Josh Stein has been more involved in GOP-written budget than past NC governors

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Good morning and welcome to our Under the Dome newsletter focusing on the governor. I’m Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan. Let’s go.

Nothing says summer like the North Carolina budget, at least for those who follow state politics. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is ready for the General Assembly to send him a budget bill. He’s been governor for a year and a half, and still hasn’t seen a comprehensive spending bill cross his desk.

The impasse between House and Senate Republicans finally broke in May, when House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger announced a “framework” of a deal on major budget issues. All the in-the-weeds work of crafting the budget has followed.

Stein’s been a larger part of the budget process with Republican lawmakers than the past two governors, who were from both parties.

I asked Rep. Donny Lambeth, a Winston-Salem Republican, and Rep. Dean Arp, a Union County Republican, about their interactions with Stein and the governor’s office these past few months. Lambeth and Arp are two of the top House budget writers.

Stein has gained a reputation of being closer to legislators than his predecessors. He just calls them and talks to them directly.

Lambeth said that while Stein won’t like the tax cuts in the budget, he “is going to love the salary package, so you’re going to weigh those. As I’ve talked to him, I feel pretty good that he’s going to like this budget.”

Lambeth expects Stein to sign the budget into law when it makes its way to his desk sometime this summer.

“I really can’t imagine, to be honest with you, the governor vetoing this budget — because it is strong, and it has the kinds of things that he wants.”

“It’s got the full Medicaid rebase, obviously. Check that off. It’s got salary increases and his teacher pay that we fought for, that he’s going to like. Check that off. Now, can you find something on page 92 that I don’t like? Yeah, or (Arp) doesn’t like? Yeah, and the governor may not even like, but that’s just kind of the way budgets work,” Lambeth said.

He said that Stein has “been much more open to talk with us” than former governors Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and Pat McCrory, a Republican. Stein invites lawmakers to the Executive Mansion, and even to Carolina Hurricanes games.

Arp said Stein is “very personable,” and while they have differences over policy, “we take seriously what he’s asking for.”

Here’s more about the latest in budget negotiations:

Thanks for reading. Be sure to listen to our Under the Dome podcast, too. On the new episode coming out Tuesday, I’m joined by Esther Frances and Kyle Ingram. Reach me at [email protected] or our entire politics team at [email protected].

This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline “Josh Stein has been more involved in GOP-written budget than past NC governors.”