The second virtual meeting of the NC Manufacturing Council was presented by MAU Workforce Solutions, a third-generation, family-owned-and-operated business delivering workforce solutions to the manufacturing ecosystem. Special guest Sen. Jim Burgin joined NC Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Jake Cashion to talk about the current legislative session and what manufacturers can expect in the coming months.

Despite a new fiscal year kicking off July 1, legislators left Raleigh last week without a budget. This leaves the state continuing to work from the prior year’s budget without any of the nonrecurring funding.

According to Sen. Burgin, legislators will come back to Raleigh at the end of July and they expect to override vetoes and potentially handle other policy items. A budget resolution is not imminent unless the House and Senate can close what is now a wide gap in their spending approaches to achieve the same target number.

ICYMI: Manufacturing Caucus

In case you missed it, there is a Manufacturing Caucus at the N.C. General Assembly. The bipartisan group, led by two House and two Senate members, one of which is Sen. Burgin, works to determine what our state must do to be as inviting as possible for manufacturing investment. “Is it just taxes, is it workforce, is it training? What are the pressure points that keep manufacturing from saying North Carolina is where we want to be?” asked Sen. Burgin. He referenced energy, affordable land, and inviting communities as priorities.

Child Care

Child care, which is, “one thing that concerns all businesses,” is seeing great policy momentum. Sen. Burgin has connected with Governor Josh Stein and expects to see the child care legislation, supported by the NC Chamber, on the governor’s desk signed into law this week. Those policies will increase flexibility, without compromising child safety, and hopefully draw more businesses into the child care space.

Additionally, Sen. Burgin is chairing the NC Task Force on Child Care and Early Education with Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt. They presented Governor Stein with their report on Friday and expect that to become public soon. Sen. Burgin commended the NC Chamber leadership and team for their engagement on this issue on behalf of the business community.

Talent

Sen. Burgin shared that 97% of incarcerated individuals will leave prison at some point and expressed the importance of plugging those people into our economy. He urged employers to consider their HR policies to find ways to attract this, often skilled, talent.

Education is key in reducing recidivism. “People that have education have options and some of those options are to go work for our state’s great manufacturers,” said Sen. Burgin. He shared that only 7% of those who achieve an undergraduate degree while incarcerated go back to prison and that number shrinks to zero with a master’s degree.  It is important that we continue to find ways to connect incarcerated individuals with the opportunity to earn certificates, degrees, and credentials so they can enter the workforce and provide for themselves and their families.

Sen. Burgin also plugged our state’s leading community college system by encouraging manufacturers that do not have a relationship with the local community college to reach out to its president to start a conversation. “Community colleges are one of the keys to manufacturing success,” said Sen. Burgin.

Energy

Access to affordable, reliable energy is critical to attracting continued investment – both from new companies and those looking to expand existing operations. Sen. Burgin is aware of three big tech groups looking at North Carolina and each one will use one nuclear reactor’s worth of energy if they come. While other states cannot provide enough energy, these companies are looking at North Carolina to see if we can do it.

Sen. Burgin feels nuclear is key in that conversation. “Nuclear I think will be the ticket, whether it’s small modular or base, it is critical to our future and we need to fast track it.” He is talking with federal officials to ease the process there and, in the meantime, is working to determine how to remove barriers at the state level because, “our state needs it.” The process to build is long and we must start now.

Environmental Regulation

Similar to the NC Chamber’s position, Sen. Burgin feels that we all want a safe environment, and it is possible to protect that while also allowing people to grow their businesses. He is cautiously optimistic that House Bill 402 will be one of the bills taken up for a veto override. Supported by the NC Chamber, the legislation ensures that rulemaking bodies operate within the authority that was granted to them by the state legislature.

Medicaid

Sen. Burgin is supportive of the Medicaid work requirement in the federal Big Beautiful Bill. However, if it disrupts the 90/10 split that is currently in place to fund Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, it could jeopardize the expansion altogether. Right now, the federal government pays 90% and the remaining 10% is covered by our state’s hospitals. If that 10% shifts to state coffers, it will likely end Medicaid expansion according to Sen. Burgin.

A proposal that Sen. Burgin would like to see considered is the use of Medicaid dollars to send those on Medicaid to community college for two years and provide them with child care so they can earn a degree or credential. Companies could be incentivized to hire those on Medicaid as well, which would connect these individuals with health insurance.

Quick Hits

Sen. Burgin also ticked off the following updates as it relates to his work for North Carolinians and the manufacturing community.

• The North Carolina Department of Transportation has done incredible work reopening roads following Helene’s damage in 2023 and while they are now focusing on secondary roads, there is still so much work to be done. Overall, money has been allocated, but the spending has been slow, and the need is so great. The best thing North Carolinians can do is visit Western North Carolina and spend money. Sen. Burgin did note that it’s also a balance between prioritizing recovery and continuing to invest in infrastructure across the state.
• Artificial intelligence is the focus of a national task force that Sen. Burgin is working on, and they will wind up their work at a meeting in Boston next month. He welcomes discussion on this policy.
• As the NC Chamber knows well, North Carolina continues to attract interest for foreign direct investment and Sen. Burgin cited engagement with Taiwan, Switzerland, and Germany specifically on the webinar.
• Boosting rural investment is the goal of policy Sen. Burgin introduced to incentivize ag manufacturing in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties by providing additional tax incentives for hires in those areas.
• It is time to do away with the gas tax and find another way to support and invest in infrastructure. Overall, Sen. Burgin wonders what our state should be doing as it relates to taxes. He is looking to the NC Chamber to help lead on determining that.

As for what Sen. Burgin is most excited about for North Carolina in the next ten years, what isn’t he excited about? We live in a fantastic state with a wonderful tax environment, that he says they are trying to make even better, and the military presence here is strong. He ran the bill to do away with taxing military retirement and hears time and again what a difference that makes in retaining our military retirees.

Ultimately though, Sen. Burgin is excited about the fact that so many people look at North Carolina and recognize it’s a great place to do business. We certainly echo that sentiment, and the collaboration between the business community and policymakers that makes it happen.

Missed today’s webinar? Click here to learn more about how you can get involved with the NC Manufacturing Council.