It was a quiet week around the North Carolina General Assembly as legislators work behind the scenes to prepare for the start of the short session. Lawmakers will reconvene for the 2024 legislative session on Wednesday, April 24 at noon. During the short session, legislators may consider bills that directly affect the state budget or bills that met the crossover deadline, among other considerations outlined in last year’s adjournment resolution. The crossover deadline is the date lawmakers set for a bill to pass out of its originating chamber to remain eligible for the rest of the biennial legislative session.
UPCOMING SESSION
Members of both House and Senate leadership continue to insist that the upcoming short session will indeed be a short session, especially in comparison to years past. In addition to the state budget bill, due in large part to both chambers holding veto-proof Republican supermajorities, legislators were able to tackle some of the more involved, and, at times, controversial, items during the long session last year, including sports betting and abortion law modifications. Plus, given that all members of the legislature are up for reelection in November, many legislators will want to wrap up their work in Raleigh sooner rather than later.
One item that will likely be addressed during the short session is additional funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program. The Opportunity Scholarship program provides scholarships to families to help pay for the required tuition and fees to attend eligible K-12 private schools. The legislature made changes to the eligibility requirements for the program in last year’s budget, expanding it to be open to all families who want to apply, regardless of household income levels. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) indicated earlier this week that the General Assembly may look at adding around $300 million to the program to meet the demand of applications since launching the expanded version of the program established in last year’s budget.
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), which administers the Opportunity Scholarship program, received 72,000 applications for the upcoming school year. Only 13,500 of those applicants were able to receive vouchers due to the level of funding available for the program. NCSEAA has grouped all of the applicants into four tiers: Tier 1 has a maximum household income for a family of four at $57,720 a year, Tier 2 has a maximum household income for a family of four at $115,440 a year, Tier 3 has a maximum household income for a family of four at $259,740 a year, and Tier 4 does not have maximum yearly income.
Funding levels for the program will continue to increase gradually through the 2032-2033 fiscal year when the appropriation for the program will max out, and remain at, $520,540,000 going forward. The Opportunity Scholarship program funding will increase to $415,540,000 next year, however, is currently funded at $191,540,000 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Due to the level of demand, only Tier 1 families, and a handful of Tier 2 families, will receive scholarships at this time. Speaker Moore indicated that the additional $300 million the legislature may consider for the program will be enough to ensure that every family that has applied thus far will receive a scholarship. The Speaker also noted that even with this additional funding provided to the Opportunity Scholarship program, there will still be enough funds available for other education-related matters, such as teacher pay raises.
Exactly how much money the legislature will have to allocate during the short session is still up in the air as the state revenue numbers for this fiscal year will not be final until after Tax Day. In addition to the opportunity scholarship funding, the legislature will likely consider other pressing budget needs, however, the budget will almost certainly be much smaller than it was during the long session, likely only spending on matters of top priority to lawmakers.
Legislative committees will be able to meet again once the General Assembly officially reconvenes, however, the work of those committees is often slow at the start, allowing committee chairs and committee members time to discuss what they would like to take up. Members are required to send all bill language to bill drafting by Monday, April 15 and all bills must be introduced no later than Thursday, May 2, except for local bills, which must be introduced by Tuesday, May 7.
UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE MEETINGS
TUESDAY, APRIL 16
10:00 AM House: Select Committee on Substance Abuse
1:00 PM: America’s Semiquincentennial Committee
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17
1:00 PM: Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee
THURSDAY, APRIL 18
9:00 AM: Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology
