NC Republicans have a deal on the long-delayed state budget

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer on May 12, 2026

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Almost a year late, North Carolina will soon have a new state budget.

Republican leaders of the House and Senate planned to share details with reporters at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. The House Republicans shared the news on social media with “Habemus budget deal,” which means “we have a budget deal.” It’s a play on the Latin phrase used to announce a new pope, “Habemus papem.”

House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger, both Republicans, had been at a stalemate since the summer of 2025, when they failed to reach an agreement on the amounts of tax cuts or raises for teachers and state employees. Hall and Berger are the top lawmakers in each chamber, which are controlled by Republicans.

Both leaders have been dug in, with Hall pushing for higher raises than Berger wants, and Berger wanting faster tax cuts than Hall. Those two major costs have been at the core of the stalemate, which slowly started to break as the legislative short session began three weeks ago.

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