AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n
Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n North Carolina Republicans have proposed putting four amendments to the state Constitution on the ballot in November.<\/p>\n Read more From alligators to a shipwreck: April Josh Shaffer columns you might have missed<\/a><\/p>\n The proposed changes range from establishing a \u201cright to farm\u201d to limiting property taxes to capping the state\u2019s income tax rate at 3.5%.<\/p>\n Even if approved, most of the amendments would have no immediate impact on the state, as they largely codify existing policy.<\/p>\n But Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, suggested the motivation behind the amendments may be more political.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is probably best understood as an attempt to boost Republican turnout, but also an attempt to brand the Republican Party with popular policies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first year that Republican lawmakers have placed popular amendments on the ballot in anticipation of a bruising election year.<\/p>\n In 2018, when Republicans feared a \u201cblue wave\u201d in the wake of Donald Trump\u2019s first presidency, North Carolina voters saw six constitutional amendments at the polls. Those included establishing a \u201cright to hunt and fish\u201d and capping the state\u2019s income tax rate at 7%.<\/p>\n While constitutional amendments are not subject to a veto from the governor, they do require a three-fifths supermajority vote in the state House and Senate before they can be sent to voters.<\/p>\n While Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate, they are one member short in the House. In order to pass any of the amendments, Republicans would need to get at least one Democrat or unaffiliated House member on their side.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a closer look at each of the constitutional amendments voters may see on their Nov. 3 ballot:<\/p>\n In 2018, voters approved a 7% cap on income tax.<\/p>\n Lawmakers are now seeking to cut that cap in half through Senate Bill 1080<\/a>, which would propose a constitutional amendment lowering it to 3.5%.<\/p>\n The current income tax rate in North Carolina is 3.99%, but it is already scheduled to drop to 3.49% in 2027.<\/p>\n Democrats have raised concerns that the cap, if approved, could put future legislatures in a tight spot.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to be stuck at 3.5% in one of the fastest-growing states in the entire country,\u201d Senate Democratic leader Sydney Batch told The News & Observer. \u201c… How are we going to pay for all the other things? The math does not math.\u201d<\/p>\n But Republican leadership has pushed forward with the proposal, saying that the state can make up for the lost tax revenue with new business.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of confidence that even at the lower rates, you\u2019re going to see growth in the economy basically account for those additional dollars that may be needed by the state,\u201d Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Read more Sprawling rock hidden in North Carolina woods began as trapped magma, experts say<\/a><\/p>\n The second proposed amendment<\/a> dealing with taxes would allow state lawmakers to impose limits on how much local governments can increase property taxes. Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall agreed to advance the two tax amendments as part of a state budget deal announced Tuesday.<\/a><\/p>\n The amendment doesn\u2019t set a specific limit, but rather would give the General Assembly the power to \u201cenact general laws limiting the amount by which the levy of taxes on property may increase, which may include exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n Property taxes have been a focus for state lawmakers this session, with the Senate passing a bill that would pause revaluations for a year.<\/a><\/p>\n Another amendment, filed Thursday evening as Senate Bill 1081<\/a>, would establish a constitutional \u201cright to farm.\u201d<\/p>\n Specifically, the proposal would guarantee \u201cthe right of the people to engage in the cultivation of crops, the raising of livestock and poultry, the production of dairy and apiary products, the harvesting of timber, and other practices for the production of agricultural and forestry commodities.\u201d<\/p>\n In a press release announcing the proposal, Republican Sen. Brent Jackson, a Sampson County farmer himself, claimed that \u201cthe livelihoods of farmers across the state are under attack,\u201d though he did not reference a specific example.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want agriculture to thrive in our state, we must take a serious approach to safeguard our farmers,\u201d Jackson continued. \u201cBy putting this on the ballot, we can show farmers in every corner of this state that we value them and want them to prosper for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n North Carolina already has a right to farm law, the first version of which was passed in 1979. Proponents of the policies have argued they are needed to protect farms from lawsuits about noise or pollution filed by neighboring properties.<\/p>\n In 2018, the legislature passed amendments to the right to farm laws after a series of successful lawsuits against hog facilities. Those amendments further narrowed the circumstances in which neighbors may file nuisance lawsuits against agricultural operations.<\/p>\n The last proposed amendment, filed as Senate Bill 1082<\/a>, would further solidify North Carolina\u2019s status as a \u201cright to work\u201d state, in which labor unions have minimal power.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exercise of the right to work must be protected and maintained free from undue restraints and coercion,\u201d the amendment states. \u201cIt is the public policy of the state that the right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or nonmembership in any labor union or labor organization or association.\u201d<\/p>\n That exact language is already codified in state law<\/a> and has been since 1947.<\/p>\n In a press release announcing the amendment, Republican Sen. Carl Ford, of Rowan County, claimed that \u201cwe\u2019re seeing some unions bully and strong-arm folks into doing their bidding.\u201d<\/p>\n Ford proposed a similar amendment in 2021 when then-President Joe Biden was supporting a pro-union bill in Congress that would have weakened state right-to-work laws.<\/p>\n