North Carolina

North Carolina amended its statutory code in 1991 to limit the growth of appropriations to 7% of state personal income.

§ 143-15.4. General Fund operating budget size limited. (a) Size Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the General Fund operating budget each fiscal year shall not be greater than seven percent (7%) of the projected total State personal income for that fiscal year. For the purpose of this section, the General Fund operating budget includes any appropriations for local tax-sharing, but does not include appropriations for (i) capital expenditures or (ii) one-time expenditures due to natural disasters, federal mandates, or other emergencies. (b) Increase in Size Limitation. To the extent that any percent increase in appropriations for a fiscal year for (i) Medicaid, (ii) operation of prisons, or (iii) the costs of providing health insurance for teachers and State employees, exceeds the percent increase in State personal income growth for the same period, the limitation on the size of the General Fund operating budget provided in subsection (a) of this section for that fiscal year shall be increased by the dollar amount represented by the excess percentage. For all subsequent fiscal years, the percent limitation contained in subsection (a) shall then be increased to reflect that dollar adjustment. (c) Fiscal Reports. The Office of State Budget and Management and the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly shall each submit a tentative estimate of total State personal income for the upcoming fiscal year to the General Assembly no later than February 1 of each year. The Office and the Fiscal Research Division shall each submit a final projection of total State personal income for the upcoming fiscal year to the General Assembly no later than May 1 of each year. The General Assembly shall use the lower of the two final projections to calculate the limitation on the size of the General Fund operating budget provided in this section. (1991, c. 689, s. 346; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 993, s. 14.)

-- THE NORTH CAROLINA CODE

North Carolina’s Constitution limits the state’s Governor to two consecutive terms.  A person can run for that office again after sitting out one term.

ARTICLE III -- EXECUTIVE

Sec. 2. Governor and Lieutenant Governor: election, term, and qualifications.

(1) Election and term. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State in 1972 and every four years thereafter, at the same time and places as members of the General Assembly are elected. Their term of office shall be four years and shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified.

(2) Qualifications. No person shall be eligible for election to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor unless, at the time of his election, he shall have attained the age of 30 years and shall have been a citizen of the United States for five years and a resident of this State for two years immediately preceding his election. No person elected to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor shall be eligible for election to more than two consecutive terms of the same office.

Created by: Jennifer L. Crull

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