The NC House and NC Senate were unable last week to reach agreement on the legislative schedule for the remainder of 2025. The Senate voted upon and sent to the House a resolution – Senate Joint Resolution 772 – proposing adjournment, followed by legislative days of July 29-July 31, August 26-August 28, September 23-25, October 7-October 28, and November 5, with the schedule thereafter to be set by further joint resolution.

However, House Speaker Destin Hall informed House members that they will not be voting for the next couple of weeks and that he will give members notice when the schedule is worked out.

Under the NC Constitution, either chamber may adjourn on its own motion for a period not to exceed three days, but it requires both chambers to agree to adjourn for a longer timeframe. Procedurally, what the House is doing is setting up “skeleton sessions,” in which every few days, the House is gaveled into session, but no votes are taken, and the House immediately gavels back out of session. No quorum of legislators is required and most everyone stays home. As a consequence, the Senate may also choose to go into skeleton sessions for the time being at least. North Carolina is deemed to have a part-time legislature.

By statute, most legislators receive an annual salary of $13,951, payable monthly plus a modest expense allowance per month, daily subsistence pay when the General Assembly is in session and a weekly travel allowance based on mileage for the round trip between the legislator’s home and the legislative building in Raleigh.  

Author: sdbrownlow

Student of Design