Overview
- Senate Republicans approved the amendment 30-18, and House leaders are pressing to win the additional vote needed in the 120-member House to reach the 72-vote supermajority required to place the measure on the November ballot.
- House Republicans hold 71 seats and delayed a planned vote before advancing renewed consideration, meaning proponents must find at least one lawmaker outside their caucus to secure passage.
- Lawmakers have already set statutory income-rate reductions in the budget plan that will lower rates to about 3.49% in 2027 regardless of the amendment, so the constitution change would mainly constrain lawmakers’ future choices rather than immediately cut taxes.
- Opponents and budget analysts warn the 3.5% constitutional cap would sharply limit revenue flexibility under North Carolina’s balanced-budget rule and could force cuts to schools, public safety, and other services, while supporters say it would lock in tax policies they credit with economic growth.
- Legislative leaders are also advancing a separate, still-undrafted constitutional proposal to limit local property tax authority, and if both chambers approve the measures voters would decide them on the November ballot, following a similar 2018 amendment that lowered the cap from 10% to 7%.