RALEIGH — State Representative Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) and the North Carolina Progressive House Caucus are targeting legislative gridlock with a new bill that would halt pay for lawmakers who fail to pass a state budget on time.
The proposal follows what Butler says is a record-breaking delay which has left North Carolina as the only state in the nation without a finalized 2025-27 budget. As of publication, the state is 224 days past its July 1, 2025, deadline.
READ MORE: State income tax drops to 3.99% on Jan. 1, sparking debate on who really benefits
“When politicians miss the budget deadline, it’s not a paperwork problem—it’s a people problem,” Butler said in a release. “While Republican leaders in the NC House and Senate fight amongst themselves, our schools stall, healthcare hangs in limbo, and families pay the price for legislative dysfunction.”
Because legislator pay is addressed in the state constitution, freezing lawmakers’ compensation would require a constitutional amendment. That means the proposal must win three-fifths approval in both the House and Senate before going directly to voters statewide. Unlike ordinary legislation, constitutional amendments are not subject to the governor’s veto and take effect only if a majority of voters approve them in a referendum.
The stalemate in Raleigh primarily involves a disagreement between Republicans, who hold a majority in the House and supermajority in the Senate. The conflict centers on a scheduled decrease of the personal income tax rate from 3.99% in 2026 to 3.49% in 2027 if revenue targets are met, with further reductions possible in later years. While the House has favored slowing these cuts to ensure revenue for infrastructure and school funding, the Senate has remained determined to keep the tax reductions on track.
“If lawmakers can’t do the most important job we’re elected to do, they shouldn’t get paid for failing North Carolinians,” Butler added in the release.
Because lawmakers have not yet passed a full state budget, many agencies are operating under a continuation plan with limited new funding. NCDHHS has said Medicaid faces an estimated $319 million funding gap for the current fiscal year and could exhaust its resources before the year ends without additional appropriations, potentially threatening healthcare access for more than 3 million North Carolinians who depend on the program.
Butler intends to formally introduce the bill when the legislative short session convenes in April.
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