Budget 2023 Coverage

NC Republicans look to spend more on private school vouchers, after wealthier families left out

Adding money to the voucher program will be a top priority when the North Carolina General Assembly comes back into session, House Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

With focus on training new nurses and doctors, NC officials hear update on millions in new state spending

UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, ECU and UNC-Pembroke are among the campuses state lawmakers focused on in the latest state budget, with an eye toward training future health care workers.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

As construction costs climb, state government looks to private developer for help

State officials are negotiating with Raleigh-based office developer Highwoods Properties to build some of the new 780,000-square-foot campus for DHHS on Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, across from the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Editorial: N.C. justices must see legislators as peoples' representatives, not their dictators

Monday, Dec. 11, 2023 -- "All political power is vested in and derived from the people." The State Constitution does not say a legislature with frequent elections is omnipotent, unanswerable to the other equal branches of the government - including the executive and judicial.

Editorial: Respect law, not partisanship, must be state Supreme Court majority's guide

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023 -- If the current N.C. high court, regardless of those justices who end up considering the latest Leandro appeal, respect the State Constitution and the rights of children; if they respect the doctrine of stare decisis, they will continue to require the implementation of the remedial plan to assure a sound basic education everywhere in the state. North Carolina will be better for it.

JOHN P. PREYER: UNC-CH's pro-democracy school is a big plus, not a minus

Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 -- The School of Civic Life and Leadership's evolved over several years as an outgrowth of the university's ideologically diverse Program for Public Discourse and its forward-thinking Ideas in Action curriculum - led in large part by Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz himself.

PAUL FULTON: Little wonder why UNC's Guskiewicz might leave

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 -- Consider what's become of public education in North Carolina. UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz can be seen as a casualty of a toxic environment that has politicized public education from top to bottom.

Editorial: Legislative intimidation and veil of secrecy

Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023 -- Keeping public business secret, unfettered search and seizures and making consulting co-workers and lawyers a crime only raises suspicions of the government that is supposed to serve citizens.

Editorial: Budget bill fine print has big impact on UNC academic status

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023 -- Imagine running a $6.5 billion university system -- with 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a staff of 47,400 including 14,283 faculty - only to discover a major revision to a critical faculty recruitment tool was secreted into 1,411 pages of state budget legislation.

Fact check: Cotham says NC budget includes 'largest' ever income tax cut

In a Sept. 25 interview with WBT-FM radio, state Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County said the budget includes "the largest cut in our personal income tax that we've ever seen."

Paul Specht, PolitiFact reporter

Cooper vetoes two bills, citing environmental and racial justice concerns, but lets new budget become law

The new state budget is also now law, after Cooper allowed it to go into effect without either signing or vetoing it on Monday. He also signed a number of bills into law, in addition to his vetoes.

Will Doran and Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporters

MARY ANN WOLF: Supporting teachers so they can support students

Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 -- Public education is an investment. Is there a more worthy investment than one in the future of our children and communities? By providing teachers with the compensation, resources and respect they are entitled to, we give them the tools to build up each child.

Why NC lawmakers are betting $3 billion on professors, sewers and NASCAR in new state budget

Included in North Carolina's new $30 billion state budget is at least $3 billion for economic development. Megasites, NCInnovation, Global TransPark and infrastructure are among the biggest earmarks.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Editorial: Morals and fair play take a back seat to expediency in the legislature

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023 -- It is no exaggeration to say the seven justices of the N.C. Supreme Court will determine if the General Assembly is the devil's playground or a temple of democracy.

NASCAR at NC General Assembly

NASCAR leaders came to the North Carolina legislature Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 to thank lawmakers for public aid in the new state budget and announce a new race at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway.

MICHAEL WINES: In N.C., GOP seeks more control over elections

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023 -- The GOP-led legislature may seize control of state and local election boards from the Democratic governor, fueling a feud that could resonate in 2024.

Fire safety concerns in new budget? NC's top fire marshal slams fellow Republicans over secretive changes

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey says a provision that strips him of a key fire-safety role was tucked away in the budget without any prior public debate.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

Editorial: N.C. budget bill wasn't about money. Power grabs, attacks on citizen rights and more equal BIG problems

Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 -- The 2023 "budget bill" is far less about state spending than it is a legislative garbage truck - a vehicle for scores of non-spending legislation the leadership wants hidden from their constituents so there's no discussion, debates or full disclosure.

DRAUGHON DRAWS: No 'treasure' from these two in this scene

Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 -- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist.

Cooper won't veto budget, won't sign it either

Gov. Roy Cooper is willing to allow the GOP-led budget to become law because it includes an expansion of Medicaid.

NC governor will sign off on budget to get Medicaid expansion

The new state budget is on its way to the governor's desk after receiving final approval on Friday from state lawmakers.

NC budget contains millions to clean up PFAS, limits to emissions regulations

North Carolina's recently finalized budget includes more than $61 million to address PFAS, commonly known as forever chemicals.

Liz McLaughlin, WRAL Climate Change Reporter

Taxes, guns, schools, birth and death: State budget touches on all aspects of North Carolina life

The $30 billion budget passed both chambers of the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature Friday.

NC Capitol staff, WRAL

'Government Gestapo' created in NC budget? Democratic lawmakers raise alarms about investigative committee

A provision in the state budget would give immense new powers to a legislative committee. Republican lawmakers say they need it to hold the executive branch accountable. Democrats say GOP leaders are giving themselves the power to enact political retribution.

Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

'Most significant budget' in NC to become law after Senate vote, Cooper decision

North Carolina's GOP-backed $30-billion budget cleared its final legislative hurdle Friday. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper says he'll let the spending plan become law because it allows the expansion of Medicaid.

By Will Doran, Paul Specht and Travis Fain, WRAL state government reporters