state budget

School closures designed to impede the spread of COVID-19 have prompted North Carolina’s public school educators to transition to online instruction.  But this transition has been uneven across classrooms, schools,…

Other states have begun to worry about the coronavirus shutdown’s impact on their economies and state government finances. Energy producing states like Colorado and Texas must deal with plummeting…

On March 14, Governor Roy Cooper issued an executive order that directed all public schools to close to students for at least two weeks.  He further directed the N.C.

Our budget stalemate may have an unexpected and unintended benefit. Because the General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper could not agree on a new budget, state government has been operating…

North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has a history of breaking budgets with lax controls over Medicaid spending. It took nearly three years under Gov. Pat McCrory…

It was a tumultuous year for lawmakers in the General Assembly. Lasting well into October, this ‘long session’ was unusually long compared to years past. As will be the…

As the 2020 election season gathers momentum, North Carolina’s tax reforms and demands for higher spending on any number of government programs will be front and center. One example is a…

The state budget battle has entered extra innings. Gov. Cooper signed and vetoed another batch of mini budgets, the ninth round of budget-related legislation since his first budget veto on…

In this research update, I take a closer look at revenues and expenditures in North Carolina over the past 20 years. I use actual collections and expenditures from the…

The John Locke Foundation is approaching its 30th anniversary, and the Republican majority in the General Assembly is halfway through its fifth session. It seems a good time to…