The General Assembly is broken. Is anybody noticing?

On May 12 it was reported that “NC lawmakers announce 'starting point' for a budget deal, after a year of negotiations” (https://www.wral.com/news/nccapitol/nc-budget-deal-state-employee-teacher-raises-taxes-may-2026/).

Lawmakers, legislative leaders, made the announcement that included pay raises for state workers and educators and a schedule of tax cuts. 

Who made the deal, how was it reached, what was the debate?

All anyone knows is what Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall revealed.

That is because the process of writing a budget has been done in secret, outside the normal process of producing legislation that gives all elected representatives of the people of North Carolina an opportunity to be informed and participate. That is not to mention following a process meant to give citizens, taxpayers and others affected by state budgets and policies opportunities to be knowledgeable and even have input with their elected representatives.

If the recent past is any indication, the massive piece of legislation will be incorporated into an unrelated bill that has been passed by both houses of the legislature and is resting in a conference committee.  The legislation won’t go through the committee process where, in the House and Senate the legislation is explained in detail there are opportunities to offer amendments to make changes. There will be no opportunities when the legislation gets to the full House and Senate to amend the legislation – simply an up-or-down vote on whether to approve the conference committee’s “report” and send it on to the governor.

The budget bill, typically exceeding 600 pages, will go to legislators with, probably barely 24 hours to review.

Legislative leaders Berger and Hall say there’s been discussion in the secret Republican caucuses – but no indication when those discussions were held and who was involved.

Since Jan. 12, 2026, when legislators held their first session of the year, there has not been a single meeting of the House Appropriations Committee or its subcommittees (https://www.ncleg.gov/Calendars).  The Senate Appropriations Committee has had a single meeting – to discuss two specific bills.

There has been no meeting of the legislature’s appropriations or finance committees to review or discuss Gov. Josh Stein’s budget – offered a month ago (https://www.osbm.nc.gov/fy2026-27-budget-rec-budget-book/open).  The State Constitution requires that the governor “prepare and recommend to the General Assembly a comprehensive budget of the anticipated revenue and proposed expenditures of the State for the ensuing fiscal period.  The budget as enacted by the General Assembly shall be administered by the Governor.”

Neither the legislature’s appropriations nor finance committees have held sessions to discuss – in open public sessions -- the details of the latest “Consensus Revenue Forecast” (https://www.osbm.nc.gov/facts-figures/economy/revenue-forecasting/consensus-revenue-forecast)  that shows General Fund revenues “$609M higher than in the March 2026 consensus forecast.

Curiously, none of the members of the legislature’s appropriations and finance committees have expressed ANY concern about their committees failures to meet concerning the budget and status of state finances. 

Public school educators have descended on legislators to protest the dismal state of public education funding in North Carolina in general, and the lowly state of teacher pay specifically.  But neither they nor their advocates (parents, organizations and lobbyists) have had the opportunity to press their cause in public legislative discussions of the state budget.

Legislative leaders, rank-and-file Republican and Democratic legislators, and even much of the news media seem to reflect this all as business as usual.

It is not.  Republican legislative leaders back in the late 1980s complained loudly, bitterly and often about the secret “Super-Sub” committee of Democratic legislative leaders who’d hold secret, closed-door meetings to impose details on the state budget without general debate or discussion.  Reporters would wander the halls of the Legislative Building and Legislative Office Building seeking out the meetings – and at times trip upon them and would be ushered away by legislative sergeants-at-arms or other security staff.

State Sen. Dan Blue, a Wake County Democrat and state House Speaker (1991-1995) worked to abolish the super sub.  “It was absolutely appalling that you could spend billions of taxpayer dollars and taxpayers never saw the light of the process,” said Blue, in a 2014 interview. 

That was then.  What’s up now?