the bill earlier this year, and
(14:35):
that probably likely explains why it was not taken up
by lawmakers again. All six of the bills continue to
sit on the House calendar. I know that they've got
some other voting sessions coming up in later August, or
potential voting sessions, I should say, in the latter parts
of August and September, so there is the brief possibility
(14:55):
that it comes back, But it seems like those pieces
of legislation will not move forward this session. However, again
that door is still slightly cracked open. We'll keep an
eye on the details over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com and right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
One of the pieces of legislation that did receive us
(15:17):
a vote yesterday and now is facing a threat of
a likely veto is a measure that would create a
new school choice program in North Carolina. Clearing a final
vote in the North Carolina General Assembly back on July
the thirtieth, it now heads to the desk of Governor
Josh Stein. Its House Built eighty seven, the Educational Choice
(15:38):
for Children Act, past the House in a sixty nine
to forty seven vote, with two Democrats, Representative Carla Cunningham
from Mecklenburg County and Representative Willingham, all joining the Republicans
in voting in favor of that legislation. Democrats in the
House spoke against the idea, with Representative Julie Vanni Hafen
(16:00):
from Wait County saying quote, we have an opportunity right
now today to raise teacher pay, fund classroom resources, and
repair crumbling school buildings, but instead we're using our political
capital and backdoor voucher schemes that provide primarily benefits wealthy
donors seeking tax advantages. Representative Brian Biggs, the Republican from
(16:24):
Randolph County, responded by pointing to a version of the
state budget approved earlier this year that contained tremendous teacher raises,
saying quote, I do want to make sure that we're
getting the point out that we're framing this argument the
right way. This is bringing no new cost to our state.
These are federal dollars, and these are independent private sponsors.
(16:47):
This is not any new cost to our state in
any way. The measure would enable North Carolina to take
part in a federal tax credit program authorized under President
Donald Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill. The program would be
associated with contributions made by individuals to designated Scholarship Granting
(17:07):
Organizations or SSOs, which in turn issues stipends to students
for private school expenses, including tutoring and other allowable costs.
A key feature of the legislation is that donors receive
a dollar for dollar reduction in their income taxes, effectively
making the donation cost free, with taxpayers allowed to donate
(17:30):
up to seventeen hundred dollars per year. Now, it's not
starting immediately. The program is set to begin in twenty
twenty seven, and it will allow families earning up to
three times the median income further area to qualify for
a scholarship. While the legislation provides significant funding estimated to
cost nearly twenty six billion dollars through twenty thirty four,
(17:53):
its implementation largely depends on whether individual states and their
governors opt into the pro which North Carolina is on
the way to do so. School choice advocates were quickly
or quick to praise passage of the measure through the
North Carolina General Assembly. Ryan Crantrell, chief strategy officer at
(18:13):
the American Federation for Children, said in a press release quote,
North Carolina has been a trailblazer in expanding education options
for families, and we're excited to see the North Carolina
General Assembly leading once again as they seek to opt
in to the newly created federal scholarship tax credit signed
(18:34):
into law by President Trump on July the fourth in
the One Big Beautiful Bill. We commend Senate Leader Phil Berger,
Speaking Speaker Destin Hall, and legislative leaders for their commitment
to school choice, having championed expansion of the North Carolina
Opportunity Scholarship Program and EESA Plus program, and now being
(18:56):
the nation's first movers and seeking participation in the National
School Choice Tax Credit. Every state will have school choice soon.
Mike Long, who is the president of Parents for Educational
Freedom in North Carolina, also expressed enthusiasm, noting quote, despite
the uphill battle to bring a federal school choice programs
(19:18):
to fruition, we are fortunate to have a school choice
friendly legislature and bold and transformative leadership, including Senator Phil Berger.
In fact, we are watching Senator Berger's legacy being solidified
in real time. He is opening the door to a
new era of educational reform. This bill encourages philanthropy to
(19:40):
fuel education opportunities and empower parents with the freedom to
choose their environment where their children learn best. Anyone who
puts students first and values their success will support this
bill as well. It has now moved through both the
Senate and the House. However, there is a very strong
(20:00):
likelihood that Democrat Governor Josh Stein will veto that legislation
that could pull lawmakers back to Raleigh sometime later. This year.
It's House Built eighty seven the Educational Choice for Children Act.
We'll keep an eye on the details on our website,
Carolina Journal dot com. It's by thirty eight. Welcome back
(20:22):
to the Carolina Journal News Hour news Stock eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. A busy day expected across
North Carolina today as Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Wattley
is expected to officially launch his campaign for North Carolina's
open United States Senate see coming up later today in Gastonia.
His campaign committee has already registered with the FEC that's
(20:46):
the Federal Election Committee, signaling his immediate announcement into the
race to succeed retiring Senator Tom Tillis, a former chair
of the North Carolina Republican Party. Michael Wattley is seen
as the clear GOP front runner, already receiving an endorsement
from President Donald Trump. If he wins the GOP nomination,
(21:08):
Wattley is likely to face off against Democrat Governor Roy Cooper,
who recently entered the race that happened earlier this week
and quickly raised a record breaking two point six million
dollars in the first twenty four hours. The twenty twenty
six Senate contest is projected to be the most expensive
Senate race in US history. With control of the Chamber
(21:29):
at stake in the final two years of the Trump administration,
the math on the Senate races next year interesting. Democrats
have to flip four currently held GOP Senate seats to
have a one vote majority. North Carolina as one of
the races that they believe they can do that in,
and that's why many folks are indicating and rumor has
(21:50):
it that it will be that expensive of a race,
as Democrats seat is one of the really the only
GOP seats that they have a shot at flipping. So
we'll of course keep an eye and that more than
a year away from now. We'll keep an eye on
the announcement later today and provide you laid it in
the latest analysis and breaking news of that over on
our website Carolina Journal dot com and right here on
(22:12):
the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now five point
thirty nine News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
We are well past July one, which is the start
of the fiscal year in North Carolina, and as we've
been covering on the Carolina Journal News Hour. We do not,
as it stands right now, have a full budget in
place for the biennium. However, state government does continue to operate,
(22:34):
and as lawmakers continue with their busy week in Raleigh,
a mini budget has passed both chambers of the General Assembly.
To walk us through some of those details and explain
how this whole process works, Brian Balfour of the John
Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Brian,
it's well passed July first at this point, yet state
government continues to operate. Before we get into some of
(22:55):
these details, can you explain how this process kind of
plays out in North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Yeah, So, several years ago North Carolina we passed a
law for this kind of situation, specifically for when we
enter a new fiscal year, as you mentioned, which start
in July first, So there's no kind of panic or
government shut down. What happens this law kicks in, and
what basically happens is there's a continuation of state spending
(23:21):
at the previous year's fiscal year level and it just
kind of continues into the new year until either a
full budget has passed or some of these like we're
about to discuss in a minute. Some of these mini
budgets are passed that address more specific spending items for
the year, So there's no threat of shutdown or anything
(23:43):
like that. Government is still functioning, but just it's kind
of continuing right now at the same levels as it
has been for the previous twelve months in the last
fiscal year.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
And then we'll see what.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Kind of changes come in in this mini budget and
see if there's more mani budgets to come soon.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Before we get into the details of the mini budget,
some folks may be scratching their head wondering and saying, well,
Nick O'Brien, there's Republicans in the Senate, Republicans controlling the House,
why are we at this stalemate? That's unfortunately been a
problem that a Republican led legislator has dealt with over
the past couple of bienniums inability to get both chambers
(24:20):
together and actually agree upon a full budget.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
And the biggest seem to be the biggest point of
contention this year anyways, between the two the House and
the Senate has to do with their approach on taxes.
The Senate was much more aggressive in terms of wanting
to see continue tax reductions, particularly with the personal income tax.
The House on either side was much more cautious, if
(24:45):
you will, even increasing some of the some of the triggers,
the revenue triggers to allow already scheduled income tax reductions
to take place. So they're pretty significantly far apart on
what they wanted to do there, and so that just
has been a sticking point. And that's that's something that's
(25:05):
not addressed in this mini budget, I might want to
say upfront as well. So that's still something that's going
to be put off for another day.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
So let's dive into the details. It was a busy
week of veto overrides in Raleigh. Late in the day
on Tuesday, the North Carolina Senate moved forward with a
mini budget, and then as we headed into Wednesday morning,
the North Carolina House concurred and agreed with that. I'll note,
for the most part, pretty bipartisan in both houses. What
are some of the details that you're learning out of
this mini budget that is now sitting on Democrat Governor
(25:35):
Josh Stein's desk.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, absolutely, so I can hit on a few of
the highlights and some of the big ticket items in
this mini budget. For example, we can start with about
their assigning about a billion dollars in revenue from the
state lottery that's obviously going to go towards education, public
education in North Carolina, a lot of that money going
towards specific school programs, and a lot of that money
(25:59):
going to to non instruction non instructional personnel, I should say.
Another one is about eight hundred and twenty three million
dollars being allocated out of the state's Capital and Infrastructure Fund.
That's going to address a lot of capital construction needs
along with some repair and renovations for.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Capital across the state.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
And also kind of interesting to note, there's six hundred
million they're allocating for what's called the Medicaid rebase, which
is basically kind of saying, hey, we're looking at projections
of what our Medicaid system is going to look like
this fiscal year based on enrollment and various needs and
the population of enrollees. And that's six hundred million in
(26:42):
additional funds they're allocating for Medicaid. Interestingly, there's nothing, there's
no real response in this mini budget regarding Medicaid and
the federal big, beautiful bill and how any sort how.
Speaker 4 (26:58):
That might impact Medica to North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
So I think there's kind of a wait and see
approach on that with regards to Medicaid. And also I
think interesting to note we've heard about the big deal
for North Carolina landing this company, Jet Zero, this airplane manufacturer.
So this mini budget allocates about four hundred and fifty
(27:22):
million over the next four years, specifically to Guildford County
to help prepare site preparation for this coming plant.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
So that's another big ticket item in this mini budget.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, we've talked a little bit about Jet zero and
their plans to build a massive facility here in North Carolina. Brian,
one of the things I didn't hear you mentioned, and
this is one of the larger issues that many people
talk about with these budgets. Understanding that this is a
mini budget, however, teacher pay increases, salary increases for state employees.
Is any of that stuff in there?
Speaker 3 (27:55):
No, No, there's no addressing across the board salary increases
for teachers state employees. As you mentioned, there is a
provision in there to specify that teachers and state employees,
you know, get they get to progress to that next
step in their salary scale, but no adjustments at this
(28:16):
time to the salaries themselves.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
So as we look at the timeline on all of this, again,
it's on Governor Josh Stein's desk, it's not immediately clear
whether he will sign or veto this. Again, it did
have pretty bipartisan support in both chambers of the General Assembly.
As we look at the calendar, the General Assembly is
not expected to be back in Raleigh a whole lot
through the rest of the year. So Brian, is are
we even looking at a full buy any and budget
(28:40):
being passed? Are we just going to continue coasting along
on the budget from a couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
With what they did yesterday with this many budget, that
would indicate to me pretty strong that there's no interest
in a full comprehensive budget for this coming fiscal year.
We're already pretty much at the end of July by
moving into August, so I think what they're going to
do is probably just take the mini budget approach.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
They'll probably come back.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
I would suspect anyways that there's no guarantees, but I
would suspect they want to address what we were just
talking about. The across the board, salaries for teachers and
state employees. There's some other issues like potentially maybe some
more funding for Hurricane Helene relief, which it's not addressed
in this specific many budget bills, so they might address
that again in the future.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
And also, as I mentioned, how they deal with.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Scheduled tax cuts, whether they are going to allow them
to happen with the current revenue triggers or maybe even
some additional tax cuts, or as the House wanted to prefer,
to increase those revenue triggers to.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
Make it more difficult for those tax cuts to come
into play.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Be interesting to see if they're able to come to
any sort of agreement. And in many budget bill again,
they are pretty far apart on that before, so that
might just be something that goes left unaddressed this year.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
So it's called a buy any budget and it typically
happens in the long session, which is what we're pretty
much right at the tail end of right now. Lawmakers
will come back to Raleigh next year ahead of the
twenty twenty six general election, where all state lawmakers will
be on the ballot once again. Do they have the
ability to work on some of those finance and budget
related things and what is traditionally called the short session,
(30:28):
which would start sometime early next year.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Yeah, Well, typically they'll do in the short session is
they'll take a look at when they normally do when
they have a buy anal budget, is they'll take a
look at the second year of that bui anial budget
that they had passed.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
But of course, if we continue on this path and
there's no actual.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Biennial budget past, then that will be very interesting. I
don't know if the second year, I don't know if
they're going to take continue to take the mini budget
and just kind of piece meal the spending plan for
targeting issues, or maybe come up with one kind of
comprehensive bill that's basically just the second year of the
(31:07):
biennium just addressing it, and have a comprehensive bill like
they typically kind of would just instead of making adjustments
to the second year of a budget already passed, they
would be basically creating a new one year budget from scratch.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Well, of course, keep an eye on all of those
details as we progress through the end of this year
and early next year in the North Carolina General Assembly.
We appreciate the details and the updates. This morning Brian
Balfour of the John Locke Foundation joins us on the
Carolina Journal News Out It's five fifty four. Welcome back
(31:43):
to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. Frustration and concerns were heard about
Hurricane Helene recovery in Western North Carolina at a joint
Legislative Government Operation Subcommittee hearing that took place in Raleigh yesterday.
This was the second hearing on Holleen recovery, the first
(32:04):
one occurring in March. North Carolina Emergency Management Director Will
Ray and the Director of the Governor's Recovery Office of
Western North Carolina also known as Grow and See in
matt Callabria, gave testimony about recovery efforts surrounding debris removal,
including from waterways, road repair, and housing repairs and construction.
(32:28):
They reported that fifteen million tons of dry debris or
more than fourteen million cubic yards have been removed from
roads and waterways, as well as local municipalities beginning the
process of clearing debris from other areas, noting that that
is an incredible amount of debris to remove from an
area of the state, and that's what they've done thus
(32:50):
far from western North Carolina. What is on many people's
minds is individuals still without homes. Representative Mark Plus, the
Republican out of Hayward County, wasn't complementary towards Ray and
Calabria and asked them a pretty pointant question about how
many homes had been built with the more than one
hundred and twenty million dollars that the General Assembly had
(33:13):
set aside for home reconstruction. Calabria replied that those funds
have not yet been converted into actual construction activities because
home construction reconstruction programs, by statute, need to be reimbursable
through the federal government, noting quote, it is virtually unheard
of for a CDBGDR funded program for home rebuilding and
(33:38):
reconstruction to have started within one year, but that is
still our goal. We know that we can never be
moving fast enough, but at the same time, we have
made good progress in comparison to our peers in our past.
Plus said that the Grow and See website says that
they've already spent more than eighty one million dollars and
(33:58):
talked about the frustrating saying quote, I think you're misleading
the public to believe that these are funds being sent
their way right now and that it's helping folks in
western North Carolina. But those folks are calling me and
they're saying, when can I get something done, noting that
they've applied and have not yet heard a word back
from state leaders and grow and see in other recovery
(34:21):
agencies across North Carolina. We've got a very lengthy post
this morning with a lot of great quotes and details
over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. That's going
to do it for a Thursday edition of the Carolina
Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good
Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, five to
six right here on News Talk eleven, ten and ninety
(34:42):
nine three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into a Thursday edition
of The Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to
you as we round out the month of July. Major
political news expected across North Carolina today as former NCGP
chairman current head of the Republican National Committee Michael Wattley
(00:32):
is expected to officially announce his plans to run for
North Carolina's open United States Senate seat coming up a
little bit later on today. The announcement is expected to
be made in Gastonia, just west of Charlotte, where he
lives and has lived for quite some time. As the
race continues to heat up earlier this week, of course,
(00:54):
former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper made it official on Monday,
releasing a campaign video launching a campaign website in his
attempt to take over the what will now be open
United States Senate seats as a current congress or current
Senator from the state of North Carolina, Tom Tillis has
(01:14):
announced that happened about a month ago almost to the day,
that he would not seek re election after serving two
terms in the United States Senate. Democrats attempting to flip
one of the four seats in the twenty twenty six
general election as they try and gain control of the
United States Senate as they head out of the midterm
(01:34):
elections next year. In terms of Michael Wattley, if he
were to win the GOP primary, which from all of
our analysis and all of the great guests we've talked
to here on the Carolina Journal News Hour, it will
be a face off between Wattley and Cooper. As we
learned yesterday morning that US Representative Wileye Nickel, a former
(01:55):
Democrat congressman, has suspended his campaign. Both Wattley and Cooper
are seen as primary clearing candidates and not much of
a primary which will be heading our way coming up
in March of this year. We will, of course a
March up next year. I should say, we'll be keeping
an eye on all of those details throughout the day today,
breaking news coverage of that announcement as it unfolds over
(02:18):
on our website Carolina Journal dot com. And of course
we'll have the latest coming up for you right here
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's now five oh eight,
News Talk eleven ten ninety nine to three WBT. It
has been ten months since Hurricane Helene ravaged the western
half of North Carolina, dumping dozens of inches of rain,
(02:38):
causing mass mud slides and road washouts all over the
western half of North Carolina. This week in the North
Carolina General Assembly, lawmakers met with Will Ray, the head
of Emergency Management, as well as officials from Grow and See,
which is an entity set up by Governor Josh Stein
to manage the recovery of western North Carolina. To walk
(02:59):
us through that committee meeting, Teresa Opeka, Carolina Journal dot
Com joins us on the news hour. Teresa, wasn't a
super long meeting, some interesting information coming out. Give us
the top rundown of what you made of this meeting.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Sure, good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So this is about the second meeting that the subcommittee
has had. They had their first one on Helene recovery
back in March. At this one, we had Representative Carl
Gillespie of Macon County and Senator Ralph Hie of Mitchell
County co chairing the hearing. Basically, they were talking with
the North Carolina Emergency Management Director, Will Ray and the
(03:39):
director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina
growen ce Matt Colabria about recovery efforts surrounding debris removal
and also anything to do with house repairs, building of houses,
thing of that in nature. They you know, COLLABORA and
Ray went over specific you know, fifteen million tons of
(04:02):
dry debris or they equate that to fourteen million cubic
yards have been removed from roads and waterways and municipalities
things like that, but there's still much more to do.
They said that the FEMA process that they have to
follow is exact, going a little further explaining this at
(04:22):
the moment and gave a brief overview of what needs
to be done. But aside from that, there was definitely
some frustration in the air with some of the legislators,
particularly one which we can go into.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Yeah, let's talk about that Representative Mark Plus. He is
the representative out of Heywood County. His area, like many
other representatives out west, were slammed by this storm late
last year. He was, I would probably argue Theresa the
most hostile individual in the committee hearing, and he had
some pretty poignant questions that he asked, Yes.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
You're right, Yeah, but the only one. There are all
pretty much you know, complimentary toward Array and Collabria. But
Representative Plus asked Collabora how many homes have been built
with the one hundred and twenty million in the General Assembly
had sent to them, and Collaborate replied that the funds
have not yet been converted into actual construction activities because
(05:21):
by statute, they needs to be reimbursable by the federal
government and it's got to go into a HUT program.
That's the cd to bg d R, which is Community
Development Block Program, and HUT is always slow with that,
so they're kind of like he was trying to explain
away why things were taking such a long time. Plus
(05:41):
kept going and said, the growing Zee website said, it's
spent eighty one million dollars. What's going on with that?
Collaborate reply back, you know, with the Division of Community
Revitalizations running the program, and it's typical in these scenarios
for them to say, well, they've got this money set aside,
but they actually haven't provided it, you know, and Plus
was growing more and more frustrated, and he said, you know,
(06:04):
the process is so slow, and this is his quote,
I think you're misleading the public to believe that there
are funds being spent in a way that's helping folks
in western North Carolina. But those folks are calling me
and they're saying, when can I get something done. You know,
I've applied, I haven't heard anything. I'm trying to move forward.
Can't The folks who have funds to do this aren't
calling me. But this is for lower income, middle income
(06:26):
people who have no other options except us, And he said,
we've promised them we're going to help them. In the storm.
Governor's office also promised them they're going to help them,
and so far that hasn't happened. You know, he was
really really upset about all of this, which I mean, yeah,
we're ten months out and there's not a lot of
recovery work as far as home building at this point.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Well, and I kept kind of going back to this
same thing, Teresa, that you know, we're waiting on FEMA,
we're waiting for reimbursement from the federal government. And I
understand that point. If the stake can get reimbursed at
you know, either forty to fifty ninety, the numbers are
all over the place, depending on the project. Get that
reimbursement from the federal government. You can definitely see why
they would want to maybe slow things down a little
(07:10):
bit to potentially tap into tens, if not hundreds of
millions of dollars that could be available. But at the
same time, those comments there from representative plus people in
my district, lower middle income that do not have extra
money aside to do these repairs themselves. I guess they're
just supposed to sit and wait. That doesn't seem like
a good solution either.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
No, no, you are correct. You're saying, you know, we're
waiting on FEMA money. Get that completely, But you know,
the legislature has appropriated so many what billions, they have,
billions of dollars, millions of dollars, you know, for certain areas,
and why isn't anything being done with that, you know,
while they're waiting for FEMA funding. Of course, I think
(07:52):
they did go through the hearing and say, well, you know,
the legislature can also give us some more more funding
while we're waiting for more FEMA money. But of course
that lichens are hearkens back to Encore hearings, which I've
covered a ton of those for hurricanes Florence and Matthew
and Eastern North Carolina. Well, if you give us more money,
we can get more things done. It's like, what are
you doing with the money we already gave you, Why
(08:14):
should we give you more now? They didn't say that today,
but that's kind of throwing me back to those hearings
that I covered, and it's just like, yeah, you know,
people sum it up. At the end of the meeting,
Gillespie had important point. He says, keep the survivors in mind.
You've got to remember this. Folks in western North Carolina.
(08:35):
They don't care what we're talking about about female funding
or requirements or this, that or the other. They care
about somebody showing up in the driveway and helping them
right now. I mean, it's ten months out. There has
been some progress. Yes, let's not say there hasn't been
with everything with the businesses, with getting roads open. Ninety
eight percent of the roads that were closed or after
(08:55):
the storm we're partially or fully reopened. That's awesome, that's great,
But there's much more to be done. And the question
really is, well, why is it more being done with
the money the legislature has given for Helene recovery?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
And this maybe goes into a larger discussion that we'll
likely have some time later this year, Teresa. But there's
been a lot of criticism from the current administration in Washington,
d C. Over FEMA and its lack of response to
natural disasters. It wasn't said by either of the individuals
in the hearing earlier this week, but I think the
point could be made, well, if this is being slowed
(09:30):
down by FEMA, then maybe some changes need to be
made there, which President Trump has already hinted at coming
up later this year.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Oh yes, right, you're you're correct, You're you're right again
with that is that's what that was what was said,
and you know, with wait and see what's going to
come of that. But absolutely so.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
As we watch this process continue to unfold, as you knowed,
the General Assembly has already allocated some some two billion
dollars for hurricane relief. Again, a lot of that seemingly
kind of in a holding or a waiting pattern right now,
as lawmakers wait for some of that federal reimbursement. However, Teresa,
the General Assembly, at least from all accounts, is pretty
(10:11):
much done for the rest of the year. Yes, there
are a couple of dates where they can come back.
There may be another committee hearing or two, but things
are going to get pretty dark and Raleigh over the
next couple of months as lawmakers head back to their districts.
So it's probably gonna be some time before we hear
from this entity again, would be my guess, I would think.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
So. I note that Representative Jake Johnson of Polk County,
who he represents the Lake Lurch and the Rock area, says,
you know, they may have some more funds appropriated it
maybe later this year or early next year. He wasn't
too specific, but he did mention that something might happen
later in the year. But you're right, we're winding down,
(10:51):
getting maybe hopefully a mini budget, getting all this stuff situated. Now.
Things are slowing greatly in Raleigh at this point. We're
going to have to wait and see. Hopefully they will
come back and pass some more appropriations out there, but
hopefully also some more things will be done to help
alleviate some of the housing issues that obviously there's a
(11:12):
lot of things. Representative moffitts that this is going to
continue for some time, and I definitely agree with them
on that.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
YE had no question about that, Teresa, we didn't have
a chance to get into everything. You've got a very
detailed and lengthy piece this morning that has got quotes
and pictures of various reports and PowerPoint presentations. Where can
folks get those details?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Sure they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It's a great update this morning. We appreciate the time.
Teresa Opeka from Carolina Journal dot com joins us on
the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's twenty two minutes past
the hour. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour.
News Stock eleven, ten ninety nine three WVT continuing our
(11:58):
coverage of what has been a very busy week in
the North Carolina General Assembly. Lawmakers meeting once again on
Wednesday to potentially deal with more veto overrides. There were
six on the calendar for Wednesday. One of them probably
getting the most coverage across the state. That Senate Bill
fifty Freedom to Carry and See, also known as Constitutional Carry,
(12:23):
which would allow permitless concealed carry of handguns for adults
ages eighteen and over. It successfully passed the Senate earlier
this year. It did receive a Senate veto override earlier
in the week but as the House so worked through
some business yesterday, Senate Bill fifty did not come up
for a veto override. Many folks frustrated by that on
(12:44):
social media, and it really just comes down to the math.
Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina House are one Democrat
vote shy of that supermajority, meaning if every Republican votes
in favor of a veto override, one Democrat would have
to cross the isle, and based on the fact that
that did not come up Wednesday morning in the General Assembly,
(13:05):
indicates that no Democrats are on board for supporting Senate
Bill fifty. It does remain on the calendar. It has
still not been voted either up or down, meaning that
sometime potentially later this year it could come back, but
as we chat about that this morning, no indication that
it's set to be taken up anytime soon, so it
would appear once again for another session. That constitutional carry
(13:29):
is essentially dead in the water as it stands right now. However,
we'll keep an eye on that. A couple of other
pieces of legislation that did not receive a vote, including
Senate Bill two seventy seven and Senate Bill five point
fifty eight. Both of these bills do similar things. They
eliminate DEI in both K and K through twelve public education,
(13:49):
as well as eliminating DEI in public higher education, which
would be the UNC system and community college community colleges,
with lawmakers saying that both pieces of these legislations prohibiting
DEI offices and diversity training programs in K twelve and
public higher education, neither of those receiving a vote either
(14:14):
on Wednesday. Also House Bill one seventy one Equality and
State Agencies, also prohibiting a diversity, equity and inclusion. Similar
to the couple of other pieces of legislation, it bans
diversity equity and inclusion initiatives in state government agencies. No
House Democrats originally supported the bill earlier this year, and
(14:35):
that probably likely explains why it was not taken up
by lawmakers again. All six of the bills continue to
sit on the House calendar. I know that they've got
some other voting sessions coming up in later August, or
potential voting sessions, I should say, in the latter parts
of August and September, so there is the brief possibility
(14:55):
that it comes back, But it seems like those pieces
of legislation will not move forward this session. However, again
that door is still slightly cracked open. We'll keep an
eye on the details over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com and right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
One of the pieces of legislation that did receive us
(15:17):
a vote yesterday and now is facing a threat of
a likely veto is a measure that would create a
new school choice program in North Carolina. Clearing a final
vote in the North Carolina General Assembly back on July
the thirtieth, it now heads to the desk of Governor
Josh Stein. Its House Built eighty seven, the Educational Choice
(15:38):
for Children Act, past the House in a sixty nine
to forty seven vote, with two Democrats, Representative Carla Cunningham
from Mecklenburg County and Representative Willingham, all joining the Republicans
in voting in favor of that legislation. Democrats in the
House spoke against the idea, with Representative Julie Vanni Hafen
(16:00):
from Wait County saying quote, we have an opportunity right
now today to raise teacher pay, fund classroom resources, and
repair crumbling school buildings, but instead we're using our political
capital and backdoor voucher schemes that provide primarily benefits wealthy
donors seeking tax advantages. Representative Brian Biggs, the Republican from
(16:24):
Randolph County, responded by pointing to a version of the
state budget approved earlier this year that contained tremendous teacher raises,
saying quote, I do want to make sure that we're
getting the point out that we're framing this argument the
right way. This is bringing no new cost to our state.
These are federal dollars, and these are independent private sponsors.
(16:47):
This is not any new cost to our state in
any way. The measure would enable North Carolina to take
part in a federal tax credit program authorized under President
Donald Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill. The program would be
associated with contributions made by individuals to designated Scholarship Granting
(17:07):
Organizations or SSOs, which in turn issues stipends to students
for private school expenses, including tutoring and other allowable costs.
A key feature of the legislation is that donors receive
a dollar for dollar reduction in their income taxes, effectively
making the donation cost free, with taxpayers allowed to donate
(17:30):
up to seventeen hundred dollars per year. Now, it's not
starting immediately. The program is set to begin in twenty
twenty seven, and it will allow families earning up to
three times the median income further area to qualify for
a scholarship. While the legislation provides significant funding estimated to
cost nearly twenty six billion dollars through twenty thirty four,
(17:53):
its implementation largely depends on whether individual states and their
governors opt into the pro which North Carolina is on
the way to do so. School choice advocates were quickly
or quick to praise passage of the measure through the
North Carolina General Assembly. Ryan Crantrell, chief strategy officer at
(18:13):
the American Federation for Children, said in a press release quote,
North Carolina has been a trailblazer in expanding education options
for families, and we're excited to see the North Carolina
General Assembly leading once again as they seek to opt
in to the newly created federal scholarship tax credit signed
(18:34):
into law by President Trump on July the fourth in
the One Big Beautiful Bill. We commend Senate Leader Phil Berger,
Speaking Speaker Destin Hall, and legislative leaders for their commitment
to school choice, having championed expansion of the North Carolina
Opportunity Scholarship Program and EESA Plus program, and now being
(18:56):
the nation's first movers and seeking participation in the National
School Choice Tax Credit. Every state will have school choice soon.
Mike Long, who is the president of Parents for Educational
Freedom in North Carolina, also expressed enthusiasm, noting quote, despite
the uphill battle to bring a federal school choice programs
(19:18):
to fruition, we are fortunate to have a school choice
friendly legislature and bold and transformative leadership, including Senator Phil Berger.
In fact, we are watching Senator Berger's legacy being solidified
in real time. He is opening the door to a
new era of educational reform. This bill encourages philanthropy to
(19:40):
fuel education opportunities and empower parents with the freedom to
choose their environment where their children learn best. Anyone who
puts students first and values their success will support this
bill as well. It has now moved through both the
Senate and the House. However, there is a very strong
(20:00):
likelihood that Democrat Governor Josh Stein will veto that legislation
that could pull lawmakers back to Raleigh sometime later. This year.
It's House Built eighty seven the Educational Choice for Children Act.
We'll keep an eye on the details on our website,
Carolina Journal dot com. It's by thirty eight. Welcome back
(20:22):
to the Carolina Journal News Hour news Stock eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. A busy day expected across
North Carolina today as Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Wattley
is expected to officially launch his campaign for North Carolina's
open United States Senate see coming up later today in Gastonia.
His campaign committee has already registered with the FEC that's
(20:46):
the Federal Election Committee, signaling his immediate announcement into the
race to succeed retiring Senator Tom Tillis, a former chair
of the North Carolina Republican Party. Michael Wattley is seen
as the clear GOP front runner, already receiving an endorsement
from President Donald Trump. If he wins the GOP nomination,
(21:08):
Wattley is likely to face off against Democrat Governor Roy Cooper,
who recently entered the race that happened earlier this week
and quickly raised a record breaking two point six million
dollars in the first twenty four hours. The twenty twenty
six Senate contest is projected to be the most expensive
Senate race in US history. With control of the Chamber
(21:29):
at stake in the final two years of the Trump administration,
the math on the Senate races next year interesting. Democrats
have to flip four currently held GOP Senate seats to
have a one vote majority. North Carolina as one of
the races that they believe they can do that in,
and that's why many folks are indicating and rumor has
(21:50):
it that it will be that expensive of a race,
as Democrats seat is one of the really the only
GOP seats that they have a shot at flipping. So
we'll of course keep an eye and that more than
a year away from now. We'll keep an eye on
the announcement later today and provide you laid it in
the latest analysis and breaking news of that over on
our website Carolina Journal dot com and right here on
(22:12):
the Carolina Journal News Hour, where it's now five point
thirty nine News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to three WBT.
We are well past July one, which is the start
of the fiscal year in North Carolina, and as we've
been covering on the Carolina Journal News Hour. We do not,
as it stands right now, have a full budget in
place for the biennium. However, state government does continue to operate,
(22:34):
and as lawmakers continue with their busy week in Raleigh,
a mini budget has passed both chambers of the General Assembly.
To walk us through some of those details and explain
how this whole process works, Brian Balfour of the John
Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Brian,
it's well passed July first at this point, yet state
government continues to operate. Before we get into some of
(22:55):
these details, can you explain how this process kind of
plays out in North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Yeah, So, several years ago North Carolina we passed a
law for this kind of situation, specifically for when we
enter a new fiscal year, as you mentioned, which start
in July first, So there's no kind of panic or
government shut down. What happens this law kicks in, and
what basically happens is there's a continuation of state spending
(23:21):
at the previous year's fiscal year level and it just
kind of continues into the new year until either a
full budget has passed or some of these like we're
about to discuss in a minute. Some of these mini
budgets are passed that address more specific spending items for
the year, So there's no threat of shutdown or anything
(23:43):
like that. Government is still functioning, but just it's kind
of continuing right now at the same levels as it
has been for the previous twelve months in the last
fiscal year.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
And then we'll see what.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Kind of changes come in in this mini budget and
see if there's more mani budgets to come soon.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Before we get into the details of the mini budget,
some folks may be scratching their head wondering and saying, well,
Nick O'Brien, there's Republicans in the Senate, Republicans controlling the House,
why are we at this stalemate? That's unfortunately been a
problem that a Republican led legislator has dealt with over
the past couple of bienniums inability to get both chambers
(24:20):
together and actually agree upon a full budget.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely right.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
And the biggest seem to be the biggest point of
contention this year anyways, between the two the House and
the Senate has to do with their approach on taxes.
The Senate was much more aggressive in terms of wanting
to see continue tax reductions, particularly with the personal income tax.
The House on either side was much more cautious, if
(24:45):
you will, even increasing some of the some of the triggers,
the revenue triggers to allow already scheduled income tax reductions
to take place. So they're pretty significantly far apart on
what they wanted to do there, and so that just
has been a sticking point. And that's that's something that's
(25:05):
not addressed in this mini budget, I might want to
say upfront as well. So that's still something that's going
to be put off for another day.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
So let's dive into the details. It was a busy
week of veto overrides in Raleigh. Late in the day
on Tuesday, the North Carolina Senate moved forward with a
mini budget, and then as we headed into Wednesday morning,
the North Carolina House concurred and agreed with that. I'll note,
for the most part, pretty bipartisan in both houses. What
are some of the details that you're learning out of
this mini budget that is now sitting on Democrat Governor
(25:35):
Josh Stein's desk.
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, absolutely, so I can hit on a few of
the highlights and some of the big ticket items in
this mini budget. For example, we can start with about
their assigning about a billion dollars in revenue from the
state lottery that's obviously going to go towards education, public
education in North Carolina, a lot of that money going
towards specific school programs, and a lot of that money
(25:59):
going to to non instruction non instructional personnel, I should say.
Another one is about eight hundred and twenty three million
dollars being allocated out of the state's Capital and Infrastructure Fund.
That's going to address a lot of capital construction needs
along with some repair and renovations for.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Capital across the state.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
And also kind of interesting to note, there's six hundred
million they're allocating for what's called the Medicaid rebase, which
is basically kind of saying, hey, we're looking at projections
of what our Medicaid system is going to look like
this fiscal year based on enrollment and various needs and
the population of enrollees. And that's six hundred million in
(26:42):
additional funds they're allocating for Medicaid. Interestingly, there's nothing, there's
no real response in this mini budget regarding Medicaid and
the federal big, beautiful bill and how any sort how.
Speaker 4 (26:58):
That might impact Medica to North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (27:00):
So I think there's kind of a wait and see
approach on that with regards to Medicaid. And also I
think interesting to note we've heard about the big deal
for North Carolina landing this company, Jet Zero, this airplane manufacturer.
So this mini budget allocates about four hundred and fifty
(27:22):
million over the next four years, specifically to Guildford County
to help prepare site preparation for this coming plant.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
So that's another big ticket item in this mini budget.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah, we've talked a little bit about Jet zero and
their plans to build a massive facility here in North Carolina. Brian,
one of the things I didn't hear you mentioned, and
this is one of the larger issues that many people
talk about with these budgets. Understanding that this is a
mini budget, however, teacher pay increases, salary increases for state employees.
Is any of that stuff in there?
Speaker 3 (27:55):
No, No, there's no addressing across the board salary increases
for teachers state employees. As you mentioned, there is a
provision in there to specify that teachers and state employees,
you know, get they get to progress to that next
step in their salary scale, but no adjustments at this
(28:16):
time to the salaries themselves.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
So as we look at the timeline on all of this, again,
it's on Governor Josh Stein's desk, it's not immediately clear
whether he will sign or veto this. Again, it did
have pretty bipartisan support in both chambers of the General Assembly.
As we look at the calendar, the General Assembly is
not expected to be back in Raleigh a whole lot
through the rest of the year. So Brian, is are
we even looking at a full buy any and budget
(28:40):
being passed? Are we just going to continue coasting along
on the budget from a couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:47):
With what they did yesterday with this many budget, that
would indicate to me pretty strong that there's no interest
in a full comprehensive budget for this coming fiscal year.
We're already pretty much at the end of July by
moving into August, so I think what they're going to
do is probably just take the mini budget approach.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
They'll probably come back.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
I would suspect anyways that there's no guarantees, but I
would suspect they want to address what we were just
talking about. The across the board, salaries for teachers and
state employees. There's some other issues like potentially maybe some
more funding for Hurricane Helene relief, which it's not addressed
in this specific many budget bills, so they might address
that again in the future.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
And also, as I mentioned, how they deal with.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
Scheduled tax cuts, whether they are going to allow them
to happen with the current revenue triggers or maybe even
some additional tax cuts, or as the House wanted to prefer,
to increase those revenue triggers to.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
Make it more difficult for those tax cuts to come
into play.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
Be interesting to see if they're able to come to
any sort of agreement. And in many budget bill again,
they are pretty far apart on that before, so that
might just be something that goes left unaddressed this year.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
So it's called a buy any budget and it typically
happens in the long session, which is what we're pretty
much right at the tail end of right now. Lawmakers
will come back to Raleigh next year ahead of the
twenty twenty six general election, where all state lawmakers will
be on the ballot once again. Do they have the
ability to work on some of those finance and budget
related things and what is traditionally called the short session,
(30:28):
which would start sometime early next year.
Speaker 3 (30:31):
Yeah, Well, typically they'll do in the short session is
they'll take a look at when they normally do when
they have a buy anal budget, is they'll take a
look at the second year of that bui anial budget
that they had passed.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
But of course, if we continue on this path and
there's no actual.
Speaker 3 (30:45):
Biennial budget past, then that will be very interesting. I
don't know if the second year, I don't know if
they're going to take continue to take the mini budget
and just kind of piece meal the spending plan for
targeting issues, or maybe come up with one kind of
comprehensive bill that's basically just the second year of the
(31:07):
biennium just addressing it, and have a comprehensive bill like
they typically kind of would just instead of making adjustments
to the second year of a budget already passed, they
would be basically creating a new one year budget from scratch.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Well, of course, keep an eye on all of those
details as we progress through the end of this year
and early next year in the North Carolina General Assembly.
We appreciate the details and the updates. This morning Brian
Balfour of the John Locke Foundation joins us on the
Carolina Journal News Out It's five fifty four. Welcome back
(31:43):
to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. Frustration and concerns were heard about
Hurricane Helene recovery in Western North Carolina at a joint
Legislative Government Operation Subcommittee hearing that took place in Raleigh yesterday.
This was the second hearing on Holleen recovery, the first
(32:04):
one occurring in March. North Carolina Emergency Management Director Will
Ray and the Director of the Governor's Recovery Office of
Western North Carolina also known as Grow and See in
matt Callabria, gave testimony about recovery efforts surrounding debris removal,
including from waterways, road repair, and housing repairs and construction.
(32:28):
They reported that fifteen million tons of dry debris or
more than fourteen million cubic yards have been removed from
roads and waterways, as well as local municipalities beginning the
process of clearing debris from other areas, noting that that
is an incredible amount of debris to remove from an
area of the state, and that's what they've done thus
(32:50):
far from western North Carolina. What is on many people's
minds is individuals still without homes. Representative Mark Plus, the
Republican out of Hayward County, wasn't complementary towards Ray and
Calabria and asked them a pretty pointant question about how
many homes had been built with the more than one
hundred and twenty million dollars that the General Assembly had
(33:13):
set aside for home reconstruction. Calabria replied that those funds
have not yet been converted into actual construction activities because
home construction reconstruction programs, by statute, need to be reimbursable
through the federal government, noting quote, it is virtually unheard
of for a CDBGDR funded program for home rebuilding and
(33:38):
reconstruction to have started within one year, but that is
still our goal. We know that we can never be
moving fast enough, but at the same time, we have
made good progress in comparison to our peers in our past.
Plus said that the Grow and See website says that
they've already spent more than eighty one million dollars and
(33:58):
talked about the frustrating saying quote, I think you're misleading
the public to believe that these are funds being sent
their way right now and that it's helping folks in
western North Carolina. But those folks are calling me and
they're saying, when can I get something done, noting that
they've applied and have not yet heard a word back
from state leaders and grow and see in other recovery
(34:21):
agencies across North Carolina. We've got a very lengthy post
this morning with a lot of great quotes and details
over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com. That's going
to do it for a Thursday edition of the Carolina
Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good
Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, five to
six right here on News Talk eleven, ten and ninety
(34:42):
nine three WBT
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