Alexandria, VA—The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF) has just released its ratings of the 2018 meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly. ACUF’s Ratings—both federal and state—are an initiative of ACUF’s Center for Legislative Accountability. These ratings are designed to reflect how over 8,000 of the nation’s elected officials view the role of government and illustrate the differences between chambers of the legislature, while revealing lawmakers’ positions on a wide variety of issues that directly affect North Carolinians.

ACUF reviewed each piece of legislation voted on in both the Senate and House to produce average scores of each chamber as well as individual scores for each sitting member. According to ACUF’s Year in Review, the North Carolina General Assembly’s overall conservative score improved compared to the 2017 session (from 64.21 percent to 70.94 percent).

North Carolina legislators voted on key issues during the 2018 session. In one or both chambers, they voted to override the governor’s veto of a more fiscally responsible budget, allow municipalities to establish charter schools, and allow nonprofits to offer health benefit plans.

“In the 2018 session, lawmakers of the North Carolina General Assembly rejected Gov. Cooper’s problematic budget proposal and instead passed a budget that could garner the votes necessary to cut taxes and reduce wasteful spending,” said ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp. “Legislators also reduced health care costs for everyone by allowing nonprofits to offer health benefit plans that aren’t burdened with disastrous Obamacare insurance mandates. We salute North Carolina lawmakers who continue to show a commitment to conservative solutions despite the governor’s resistance to fiscal responsibility and a freer market in health care.”

The average score for Republican North Carolina Representatives was an impressive 90 percent, while 57 percent of all representatives earned awards for scoring 80 percent or better. The average score for Republican North Carolina Senators was an impressive 97 percent. Over 62 percent of North Carolina Senators earned awards. The overall average for the North Carolina General Assembly was 70.94 percent.

Click here to view the 2018 Ratings of North Carolina online and click here to visit our website.