Sally Hodges-Copple

Posts by Sally Hodges-Copple

Tools & Resources
September 23, 2025

Public Comment: Work First TANF State Plan

To: Allison W. Smith, Deputy Director Division of Social Services Economic and Family Services NC Department of Health and Human Services 2420 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-2420   From: NC Budget & Tax Center PO Box 25374 Durham, North Carolina, 27702   RE: Work First TANF State Plan Public Comments Dear Deputy Director Allison…

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Blog
September 3, 2025

NC lawmakers haven’t passed a comprehensive state budget. What does that mean for me?

Two months into the new fiscal year and following the start of another school year, legislative leaders in North Carolina still haven’t passed a comprehensive state budget. Here’s what that means for you and your community. What happens if lawmakers don’t pass a budget? Does state government shut down? No. If lawmakers fail to pass…

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Tools & Resources
August 21, 2025

North Carolina can improve TANF policy to remove barriers to children’s well-being 

Note: Learn more about how North Carolina can improve TANF policy to boost employment outcomes here Reducing child poverty is one of the best investments North Carolina can make: Every $1 spent reducing childhood poverty is estimated to save $7 on the future societal costs of poor health, child maltreatment, and other harms. But North…

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Tools & Resources
August 21, 2025

North Carolina can improve TANF policy to boost employment outcomes

Note: Learn more about how North Carolina can improve TANF policy to remove barriers to children’s well-being here One goal of North Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) is to help participants achieve sustaining employment. But current rules discourage people from increasing their earnings and assets, while relying on counterproductive punishment strategies that…

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Tools & Resources
August 12, 2025

Fact Sheet: Harmful Republican Megabill Fails North Carolina Families, Children, and Communities

The Republicans’ harmful megabill, enacted through budget reconciliation on July 4, will raise costs for North Carolina families and take health coverage, food assistance, and other essentials away from North Carolinians who are already struggling to make ends meet – all while showering ever larger tax breaks on the wealthiest households. While parts of the…

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Blog Tools & Resources
July 15, 2025

“No Tax on Tips” is a gimmick — raising the minimum wage is the real deal

Most of us — across race, place, and background — all want to live in a North Carolina where people who work for a living can support their families, keep food on the table, and build a more secure future. But instead of advancing policies that raise wages and expand the opportunity to thrive, some…

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Blog
June 6, 2025

Deeper Dive: Which NC budget proposal delivers for families struggling with the cost of living, and which delivers for the top 1 percent?

Note: This blog post is one of a two-part publication providing information about the numerous tax policies in the 2025-27 NC State Budget process. We recommend starting with Part 1 here to read a general summary of the numerous tax policies listed out in the Governor, House, and Senate tax proposals. ****** Too many North…

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Blog
June 6, 2025

Which NC budget proposal delivers for families struggling with the cost of living, and which delivers for the top 1 percent?

Note: This blog post is one of a two-part publication providing information about the numerous tax policies in the 2025-27 NC State Budget process. If you wish to read in more detail about the impacts of tax policies contained in the Governor, House, and Senate budget proposals, read Part 2 here. ****** As we make…

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Blog
May 21, 2025

NC House budget offers tweaks in face of looming deficits, continues tax cuts for corporations

Note: On 5/22/25, the NC House passed their budget proposal on its third reading by a vote of 86-20. You can see how each lawmaker voted here. The final version restored funding for the Office of Environmental Education and dropped plans to eliminate the Office of Health Equity, though transferred the former to the Department of Natural and…

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Blog
April 17, 2025

Faced with pausing tax cuts for the rich or lowering state spending, NC Senate budget sides with the wealthy few

With the release of their budget proposal Monday night, Senate budget writers brazenly and unequivocally put tax cuts for corporations and the richest North Carolinians above any other priority for the state. Wednesday night, a mere 48 hours after the more than 1,000 pages of bill text and budget documents were released to the public…

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