County Advocacy Hub

The Association has released its final end of session report for the 2024 legislative short session that outlines the major legislative happenings and major developments with impact to counties. The full report is available here.

This week, the House approved and released a 2024-25 budget, as talks between the House and Senate on a prenegotiated spending plan continue to stall. In response, on Thursday morning the Senate released its own, truncated, budget adjustment bill. That bill is expected to be voted upon early next week in the Senate.

The House’s $31.7 billion spending plan adjusts the 2024-25 budget passed last year by the General Assembly. Priorities in the House budget include additional funding for Opportunity Scholarship grants (funds available for private school tuition), increased teacher and state personnel raises, funding to childcare centers to offset expiring federal grants, and boosts in Medicaid provider rates. NCACC priorities incorporated in the budget include removal of the county match requirements in the Completing Access to Broadband programs, and additional K-12 public school capital funding via the lottery.

The Senate’s $31.4 billion budget adjustment does not provide additional raises for teachers or state employees or increases to lottery allocations to K-12 public school capital funds beyond those in already in place in last year’s budget agreement. The Senate budget also includes additional funding for Opportunity Scholarship grants, funding to childcare centers to offset expiring federal grants, and the removal of the county match requirement in the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program.

Senate leadership publicly signaled their intention to adjourn the 2024 short session by June 30. A final negotiated budget could be agreed upon by the House and Senate by then, or shortly thereafter, but it is also possible for negotiations to extend into late summer.

To read the full NCACC 2024-25 House and Senate Budgets report, click here.