Senate tax amendment remains in committee after Finance calendar listing

RALEIGH, N.C. — A proposed constitutional amendment that would affect North Carolina income tax policy remains in the Senate Finance Committee after being listed for committee review this week.

Senate Bill 1080, titled “Lower Taxes for All NC,” was filed May 13 and passed first reading May 14. The bill was referred to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee, withdrawn from that committee and re-referred to Finance. If the bill receives a favorable report from Finance, it would return to Senate Rules.

The bill page identifies the proposal as a public bill that “affects constitution.” Its listed keywords include the North Carolina Constitution, elections, individual income taxes and corporate income taxes.

The bill is sponsored by Sens. Michael Lee, Benton Sawrey and Lisa Barnes, with more than two dozen additional Senate Republicans listed as co-sponsors.

The General Assembly calendar listed S1080 for the Senate Finance Committee at 6 p.m. Monday, May 18. A separate Senate Finance meeting listed for Tuesday, May 19, was marked canceled on the legislative calendar.

Because the measure would amend the state constitution, it would not go to the governor if approved by lawmakers. Constitutional amendments must be approved by voters before taking effect.

The bill is part of a broader push by Senate Republicans to place tax and policy questions before voters. Its movement through Finance will be important because any constitutional tax limit could affect future budget decisions, including funding for education, health care, public safety, infrastructure and other state services.

No vote had been posted on the bill page as of Monday afternoon.

The next step is a Senate Finance hearing or further action by Senate leadership.

Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.