North Raleigh Today

North Carolina lawmakers have agreed on a state budget for the first time since 2019, which will include historic education expenditures and resources to further consider Medicaid expansion. 

Jordon Roberts, a government affairs associate with the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation, told North Raleigh Today that the foundation, overall, is pleased with the budget.

"The budget exemplifies fiscal restraint by keeping the growth of government in line with inflation plus population growth, while also depositing a significant amount into the rainy day fund," Roberts said. "The budget also provides substantial tax cuts for hardworking North Carolinians, allowing residents to keep more of their money."

North Carolina Gov. Ray Cooper signed the budget into law Nov. 17, making North Carolina the last state to set financial parameters for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, according to News Observer. The budget, North Carolina's first since 2019, brings raises to teachers and state employees, raises that Roberts said were denied to those employees by the governor's previous unwillingness to John Hancock a money plan.

"All North Carolinians benefit from the budget," Roberts said.

The capital investments in education in the fiscal year 2022-23 budget are significant, Roberts added, noting the budget "recognizes the need for parents to have educational choices by expanding the opportunity scholarship program."

Not everyone is satisfied with the amount slotted for education in the plan, and critics say the General Assembly is neglecting the public school system. Earlier this month in a milestone update to the Leandro court case, North Carolina Superior Court Judge David Lee ordered the state to send $1.7 billion from reserves to the general fund to fund improvement plans for public education. The Leandro litigation focuses on the state's constitutional mandate to provide a basic education to every child.

According to North Carolina Public Radio, Lee proposed the order as a solution to the 27-year-old case, but General Assembly Republicans, including Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Caswell County) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) lashed back at the order, calling Lee a "rogue judge" and Democratic lawmakers' defense of the order "a circus."

Senate Republicans argue that Lee's order is constitutional, countering that only the Legislature is granted the power to spend tax dollars. 

"Of course, the judge in the Leandro case and outside activist groups claim this investment [in the budget] is insufficient," Roberts said. "The fact remains that only the General Assembly can appropriate money, and I don't think we will see any type of court order directing executive officials to transfer any additional funding."

Cooper noted that the budget package was "imperfect," but did not want to lose the positive sides of the bill if this package was eventually dumped as well. In a news conference shortly before the Senate passed the plan 40-8, Cooper said that the budget's good "outweighs the bad."

"Our schools, our communities, our small businesses [and] our families need our help right now," he said. 

Notably absent from the package was Medicaid expansion, at least in its full capacity. Roberts spoke with North Raleigh Today last month regarding the push for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina. On the topic he drew attention to some negatives that would happen if expansion did occur.

"The state would be on the hook for a 10% share of the total expansion cost, which will likely run over cost projections from the governor’s office and have to be made up by cuts to the budget elsewhere or higher taxes," Roberts said in October. "Furthermore, Medicaid expansion does nothing about the supply shortages in the state. Expansion will result in intense pressure on the current providers by a significant increase in demand for services. This will exacerbate the current health system problems across the state."

Roberts also highlighted that "Coverage does not equal care. Simply giving someone a Medicaid card doesn’t guarantee access to medical care due to the substantial provider shortages across the state." The focus should be on increasing the supply of care and putting downward pressure on prices and insurance costs, he added. 

"Gov. Cooper and many in his party tend to believe the only way to expand health coverage is through government-run and government-financed health care," Roberts said in the October report. "He has made Medicaid expansion a central part of his agenda ever since becoming governor. Wisely, Republican lawmakers in the state have rejected this program to the point where Cooper sank the entire 2019 biennial general fund budget because there was no funding for Medicaid expansion."

Cooper has argued that although the Medicaid expansion needed to be in the budget, it would be free to the taxpayers of North Carolina. Despite the potential downfalls and expansion not being part of the final package, Roberts said "this is certainly not the end of the road for fights over Medicaid expansion." 

The budget includes a joint study committee to examine and recommend legislation for expanding Medicaid in the state. 

"I believe this will happen in the short session and there will indeed be a standalone Medicaid expansion bill that receives a vote," Roberts said. "Federal legislation making its way through Congress may render this type of legislation moot but there still remains a lot to be seen on this front."