Statement on State Budget

The North Carolina Black Alliance and Advance Carolina are deeply disappointed in the final budget, as it fails to truly provide what North Carolinians, especially our Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, and Pacific Islander, low-income, and other marginalized communities actually need. 

Our state leadership should be held accountable to the actual people of our state. It is their duty to create legislation, especially something as critical as a state budget, that supports the priorities of the people rather than their own political gamesmanship. 

But unfortunately, it was decided that gambling with the lives of our people through a months-long closed-door process, eliminating the opportunity for any public input or meaningful review by all of our lawmakers was the better choice. 

We do want to applaud the tireless efforts of advocates who fought for medicaid expansion for more than a decade in this state. Make no mistake, it was due to the power of the people that we have even reached this moment in our state’s history. However, that does not eliminate the dire impact that this entire budget will have on the people of this state. Legislative leaders can and should expand Medicaid expansion because it is the right thing to do. But, they could’ve done so through an independent proposal that isn’t tied to the bad ideas and tricks in this final budget.

We deserve a budget that uses our public dollars to fund the things that the public has asked for day in, and day out. Affordable housing, quality and equitable education, environmental protections, and truly accessible and fair elections. 

The voice of the people should be what informs our state’s budgeting process, and we will continue to demand that transparency, democracy, and inclusivity sit at the core of how we conduct business in this state. 

We must always value the people first.