Rep. Pricey Harrison (Photo: NCGA)

North Carolina state government continues to operate without a budget for the fiscal year that commenced July 1. Thanks largely to a disagreement between Republican leaders of the House and Senate over whether the state should plow ahead with a series of scheduled tax cuts – even as fiscal analysts warn of big impending budget shortfalls – the state is operating on a makeshift continuation budget that’s leaving a host of core public services inadequately funded.

What’s really behind this stalemate and what are some of the impacts it’s producing for state residents? Recently, as part of a special extended interview, Newsline posed these questions and several others to one of the North Carolina General Assembly’s longest serving and most widely respected members, State Rep. Pricey Harrison of Guilford County. And as Harrison explained, the hard truth is that the budget failure and its myriad impacts are likely the result of the political fears of one very powerful state Senator who faces a Republican primary challenger in 2026.

In part one of our extended conversation with Harrison, we discussed the ongoing failure of Republican legislative leaders to reach agreement on a state budget for the fiscal year, as well as GOP proposals to enact new, significant and worrisome changes to our state’s voting laws prior to the 2026 elections.

In part two of our interview, we turned our attention to an area to which Harrison has long been recognized as one of the General Assembly’s best informed and most impactful voices – environmental protection – and in particular the damage that continues to result from new state and federal laws that hamstring environmental regulators. In addition, we also chatted about the massive and negative impacts that President Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will have on our state’s social safety net unless state lawmakers step up to fill the huge gaps that will soon be created.

Click here for the full the full interview with state Rep. Pricey Harrison.