Rep. Price files bill in North Carolina House to increase budget transparency

A new bill filed by State Rep. Price seeks to enhance transparency and public involvement in North Carolina’s budget process through procedural changes and public access requirements, according to the North Carolina State House.

The bill, filed as HB 178 on Feb. 24 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Budgeting Accountability and Transparency.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill aims to enhance accountability and transparency in North Carolina’s budget process by amending the State Budget Act. It mandates that before budget adoption votes, each house of the General Assembly must allow a minimum of one week for public comments on the budget, enable virtual participation through an online portal, and conduct at least one public hearing and three nonvoting committee meetings for debate. Additionally, the bill requires distributing budget copies to legislators at least five legislative days before any votes. The bill also specifies that once the budget becomes law, documents related to appropriation requests from state agencies or legislators to legislative employees or other legislators are to become public records, excluding those protected by attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law and applies to the fiscal year starting thereafter.

Of the four sponsors of this bill, Pricey Harrison proposed the most bills (10) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Prince graduated from Tufts University with a BA.

Prince, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 50th House district, replacing previous state representative Graig R. Meyer.