North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians

Legislative Update for 08/07/26

August 7, 2026

The House and Senate have adjourned for the session and although they are scheduled to come back each month for a few days, there are no votes planned until after the election in November. Of course, the November and December dates are interesting. If the Republicans lose many seats, there is a lot of conjecture that they will try to further erode the Governor’s power or vote other priorities into law while they still can and before the new members take their seats. Democrats hope to take away the veto proof majority in the Senate and whittle away at the Republican advantage in the House in a year that is expected to favor Democrats. We have only a few more months to see what happens! Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 07/15/26

July 15, 2026

After passing a long-awaited budget before the July 4^th Holiday, the General Assembly has adjourned for a temporary break. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Raleigh on July 27 under the same procedural rules governing the current short session. It remains to be seen which policy measures will be taken up upon their return. However, there are plenty of conference reports still floating around that could be seen in any shape or form at the end of the month. It’s also unclear how long they’ll stick around once they’re back. The expectation, though, is that this won’t be the last trip. Legislators will likely return at least a couple more times before a newly elected legislative body is sworn in this January.

BUDGET

After nearly three years without a comprehensive spending plan, North Carolina lawmakers have finalized a $34.4 billion state budget, sending it to Gov. Stein and likely ending one of the state’s longest fiscal stalemates.

Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 06/27/26

June 27, 2026

Here we are a few days from the end of the fiscal year for North Carolina and we still do not have a budget in place for the last year as well as the upcoming year. We are the only State in the Nation to not have a budget in place and after hoping to have votes for the budget on the week of June 15^th, the delay continues. There are rumors that the budget will be done before the July 4^th Holiday, but I would not count on it. Although reports from both chambers continue to say that progress is being made, there are no scheduled votes.

Meanwhile, it was another busy week at the General Assembly as major legislation continues to be amended and moved from one chamber to the other. The House also held votes on several controversial bills regarding DEI restrictions and immigration enforcement that were vetoed by the Governor and those are now law after two “former” Democrats were absent for the votes.

Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 06/17/26

June 17, 2026

Although both the House and Senate were trying to finish the budget this week, there has been an additional delay and now they are saying that they hope to have it complete by the end of June. There are many reports that progress on the budget is slow but steady, but no one has seen any draft or written form so it is difficult to know what is in the budget except for rumors and small details that are coming out. There is quite a bit of confidence that a budget deal is near, and we expect it to be rolled out and voted on before the July 4^th holiday.

There are many signs besides the budget process that session is winding down. An avalanche of committee meetings, bill amendments and the general intensity is definitely up, and it is feeling like session is coming to an end.

Bills regarding election law changes, data centers, ABC laws, Involuntary Commitment changes, and health care issues are all in play this week with lots of discussion, debate and last minute changes to bills. This is always a dangerous time as bills move quickly and changes are made often so we will be watching closely and working to represent your interests!

Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 05/22/26

May 22, 2026

It has been the week of Constitutional Amendments! It looks like there will be at least 2 and maybe more constitutional amendments on the ballot in the Fall. The first one will be about lowering the constitutional cap on income tax and lowers it by half and the second would limit how much local governments (towns, cities and counties) can increase property taxes. Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 05/04/26

May 4, 2026

BILLS, BILLS and more BILLS! The short session has just started but we have seen a flood of legislation filed – with almost 500 bills in the first 7 days of the session. Part of that is not surprising since all bills filed based upon study committees had to be filed by April 29^th and all bills impacting the budget had to be filed by April 30^th. However, usually the filing period is pretty quiet for the short session. This year it is clear that many bills have been filed to make a statement on issues that are important to the legislator. Especially for Democrats who do not have a good way to move their bills, it is a way to get their priorities out there.

You will see in this report many bills regarding health care, immigration, education, housing, tax policy and many, many other issues that will not receive a hearing in a committee. Without bi-partisan support or the support of leadership, these bills will not move forward.

Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 04/29/26

April 29, 2026

What a way to start the short session last week! The House and Senate announced that they had reached an agreement on the Medicaid shortfall to fund the amount requested by the Department of Health and Human Services in the amount of $319 million. The bill also includes a variety of requirements in the Federal law regarding work requirements and limitations on who can receive Medicaid as well as other cost savings measures that include audits, fraud detection and changes to Autism treatment and GLP-1s.

This agreement placed into another bill has already been approved by both the House and the Senate and we understand that the Governor will sign the bill into law despite his reservation about some of the provisions included.

There are also signs of cooperation on a budget being completed during the short session but there is a long way to go!

Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 03/25/26

March 25, 2026

In a stunning development marking the end of an era in North Carolina politics, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger has conceded his re-election bid in Senate District 26. This is perhaps the most seismic political shift in North Carolina in over a decade, underscoring the magnitude of his departure after 25 years representing Rockingham County and 15 years as the Senate’s leader. Read the full report here

Legislative Update for 03/04/26

March 4, 2026

The 2026 primary election results are (almost all) in, and the results of several closely watched races will reshape North Carolina’s political landscape in the months and years ahead. An astonishing eight incumbent members of the House and Senate appear to have lost their seats tonight and Senator Berger looks to have lost as well but it is too close to call.

While many contests were on the ballot, a handful carried particular weight for the balance of power in Raleigh and the direction of state policy. The most notable surely is Senate leader Berger’s race, which he currently is losing – by just TWO votes – in a potential massive upset that could certainly send shockwaves through Jones Street and the upcoming short session and beyond. Berger, often cited as the most powerful state politician in North Carolina, has been the Senate Pro Tempore since Republicans took control of the NC House and Senate in 2011. He was the Senate Minority Leader prior to that. Campaign spending for his re-election was said to have reached $10 million in this race to give you an idea of just how serious this primary match-up has been in Rockingham and Guilford counties.

Read the full report here

2025 Legislative Updates

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Legislative Update for 10-10-25

Legislative Update for 08-18-25

Legislative Update for 07-01-25

Legislative Update for 06-16-25

Legislative Update for 05-23-25

Legislative Update for 05-13-25

Legislative Update for 04-28-25

Legislative Update for 04-23-25

Legislative Update for 04-14-25