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Thou Shall Not Pass: The North Carolina Budget Stalemate

More than 40 days have gone by since the North Carolina budget was supposed to be enacted. Since the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, negotiations between Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Roy Cooper have barely budged. Cooper vetoed the latest Republican House budget citing low pay increases for teachers and the absence of Medicaid expansion. WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii joins host Frank Stasio to talk about the state budget stalemate.

House Republicans want to see a budget that includes more corporate tax cuts, and GOP leaders, led by Senate leader Phil Berger, say Cooper has hijacked the budget with his call for expanded Medicaid. Host Frank Stasio speaks with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii about the budget stalemate and what it will take to see progress in spending plan negotiations. Tiberii also provides a lookahead to upcoming special elections in the 3rd and 9th Congressional Districts. Both elections are slated for Tuesday, Sept. 10.

 

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Laura Pellicer is a producer with The State of Things (hyperlink), a show that explores North Carolina through conversation. Laura was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, a city she considers arrestingly beautiful, if not a little dysfunctional. She worked as a researcher for CBC Montreal and also contributed to their programming as an investigative journalist, social media reporter, and special projects planner. Her work has been nominated for two Canadian RTDNA Awards. Laura loves looking into how cities work, pursuing stories about indigenous rights, and finding fresh voices to share with listeners. Laura is enamored with her new home in North Carolina—notably the lush forests, and the waves where she plans on moonlighting as a mediocre surfer.