North Carolina Legislative Update for October 16, 2025
Compiled by Susan Vick and Tom Fetzer
Budget Impasse
House and Senate Leadership at the North Carolina General Assembly remain at odds over a biennial budget that was due on July 1. Unlike the federal government, North Carolina has an automatic continuing resolution budget that kicks in and provides funding at the prior year’s levels to avoid interruption in services.
Of the over 1700 bills filed during the 2025 legislative session, only 5% have passed and became law so far. The Legislature is scheduled to come in a few days each month (October through March) to consider stop gap funding and other compelling matters. And it appears the General Assembly may convene later this month to consider congressional redistricting at the urging of the Trump Administration in advance of the 2026 midterm election.
New Secretary of DOT
Secretary of Transportation and 30-year veteran of the agency, Joey Hopkins, retired October 1. New Secretary Daniel Johnson is also a veteran of the agency, having previously served as Assistant Secretary and general counsel.
FEMA Funding to Western NC
Governor Stein and NC Congressional leaders in Washington continue to express concern about the slow rate of funding by FEMA to western NC. Compounding their concern is the current government shut down in DC. The year anniversary of Hurricane Helene’s devastation to North Carolina was September 24th. To date, NC has only received 9% of the funding requested. There was an estimated $9 billion in damage to NC transportation and infrastructure caused by Helene.
Mecklenburg Transportation Tax Referendum
All eyes are on Mecklenburg County next month as voters there will decide whether to pass a 1-cent transportation sales tax referendum. Despite being a potential “tax increase,” the referendum bill received bipartisan support in the legislature and would fund a proposed $20 billion, 30-year plan to expand transportation infrastructure across the region, including Charlotte. We predict other counties will want to follow suit depending on the outcome of the referendum.
North Carolina Transportation Commerce Tax
A new transportation tax quietly went into effect on July 1, 2025, after the General Assembly previously enacted a provision to tax ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, as well as traditional taxi services. The revenue generated will fund the state’s Highway Fund for road and bridge maintenance and improvements. Exempt from the tax are public transportation, non-emergency medical transport, and food delivery services.
Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee
The Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee, led by House and Senate Leaders in the NCGA, will meet on November 6th. While no agenda has been published to date, the anticipated topics will be ferry transportation and an update on DMV.
Transportation Summit- Session on Funding/Future of Transportation
The 2025 Transportation Summit was held in Raleigh in early September. The last session of the conference was on the all-important topic of funding. Included on the roundtable panel were transportation leaders from Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Linked below is a video of that session that also featured Senator Vickie Sawyer, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.
