July 12, 2026

After Two Years, a Budget — and a Record That Clears Itself

12 minutes

After more than two years — an entire fiscal year with no spending plan at all, the only state in the country in that spot — North Carolina finally passed a full budget this week. Governor Josh Stein signed the $34.4 billion plan on July 7, and it lands where people feel it: an average 8% raise for teachers, with beginning salaries jumping from $41,000 to $48,000, plus $700 million more for Hurricane Helene recovery in the western mountains and over $1 billion to fully fund Medicaid.

The Tenth's July 12 briefing covers that budget (S257, passed 35-10 in the Senate and 86-21 in the House) and the quieter signings that shaped the week: Missouri's Clean Slate law (SB1421), which makes expungement of eligible misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies automatic — no lawyer, no petition, no fee, run by the state Highway Patrol; New Jersey's energy package tying the cost of AI data centers to the companies that strain the grid rather than to household bills (including A2757, projected to save ratepayers about $60 million a year); and two of the 34 bills Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed July 10 — the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Young Voter Empowerment Law (HB4339) and a new courtroom defense for survivors of coerced debt (HB4659). Plus a look at the week ahead in Washington, where three committees take up permanent daylight saving time (HR139), a ban on China- and Russia-controlled connected cars (S4429), and a fix to a 72-hour paperwork trap in Native health coverage (HR8658).

It comes back to a man at a kitchen table in Missouri, checking the same box on every job application for a decade — and a state that just decided that box will eventually clear itself. For the full text, status, and plain-English breakdown of any bill we mentioned, head to amendment.app.

The Tenth is produced with AI-generated hosts working from human-edited, fact-checked briefings; every bill, vote, and quote is real and sourced.

Bills in this episode: