June 30, 2026
RALEIGH — North Carolina lawmakers released the long-awaited budget today. The following is a statement from John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson:
“After nearly three years without a new comprehensive state budget, North Carolina taxpayers deserve a budget that advances growth, restraint, and accountability. This proposal includes several important reforms the John Locke Foundation supports, including continued income tax relief, a targeted Certificate of Need repeal, stronger Medicaid program integrity, and property-rights protections in local permitting and land-use disputes. I am also encouraged that the budget begins the work of modernizing education in North Carolina by studying public school choice through open enrollment and moving toward a more student-centered school finance system.
The most disappointing omission is NCInnovation. There has been broad agreement from the House, Senate, and Governor that all or most of NCInnovation’s taxpayer-funded endowment should be clawed back, yet this budget appears to make no explicit statutory change to NCInnovation. The NCInnovation endowment is nearly three years old, and taxpayers should not have to wait longer for accountability on $500 million that rightfully belongs to them.
I appreciate legislative leaders for not delaying the state budget any further in order to negotiate a public funding package for a potential Major League Baseball stadium in Raleigh. North Carolina can welcome professional baseball without asking taxpayers across the state to underwrite a private sports venture. After years without a new comprehensive budget, lawmakers were right to keep the focus on core state responsibilities rather than holding the budget hostage to stadium subsidies.”