The North Carolina legislature is set to convene for a new session, with Republicans leading both chambers and the Senate in a year-long dispute over the state budget. The House and Senate are expected to begin discussions about funding new programs, capital investments, and rising costs for state workers. This comes as Medicaid is expected to run out of money next month. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has laid out a spending plan for the new session that includes $319 million to fully fund Medicaid, which includes over 3 million low-income and disabled North Carolinians. Other issues include a proposed new constitutional amendment to limit cities' and counties' ability to set their own property tax rates. Additionally, Republican leaders are set to advance bills tackling social issues such as banning books with LGBTQ themes from elementary school libraries.