N Carolina Surplus, Budget Impasse Mean Lots Of Cash Unspent

North Carolina state government coffers are more flush than in recent memory as 2020 began. Analysts from both the legislative and executive branches agree state revenues are about $290 million ahead of expectations through the first half of this fiscal year. Growing individual income tax collections are the main reason. North Carolina has had revenue surpluses five years in a row. But the state's financial accounts also are higher now because a full two-year state budget has never been finalized, leading to money going unspent. As of Dec. 31, more than $2 billion had not been earmarked for anything in the state's accounts.