November 16, 2021
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NC Gov. Cooper will sign state budget into law, he says - Raleigh News & Observer

NC Senate proposes compromise state budget including teacher pay raise

The North Carolina state budget is very late, has raises and tax cuts and higher education spending after Republicans negotiated with Democratic Gov Roy Cooper. By ABC11
Full video: NC. Gov. Cooper unveils his state budget proposal
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The North Carolina state budget is very late, has raises and tax cuts and higher education spending after Republicans negotiated with Democratic Gov Roy Cooper. By ABC11

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced he will sign the state budget into law, which means the state will have its first comprehensive budget in three years.

The Republican-majority General Assembly negotiated with the Democratic governor ahead of releasing its compromise legislative budget, called the conference budget, on Monday, but did not reach a deal, so it had been unclear what Cooper would do.

Republicans have majorities in the House and Senate. They lack the three-fifths supermajorities required to override vetoes on their own, but top Republicans have expressed confidence in recent days that they have enough votes to override Cooper if he decided to veto the budget.

“I will sign this budget, because on balance the good outweighs the bad,” Cooper said at a news conference Tuesday, saying it moves North Carolina forward in important ways.

Cooper cites raises for state employees and tax relief for “everyday North Carolinians” among the reasons for supporting it.

He added the caveat that he is “clear-eyed there are ways we differ,” including that the budget does not include Medicaid expansion.

Some Democrats opposed

The budget revealed on Monday includes some Republican compromises with Democrats — both Cooper and the Democratic lawmakers who served on the budget conference committee that decided the final version of the budget. Those same Democrats voted for earlier budget proposals in both chambers, more than enough for overrides if they maintained support for the budget.

That doesn’t mean all Democrats will support the budget. Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Cary Democrat running for Congress, said Tuesday morning that he will vote against it, citing the phasing out of the corporate income tax.

“North Carolina already has the lowest corporate income taxes in the South but has failed to invest in our teachers and our public schools. Corporations need to pay their fair share so we can invest in a world-class public education system,” Nickel said in an emailed statement.

The budget also includes an average of 5% raises over two years for teachers and state employees. It also limits the length of states of emergency issued by the governor to 30 days without agreement from the rest of the Council of State and 60 days without agreement from the legislature.

Votes are expected in the Senate Tuesday and Wednesday, with House votes on Wednesday and Thursday. Cooper could sign the budget into law as soon as Friday.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.

This story was originally published November 16, 2021 12:03 PM.



source: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article255861576.html

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