NCGA 2018 Wrap Up: Abbreviated Short Session Produces Fewer Bills but More Proposed Constitutional Amendments
By Whitney Campbell Christensen
The 2018 Short Session of the North Carolina General Assembly adjourned in late June and can boast something that many Short Sessions cannot: that it was genuinely short.
What else made it memorable? An unusual adjournment resolution, a pre-negotiated state budget, a renewed interest in amending the North Carolina Constitution, campaign pressures, a record-breaking protest on opening day and milk jokes… lots of milk jokes.
Short Session by the Numbers
The intended purpose of the Short Session is to make modifications to the two-year state budget enacted during the previous Long Session based on changes in revenue projections, new priorities, and unforeseen events such as natural disasters. Legislation unrelated to appropriations may also advance during Short Sessions, but it is subject to a very restrictive body of eligibility rules imposed by each chamber.
The practical impact of these rules is that very few bills with statewide implications are introduced during a typical Short Session and only a small percentage of the bills introduced during the previous year’s Long Session can be considered. Below is a quick look at the 2018 Short Session by the numbers.
6 – The number of weeks the 2018 Short Session lasted
129 – The number of bills enacted
1922 – The number of bills filed during the biennium (The Long Session and the Short Session occurring between each General Assembly election)
$23.9 billion – The amount of total spending in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 state budget
2% – The minimum state employee pay raise in the budget
6.5% – The average pay raise for teachers in the budget
6 – The number of North Carolina Constitutional amendments legislators voted to put on the ballot for this fall’s general election.