In a much-delayed and much-anticipated bill, the state Senate presented their proposed biennial budget on Monday that includes billions of dollars to shift North Carolina’s Medicaid system from one run by the state to a new apparatus largely run by private managed-care insurance organizations.
“Our nonpartisan fiscal analyst told us that we had an even bigger surplus than we initially thought,” Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said during a press briefing Monday before releasing the spending plan. “The Senate is proposing to reduce taxes even more and advance a 10-year $12 billion cash infrastructure and capital plan that includes $3 billion in cash over the next two years for projects.”
The $25.7 billion proposal would reduce tax rates for individuals and families, as well as phase out the corporate income tax in North Carolina. State coffers are temporarily overflowing with billions in federal coronavirus relief spending, courtesy of the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in March.
