NORTH CAROLINA — The state Senate got right to work post-Thanksgiving, approving two constitutional amendments that would be placed in front of voters in 2026 and one joint resolution on Congressional term limits.
READ MORE: ‘Destroys the will of the voters’: Protesters react to NC Senate’s override of SB 382 veto
The Constitutional amendments include capping state income tax at 5% and addressing voter IDs, removing language stipulating “in-person” voters, indicating the requirement applies to absentee voters too. If it passes the General Assembly, which is still made up of a supermajority of Republicans who can override the governor’s veto, the constitutional amendments will be placed on the 2026 election ballots for voter approval.
House Joint Resolution 151 was dredged up from the Senate rules committee’s 2023 list of stalled bills and brought before the Senate Monday. The resolution requests the United States Congress call a convention to propose an amendment imposing term limits on Congress members.
The idea has gained traction in recent years, though the U.S. House voted in 1997 to set a 12-year term limit, though the bill died in the Senate.
Earlier this year, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Florida) proposed an amendment limiting terms to six years served in the House and 12 years in the Senate, though it was voted down in the House Judiciary Committee. H.J.R 151 does not specify exact term limits to be considered.
A Pew Research study in September 2023 found that 87% of adults favor limiting Congressional terms.
“Lifelong career politicians lead to gridlock of what we see in D.C. today,” Sen. Todd Johnson (R-Cabarrus, Union) said on the Senate floor Monday.
The U.S. Constitution’s Article V outlines two ways to amend it — Congressional approval and ratification from the states, or a constitutional convention. The latter has never been done before, as at least 34 states would need to call the convention and 38 states would need to ratify any proposed amendment.
There are currently eight states that have requested a convention on this matter: Missouri, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. North Carolina now joins them.
Only one Democrat, Sen. Mary Wills Bode, voted in favor of North Carolina’s resolution; all tri-county Republicans voted in favor. Resolutions are not subject to decision by the governor.
Port City Daily asked each of the tri-county’s representatives to provide thoughts on the resolution and Constitutional amendments; Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) replied, though she said she has not had time to review the bills yet. Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover) provided responses Wednesday.
On the resolution, Lee said he thinks term limits would help restore balance in Washington and accountability to constituents.
“We’re increasingly seeing politicians in Washington turn public service into a lifelong career, often losing sight of the people they were elected to represent,” Lee said. “Instead of prioritizing their constituents, some politicians focus shifts to securing the support of interest groups and other entities to maintain their hold on power.”
Though he supports federal term limits, Lee, a five-term senator, said he didn’t think the same restriction on North Carolina General Assembly members were as necessary.
“Unlike Congress, the North Carolina General Assembly experiences considerable turnover, with lawmakers typically not viewing their roles as long-term careers,” Lee said. “This is largely because we are a part-time, citizen-led legislature, where serving is often a personal sacrifice.”
Lee pointed out General Assembly legislators receive $13,951 per year; a Congress member’s salary is set at $174,000.
As for the two constitutional amendments, both passed the Senate rules committee, chaired by Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), earlier in the day before moving to the whole chamber. Both passed along party lines and will move to House vote, though not this week, lawmakers have reported.
If passed, both bills will go to the governor, though the General Assembly has the votes to override his veto with the GOP supermajority, which ends in the House next year.
The GOP has been successful in its constitutional amendments in the past, including this year’s amendment to the state’s voting eligibility language. The measure, which received 77.5% approval, states “only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.” Though already a law, the amendment removed language indicating a “person who has been naturalized” from the Constitution, though Republicans say any citizen of the U.S. is eligible to vote.
State income tax
Senate Bill 920 is a constitutional amendment that would reduce the cap on the state’s income tax from 7% to 5% (it’s currently 4.5%). This legislation is sponsored by Rabon, along with Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham) and Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus).
“We’re talking about the money North Carolinians work to earn, so they should have a right to decide the maximum that they’re going to be taxed by us, government,” Newton said on Monday. “And I think it is irrefutable that government tends toward spending, spending and more spending.”
Newton lauded the state GOP, which has held the majority in the General Assembly since 2010, for reducing the income tax rate down from 8% in its tenure. In 2013, the state had a progressive tax rate ranging from 6% to 7.75%.
The next year it switched to a flat rate at 5.8% for everyone and has decreased every few years since; the General Assembly plans for that trajectory to continue, reaching 3.99% in 2027. The corporate income tax, already one of the lowest in the country at 2.5%, is also scheduled to reach 0% in 2030.
Not only does the cap protect taxpayers and ensure fiscal responsibility at the state level, Lee said it provides businesses with greater predictability and confidence that their investments will be rewarded. North Carolina was ranked as the top state for business by CNBC in 2022 and 2023, but fell behind Virginia in 2024.
Lee echoed Newton’s praise for the GOP’s resistance to what he called the Democrats’ “tax and spend” approach which led to repeated rate hikes.
Democrats — who controlled both General Assembly chambers from 1999 until 2010 — increased the tax rate once in 2001. The progressive rates changed from three brackets, ranging from 6% to 7.75%, to four brackets, adding on a 8.25% rate for income over $120,000.
Sales tax increased a few times during this timeframe, peaking at 5.75% for two years before returning to 4.75% by in 2010, a net 0.75% increase over nine years.
Research suggests the continued tax reductions have not proven to be the economic boon they’re made out to be compared to the decade before they were implemented. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank, found the state’s economy grew faster from 2001 to 2013 than the following decade.
Republican tax cuts are further justified by ending the last fiscal year with around $3 billion in surplus, though Democrats say that money should be spent on needed teacher raises, public school funding, and infrastructure.
On Monday, Sen. Greg Meyer (D-Caswell, Orange, Person) criticized the proposed amendments, saying the state is shifting the tax burden from itself to local governments, 96 of which have raised property taxes in the last two years. Wilmington and Leland rank among those, which raised their ad valorem taxes 7% and 17% respectively.
Meyer said: “[It’s] because we are shifting the tax burden from taxes that are paid in corporate and individual income taxes to counties having to pay for services, which they can only do, primarily, through the use of the ad valorem tax.”
“We should not be dooming the people of North Carolina to live in a state that cannot meet their basic needs,” Meyer said.
Voter ID
Senate Bill 921 would amend the North Carolina Constitution’s voter identification requirement, which only became part of the governing document in 2018. The amendment passed Monday removes language stipulating ID’s be provided in-person, essentially requiring all voters to present an ID.
It’s unclear how operations at boards of elections will change, if at all. Those who vote absentee-by-mail are already required to provide a copy of their photo ID when they send in their ballots. County boards also verify voter eligibility when absentee ballots are requested through driver’s licenses or Social Security numbers.
According to Lee, the amendment “ensures consistency by applying the same voter ID standards across all forms of voting, treating in-person and absentee-by-mail voters equally and upholding the integrity of the electoral process.”
Senate floor debate on this bill was not expansive, with Democratic lawmakers questioning if exception forms would still be allowed for qualified voters; it was clarified they would.
S.B. 290 is the second action taken on voting processes in the last two weeks. S.B. 382, though described as a disaster relief bill by the GOP, has received a lot of heat from Democratic lawmakers and the public, as it consolidates greater authority into the hands of the General Assembly.
The bill makes several changes to how elections are carried out in the state, including moving up several deadlines to return and count ballots.
When the bill takes effect on Jan. 1, all absentee ballots would need to be counted on Election Day in an ongoing meeting starting at 5 p.m., implying workers would need to work around the clock until every last one is tabulated.
The new law allows only for provisional and overseas ballots to be counted in supplemental meetings after Election Day, though for provisional ballots, this would need to occur by 5 p.m. on the third day post-election.
As for correcting ballots or voter registration requirements, voters will have only three days post-election to do so, eliminating six days to cure ballots with discrepancies for addresses or I.D. verifications. The deadline is now noon on Friday after the election. Boards are then given just five hours to tally absentee ballots, as the law requires the totals be announced at 5 p.m. that same day.
State Board of Elections Director Karen Brinson-Bell, The North Carolina Association of Directors of Elections and New Hanover County Board of Elections chair Derrick Miller have stated the bill will do nothing to further secure elections but make workers’ jobs even harder.
Reach journalist Brenna Flanagan at brenna@localdailymedia.com.
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