North Carolina Gov. Cooper says Medicaid expansion and other investments made 2023 a big year

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — As Republicans used their legislative heft in 2023 to enact more rightward policies that he opposes, North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday that federal capital investments, Medicaid expansion and more jobs announcements are building historic momentum for the state.

“We’re strengthening our communities, our infrastructure and our economy,” the second-term governor said in a year-end interview with The Associated Press. “We’re laying a groundwork to help North Carolinians right now and for decades in the future.”

Billions of dollars are entering the state from federal legislation, such as for high-speed internet in rural areas and for building roads, bridges and public transportation. Earlier this week in Raleigh, Cooper and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg celebrated the state receiving a $1.1 billion grant to begin construction of a high-speed passenger rail line connecting the state capital and Richmond, Virginia.

The contributions also include the hundreds of millions of dollars a month that will cover the costs of low-income adults who until recently made too much to enroll in Medicaid. In March, the governor signed a bipartisan bill that directed his administration to accept the Medicaid expansion offered through the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act.

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After the state cleared a final hurdle with the passage of a state budget in October, expansion began on Dec. 1, with the number of people automatically enrolled approaching 300,000. Another 300,000 or so are expected to be added over time.

Cooper had made expansion a top priority since becoming governor in 2017, but it took Republican lawmakers several years to come around to the idea. Cooper said one of his best days as governor happened Dec. 1 when he met in Charlotte with people who, with tears in their eyes, were able to obtain health insurance.

“It’s a big deal for our state,” the governor said. The year was also marked by economic development announcements, particularly in the clean-energy field, that Cooper has highlighted. Toyota said in October that it would spend another $8 billion on its electric battery plant it’s building outside of Greensboro, generating another 3,000 jobs.

Save for expansion and legislation on a few other topics, Cooper’s legislative year was marked by a series of defeats resulting from the veto-proof majorities that the GOP now holds in both chambers.

By the time the annual session ended in October, all 19 of Cooper’s vetoes had been overridden. Those enacted laws tightened North Carolina’s ban on most abortions from after 20 weeks of pregnancy to 12 weeks, prohibited gender-affirming medical treatments for youth, and shifted power to choose members of key state board and commissions from the governor to legislators.

Republicans, who take credit for the state’s strong fiscal and economic picture, have said that the public wanted this year’s policy prescriptions and that the powers between executive and legislative branches need to be rebalanced.

Republicans had fallen one House seat short of holding complete veto-proof power after the November 2022 elections. But in April, Rep. Tricia Cotham’s party switch gave the GOP supermajorities in both chambers — opening the door to overrides at will.

“I think North Carolinians prefer a more balanced government,” Cooper told the AP. “And we see what happens when the legislature has a supermajority. They sacrifice long-term benefit and long-term good governance for short-term political gain.” Cooper sued this fall to challenge the new boards and commissions laws, with some success so far.

The 2024 legislative session won’t begin until late April, but Cooper said he plans to focus on trying to restore and build spending for public education to neutralize that veto-proof control. He said he plans to ask the business community to get more involved in lobbying the General Assembly for appropriations.

“Their future workforce depends on our success in education in North Carolina,” he said.

Cooper, 66, said he’ll campaign hard next year to get current Attorney General Josh Stein elected governor, eliminate the GOP supermajorities and help President Joe Biden win a second term. Cooper has taken an active role as a Biden surrogate.

As 2024 progresses, Cooper will face the “lame duck” label more acutely. Cooper is prohibited by the state constitution from seeking a third consecutive term. This means the ex-legislator and former attorney general won’t be an elected state official for the first time since 1987.

“The fact remains that I’ve got more than a year to do a lot and I’m going to cherish every day,” Cooper said.

As for his future after governor, Cooper said: “I love public service. So you never know what might be next. And I don’t know at this moment.”