Senior North Carolina House budget writer Saine says he'll leave legislature next month

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A top budget writer and Republican leader in the North Carolina House said Monday that he will resign his legislative seat next month, further thinning out the GOP governance team next year when combined with the upcoming departure of Speaker Tim Moore.

Rep. Jason Saine of Lincoln County confirmed that he will step down from his 97th House District seat effective Aug. 12. He said he planned to file his formal resignation letter later Monday.

Saine, who joined the House in 2011, rose through the chamber’s ranks as the GOP tightened its electoral grip on the General Assembly. He became a chairman of the House Finance Committee, which considers tax policy, in 2015. Four years later he become a senior co-chair of the House Appropriations Committee, becoming heavily involved in budget negotiations with the Senate and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

In recent years, he’s also been the House’s chief advocate for authorizing state-regulated sports gambling, which began in March after a law was enacted in 2023. A Saine news release also lists several awards for his legislative activity, including an early-career award for his efforts to regulate commercial dog breeders. And he was the 2018 national chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is known for providing model legislation to conservative legislators on a variety of topics.

Saine, 50, said he’s “stepping away from public life to embrace new professional opportunities” that will allow him to keep advocating for issues he is passionate about. Saine, whose nonlegislative job has included public relations and marketing, said in a text that he was considering a marketing position with a mental health company. Saine said he also wanted to spend more time with his family, which includes a teenage son.

Saine’s resignation comes as Moore, who is serving a record fifth two-year term as speaker, runs for Congress this fall and won’t return to Raleigh. Saine was considered a potential successor as speaker, but he and Majority Leader John Bell last year got behind Rules Chairman Destin Hall for the post in 2025.

Saine was running unopposed this November for reelection to the 97th District, which comprises all of Lincoln County and whose voters lean heavily Republican. Lincoln County Republicans will have to choose someone to serve out the remainder of Saine’s two-year term through December, as well as someone to replace him as the GOP candidate in the district this fall.

News of Saine’s departure comes two weeks after GOP Sen. Jim Perry of Lenoir County announced his resignation. He also was a strong supporter of sports gambling legislation.