North Carolina Sen. Lee’s current operations appropriations bill passes House and Senate

Passed bill sponsored by State Sen. Michael V. Lee aims to allocate funding for state operations and transportation over the 2025-27 fiscal biennium while ensuring fiscal provisions apply only within that period, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

In the House, 25 Democrats and 61 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 20 Democrats opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, four Democrats and 26 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 14 Democrats and one Republican voted against it.

Lee filed the bill in the North Carolina Senate on March 10 during the 2025 regular session.

The legislation, known as SB 257, was passed on May 22 during the 2025 regular session.

According to the North Carolina General Assembly site, the bill’s official text was formally listed with the short title: “2025 Appropriations Act.”

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

In essence, this bill, known as the “Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2025,” allocates funds from both the General Fund and the State Highway Fund for the 2025-27 fiscal biennium to support the operations of state departments, institutions, and the Department of Transportation. It also includes appropriations from federal block grant funds for various state programs. The act mandates that any savings from unutilized allocated funds revert to the appropriate fund at the fiscal year’s end unless otherwise stated by law. The State Budget Act’s provisions are incorporated, ensuring that the fiscal planning applies only to activities and funds within the specified biennium, starting July 1, 2025. The bill also includes a severability clause to maintain the act’s validity if parts are invalidated.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Brent Jackson (Republican-9th District), Sen. Ralph Hise (Republican-47th District), and Sen. Michael V. Lee (Republican-7th District).

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.

Lee graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991 with a BA and again in 1997 from Wake Forest University Law School with a JD.

Lee, a Republican, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 7th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Jim Perry.