The last state without a budget. NC Gov. Stein ‘here at the table’ still waiting

Happy New Year! I’m Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan, and you’re reading our latest Under the Dome newsletter that focuses on the governor.

We are days into 2026 now and remain the only state in the country that didn’t pass a budget.

That’s not how Democratic Gov. Josh Stein thought his first year in office was going to go. The budget fights waged by Stein’s Democratic predecessor, Roy Cooper, also meant very late budgets and one year with no big budget at all. Those fights were between the Republican-controlled legislature and the governor. But Stein didn’t even get to battle over a budget bill, because the General Assembly didn’t send him one.

Stein is ready and waiting.

Still.

“I am here at the table. Whenever the legislature is ready to join me at the table and get to work. I’m ready to welcome them,” Stein told me in a sit-down interview at the Executive Mansion in December.

I asked Stein about the budget stalemate and what that means for this new year, including the competing House and Senate budget bills, working with Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall, Stein’s hopes for a Medicaid rebase funding deal and what he thinks about taxes.

You can read my story with more of what Stein said, and listen to the full interview on our Under the Dome podcast, on Tuesday.

As certain as taxes

And speaking of taxes, the money we are required to pay the government will be a focus of a lot of my legislative reporting in 2026, as the budget stalemate centers on future individual income tax cuts. Plus, the House is taking a look at property tax reform.

Here are my most recent stories about taxes:

• New income tax rate in NC for 2026. What you’ll pay and how much it’s dropped
• NC lawmakers are looking at property tax law. What that means for you

Thanks for reading. Stay up to date by listening to our Under the Dome politics podcast. I host a new episode every Tuesday, and as I mentioned earlier, my guest this week is Gov. Josh Stein. Reach me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com or the entire politics team at dome@newsobserver.com.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

The News & Observer

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan is the Capitol Bureau Chief for The News & Observer, leading coverage of the legislative and executive branches in North Carolina with a focus on the governor, General Assembly leadership and state budget. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award, N.C. Open Government Coalition Sunshine Award and several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for politics and investigative reporting.