A week into the federal government’s shutdown, North Carolinians should say ‘thank you’ to the forward thinking conservative leadership of recent years for avoiding a similar state government shutdown happening here.

While leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly continue to negotiate a new budget, state government has continued to operate, thanks to the 2016 budget provision, “Budget Stability and Continuity.” Under that tiny provision, if a new fiscal year begins without an updated budget, then existing levels of recurring spending continue. This means state agencies, schools, and other key government services remain funded even without a new budget. This “evergreen” provision prevents the histrionics regularly seen in Washington and gives state legislators more time to carefully consider what updates to the budget need to be made.

In the meantime the legislature passed “mini budgets,” including one in July and another in September that met several immediate needs, such as funding the NC Promise Program and providing disaster relief funds.

The Budget Stability and Continuity provision, along with wise savings and historic tax reforms, have kept North Carolina on solid footing. On this and several other common sense reforms, the federal government would be a lot better off if it followed the lead of the North Carolina General Assembly.