1 Year After H.R. 1, North Carolina Budget Leaves Families and Counties to Pay the Price
Budget approved by state lawmakers fails to fund new SNAP costs while continuing tax cuts that primarily benefit wealthy households and profitable corporations
RALEIGH, N.C. — One year after H.R. 1 was signed into law, North Carolina lawmakers have approved a state budget that compounds the federal law’s harm. H.R. 1 made historic cuts to food and health assistance while transferring substantial new responsibilities and expenses to states and local governments — all to finance tax breaks that disproportionately benefit wealthy households and corporations.
Beginning Oct. 1, the federal government will reduce its share of SNAP administrative costs from 50 percent to 25 percent, leaving North Carolina and its counties responsible for the remaining 75 percent. Yet the state budget does not provide funding to help counties cover their increased costs.
Instead, legislative leaders have left counties to absorb the additional costs while asking voters in November to approve a constitutional amendment requiring limits on local property tax revenue growth. That amendment could make it even more difficult for counties to fund food assistance administration, public K-12 education, emergency response and other essential services.
Nearly 1.3 million North Carolinians rely on SNAP to put food on the table. The program also supports grocery stores, farmers, and other businesses throughout the state. Making SNAP more difficult and expensive to administer threatens not only families’ access to food but also the local economies that depend on their spending.
The harm is already becoming visible. Nearly 180,000 fewer North Carolinians were receiving SNAP in March than when H.R. 1 was enacted in July 2025 — a decline of about 13 percent. Those losses are expected to grow as the law’s eligibility restrictions are fully implemented.
North Carolina enters this period of H.R. 1 implementation with fewer resources because federal and state lawmakers have repeatedly prioritized policies that primarily benefit wealthy households and profitable corporations. Together, recent federal and state tax decisions mean the richest 1 percent in North Carolina will pay $4.9 billion less taxes in 2026 than they would have in 2018. This is even as the state faces federal funding losses, rising costs, and growing needs.
Those choices will have consequences beyond SNAP. H.R. 1 also makes deep reductions to Medicaid and other health coverage, putting access to care at risk and placing additional strain on hospitals, health providers, families and communities across North Carolina.
Partners across North Carolina underscored how the federal law and state budget choices will affect families, local governments and communities:
“Congress made it harder for families to afford food and health care and then sent part of the bill to states and local communities. North Carolina’s legislative leaders had an opportunity to protect families and help counties manage these new costs. Instead, they passed a budget that continues tax cuts primarily benefiting the richest North Carolinians and profitable corporations while leaving communities without the resources they need.” — Alexandra Sirota, NC Budget & Tax Center
“One year after H.R. 1, North Carolina classrooms are quietly absorbing the cost. As families lose access to programs like SNAP and Medicaid schools lose the enrollment counts tied to those programs and with them, funding formulas built to serve working-class students. North Carolina had the resources to protect that funding gap and chose not to.” — Bekah Brown, Education Justice Alliance
“Access to SNAP and Medicaid is essential for successful reentry, community safety, and public health. People returning home from incarceration already face significant barriers, including high rates of food insecurity, chronic health conditions, and challenges finding stable employment. Work reporting requirements, and the associated cuts to basic nutrition and healthcare, shepherded in by H.R. 1, will deepen those challenges, increase recidivism, and harm families and communities across our state.” — Laura Webb, Fair Chance Project, NC Justice Center
“Families across North Carolina are being asked to pay the price for tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest among us. H.R. 1 slashed essential services to finance those breaks, and instead of preparing North Carolina for the harmful federal cuts, legislative leaders compound that harm in this state budget by continuing tax cuts and making it harder for counties to cover rising costs. Together, these choices leave our communities with fewer resources to meet growing needs and invest in the well-being of everyone.” — Mikayla Massey, NC Black Alliance
“H.R.1 included the biggest cuts to Medicaid, in the program’s history. The cuts have been sold as cost savings at the federal level, but we’re not buying it – they shift costs to the states, to rural hospitals, and to Americans who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance. Instead of mitigating the harms, North Carolina lawmakers have chosen to prioritize corporate interests and the wealthy few over the needs of hardworking North Carolinians.” — Nicole Dozier, North Carolina Justice Center
“Families of all ages are struggling to afford the basics and to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, and rent. At the same time, millions of people across the US have lost SNAP nutrition benefits. Hunger hasn’t changed, but changes at the federal and state level are making it harder to end hunger in North Carolina.” — Kate Hanson, Meals4Families
