Governor Josh Stein urged Republicans to pass a budget in a press conference on July 29, 2025. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)
As Republicans in the General Assembly geared up to override several of his vetoes Tuesday, Governor Josh Stein made a plea: stay in town and pass a budget.
Speaking to reporters alongside public servants and North Carolina residents impacted by funding shortfalls, Stein urged lawmakers to enact a “budget that invests in the people of North Carolina,” with a focus on increasing pay for teachers and law enforcement officers, expanding the Department of Motor Vehicles to improve efficiency, and funding rebates to retain expanded Medicaid coverage amid cuts at the federal level.
“It is past time for this General Assembly to pass a budget that puts the people of North Carolina first,” Stein said, noting that the state’s budget deadline was June 30. “They need to pass a sound budget to do what the people of North Carolina sent us here to do: set our state up for success.”
Soon after the conclusion of the Governor’s press conference, Raleigh’s News & Observer reported that House and Senate Republican leaders had reached an agreement on a new budget proposal and would be unveiling it later today.
Teachers, law enforcement officers plead for help
Among those who joined Stein to advocate on behalf of his budget request were 2025 North Carolina Teacher of the Year Rachel Candaso and Captain Kimberly Lane of the Durham Sheriff’s Office, as well as residents who advocated for greater funding for Medicaid and the DMV.
Candaso said she has always had to work a “side job” during her time as a teacher and that other educators she has spoken to have told her that without a raise, they will be unable to remain in the profession as cost of living continues to outpace teacher salaries.
“This is not just about numbers on a page. It’s about whether we truly value the people shaping North Carolina’s future. Whether we believe every child, whether they are in Swain County or at Parker’s Island in our eastern side of the state, deserve a fully supported high-quality educator,” Candaso said. “Pass a budget that honors our work, invest in our teachers, invest in our 1.5 million students, invest in North Carolina’s future.”
Stein said his budget proposal would raise starting teacher pay to the highest in the Southeast, reinstate Master’s pay, and provide a school-supply stipend. He noted that currently, North Carolina teachers pay the second most in the country out of their own pockets for school supplies, and that starting pay is lower than every neighboring state.
Durham Sheriff’s Office Captain Kimberly Lane said her agency has not been able to retain talented deputies due to insufficient pay. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC“When we do not pay our teachers, when we do not respect our teachers, when we make the teachers pay for the students’ school supplies out of their already low earnings, we make the teaching profession less appealing to our best and brightest,” he said.
Lane, the sheriff’s office captain, said law enforcement agencies across the state are understaffed, which leads to more officers wanting to leave and further worsening the staffing shortage. In her own agency, she said two highly qualified deputies left in part due to insufficient income, a brain drain she said compromises the efficacy of law enforcement and the safety of North Carolinians.
“My agency has worked tirelessly to recruit and bring in qualified individuals that want to put their life on the line to serve their community,” she said. “Yet our efforts are in vain as retirements and natural attrition create vacancies that cannot be filled at the same rate as which they occur.”
Electric bills, DMV delays, health care access
Stein criticized legislators for prioritizing veto overrides over getting a budget done to address the needs of North Carolinians, singling out a bill allowing Duke Energy to raise rates that he said will only worsen the cost-of-living crisis.
“Instead of taking action on all of these important issues that will make a real difference in people’s lives, the General Assembly is in town today to act on a number of veto overrides, including one that will raise folks’ power bills precisely when people are struggling with already high bills,” Stein said. “The legislation could increase residential power bills by $23 billion over the next 25 years.”
Milltrene Newell, a resident of Louisburg who lives on a fixed income, said her electric bill has shot up from about $250 a month in May to $765 in the most recent bill.
Milltrene Newell of Louisburg waves her more recent electric bill, which came in at $765. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/ NC Newsline)“It is devastating for me, and that’s why I’m here today, because people on a fixed income cannot pay these expensive electric bills,” she said. “The last thing we can afford is for the General Assembly to pass this bill that is going to skyrocket the costs in the future.”
Also speaking were Sarah Morgan, a Durham resident who recounted visiting the DMV six different times trying to update to a Real ID due to inadequate staffing, and Joanna Parker, a Garner resident who described how Medicaid expansion changed her life, allowing her to receive treatment for degenerative disc disease and spotting a pre-cancerous mass she would not have caught otherwise.
“Some days, the pain was debilitating, but out of pocket expenses for physical therapy and doctor’s visits were not manageable,” Parker said. “Then, in December 2023, I was one of more than 270,000 people in North Carolina to automatically be enrolled in Medicaid expansion and suddenly, my world changed. I was able to go to the doctor regularly, go to physical therapy appointments, and get the necessary X-rays and receive medications that allowed me to return to work full-time.”
Stein called on Republicans to do the work to protect Medicaid expansion in the wake of federal cuts that, due to a state trigger law, are expected to force the program’s rollback if no action is taken. He said that 900,000 North Carolinians are at risk of losing health insurance, including both residents covered under expansion as well as many under the traditional Medicaid program.
“Our entire Medicaid expansion program is at risk if the state legislature does not pass a fix to pay for new administratively burdensome work requirements,” Stein said. “Passing Medicaid expansion into law was a bipartisan victory for North Carolina. Saving it must be as well.”
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