{"id":4094,"date":"2026-07-07T10:04:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4094"},"modified":"2026-07-07T10:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T10:04:48","slug":"ncs-house-vs-senate-budget-clash-fizzled-out-as-it-crossed-the-finish-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4094","title":{"rendered":"NC\u2019s House vs. Senate budget clash fizzled out as it crossed the finish line"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein might well give his stamp of approval to the first comprehensive state budget to cross his desk since he took office a year and half ago.<\/p>\n

Read more UNC System finally gets funding for enrollment growth in new state budget<\/a><\/p>\n

The governor is set to announce his decision Tuesday. The potential nod by Stein, joining some of his fellow Democrats in favor of a final budget that was negotiated without their involvement, would put a punctuation mark on the long debate over a budget.<\/p>\n

It was always primarily a fight among Republicans.<\/p>\n

Even as the final legislation was revealed, top leaders of the GOP-controlled Senate and House of Representatives did not join together to announce it, as they had the prior month when they reached a deal. There was no fanfare.<\/p>\n

The document was posted on the General Assembly\u2019s website, and reporters talked to lawmakers separately.<\/p>\n

Within days, the 170 state lawmakers \u2014 with significant Democratic support in both the House and Senate \u2014 passed the budget bill and went home to their districts in time for the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n

As the House took its final vote on the budget Thursday, some lawmakers \u2014 both Democrats and Republicans \u2014 left some parting shots for the Senate.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers won\u2019t be back in session again until the last week in July.<\/p>\n

When it came to final budget talks \u2014 House Republicans negotiating with Senate Republicans \u2014 Democrats were left out.<\/p>\n

Rep. Amber Baker, a Forsyth County Democrat, said during the bill\u2019s final debate that she and other House Democrats \u201cwere not invited into the conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were not asked our opinions, and as I\u2019ve stood on this floor and said so many times, we, too, have good ideas, because had we participated in the budget writing process, there would have been many changes that we heard about and have read about on this budget that would have led to a better quality of life for our voters,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

She said she had hoped Republicans would apologize to North Carolinians for the delay.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Robert Reives placed the blame for Democrats being left out on Senate Republicans, who kept their chamber\u2019s Democrats out of budget talks from the beginning. Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch kept a running clock in her office noting the long delay, and drew GOP scorn for a satirical, expletive-laden video about the missing spending plan.<\/p>\n

In the budget proposal that a majority of House Democrats supported last year, Reives said that Speaker Destin Hall did let them be part of conversations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe (2025) House budget was completely different \u2014 that was an actual bipartisan budget, that was (Hall and Reives) sitting down, saying, \u2018here\u2019s what we can live with, here\u2019s what we can\u2019t live with,\u2019 and putting something together,\u201d Reives said after a key vote last week.<\/p>\n

A majority of House Democrats voted for that budget last year, but weren\u2019t part of talks this year. Reives also criticized policy placed in the 634-page final budget, including provisions shifting appointment power away<\/a> from Stein, which he said he thinks were added by the Senate.<\/p>\n

Read more Did Orange jailers delay help to avoid paperwork? Fatal assault lawsuit advances<\/a><\/p>\n

Some House Republicans noted that just because the Senate is controlled by Republicans, too, it doesn\u2019t mean they always work together.<\/p>\n

Greensboro Republican Rep. John Blust was the most blunt, calling it \u201ca majority of one\u201d on the Senate side. His frank comments drew laughter in the House, where they were seen as a reference to Senate leader Phil Berger\u2019s leadership style.<\/p>\n

Berger is the top Republican in the Senate, and has been one of, if not the most powerful politicians in the state for many years. But a GOP challenger, Sam Page, defeated Berger by 23 votes in the March primary election. Page announced he will resign as Rockingham County sheriff at the end of July to focus on his campaign in the GOP-leaning district.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love some advice,\u201d Blust said to Democrats in response to their criticism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t go over there with a gun and make them move my bill. So I\u2019d love some insight on how to make the Senate move on things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reives responded with humor, saying they could always donate to Democratic campaigns and then Democrats could take control of the Senate. He also noted this is Berger\u2019s last year in the General Assembly.<\/p>\n

House vs. Senate debates are recurring, and as debate refocused on the legislation at hand, Hall quipped that \u201ccriticisms of the Senate are always in order.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lighter moment was the latest acknowledgement of the inter-chamber battle that caused the yearlong delay, frustrating many lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Berger was dismissive when reporters asked about chamber dynamics and delay after the Senate took final votes on the budget, only saying that negotiations \u201ctook longer to get started\u201d with Hall than they did with Hall\u2019s predecessor, Tim Moore.<\/p>\n

He also echoed what he\u2019s told reporters previously about the budget delay, noting the House calendar included fewer workdays than the Senate. Generally, House votes this year have been held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while the Senate also took votes on Thursdays.<\/p>\n

Berger said the delay was caused by House Republicans\u2019 insistence on slowing down future tax cuts, which Berger did not want to do. Eventually, he and Hall reached a deal on tax policy and teacher pay \u2014 Hall\u2019s main budget priority<\/a> \u2014 in May that formed the core of the final budget.<\/p>\n

Both sides blame the other for unwillingness to move.<\/p>\n

Hall said the long debate this past year \u201cwas ultimately worth it.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Holly Springs Republican Rep. Erin Par\u00e9 thanked Hall and other House Republicans for fighting the Senate during salary negotiations, \u201cfor holding the line through these budget negotiations, and making sure that we can stand before the people of North Carolina today with such an excellent, historic package\u201d on raises.<\/p>\n

Starting teacher base pay rises from $41,000 to $48,000 in the budget, with an average 8% teacher raise. And law enforcement officers receive double-digit raises.<\/p>\n

Read more Opponents urge Wake commissioners to block WakeMed merger with Atrium Health<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyle Ingram contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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