RALEIGH, N.C. — Robert Reives, the Chatham County Democrat expected to become the next speaker of the North Carolina House, said Tuesday that easing household costs will drive his caucus once it takes control of the chamber in January.
Democrats won at least 66 House seats in last week’s election, ending the Republican majority and electing more Democrats to the chamber than at any point since 2010. Reives, now the minority leader, used his first news conference since the vote to sketch out how the party plans to govern. The full House will pick its speaker after members are sworn in. Reives said the win gives Democrats their biggest House majority in three decades, and he pointed to his working relationship with current Speaker Destin Hall as a model for cooperation.
He did not single out one bill as the top priority. His stated goal is that families feel some real relief in their budgets by 2028, and he listed lower health care costs, school improvements, cheaper electricity and gas, water quality rules on PFAS chemicals and a bill dealing with medical marijuana and decriminalization among the issues on the table. He said Republicans with workable ideas to cut costs would get a seat at the table and that his side does not care who gets the credit.
On schools, Reives said teacher pay matters but is not the whole answer, arguing many teachers want more time, supplies and better working conditions. He called for changes to Opportunity Scholarships, the state-funded private school vouchers, saying wealthy families should not receive them while public schools are underfunded. The last state budget gave teachers an average raise of 8 percent, though veteran teachers got far less than new ones.
Money will be tight. Income tax cuts already on the books are projected to cost the state about $900 million in fiscal 2027 and close to $2.6 billion in fiscal 2028, according to the N.C. Budget and Tax Center. Voters also approved constitutional amendments capping the personal income tax rate at 3.5 percent and directing the General Assembly to limit local property tax increases. Reives said lawmakers will pass the laws needed to carry out those amendments.
He also said he wants a permanent fix for redistricting, a rollback of the public records exemption lawmakers gave themselves in 2023, renewed spending on Hurricane Helene recovery in western North Carolina and a return of town hall meetings for state House members. Control of the state Senate was still undecided.
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