Gov. Roy Cooper this year said his administration was exploring the development of a vaccine passport for residents. “We want to be able to help people to be able to show others that they have gotten the vaccine because a lot of people are going to want that,” the governor said while touring a vaccination...
In a late-night legislative session, the N.C. House passed an energy bill early Thursday morning, July 15, that prescribes retirement for certain coal-fired plants, increases sourcing from renewables, and significantly alters the oversight authority of the N.C. Utilities Commission. Though developed over the past 18 months with a select group of stakeholders, changes to major...
The exclusive teaching of Critical Race Theory in public school classrooms would be outlawed under a bill making its way through the N.C. Senate. On Wednesday, July 14, the Senate Education Committee took up a proposed committee substitute for House Bill 324, a measure that passed the House on May 12 in a 66-48 party-line...
Erik Hooks has announced his retirement from Gov. Roy Cooper’s Cabinet, ending a long career in state public safety. Hooks, secretary of the state Department of Public Safety, has served in the role since the beginning of Cooper’s first term. He helped oversee North Carolina’s response to hurricanes, violence in understaffed prisons, mob teardowns of...
It’s now a time in North Carolina to dismiss policy based on politics and embrace a move toward legislation focusing on common sense, John Locke Foundation legislative experts say. A time to turn toward hope and a prosperous future for N.C. families. How that future looks depends largely on the makeup of our state government...
Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed more legislation than all other North Carolina governors combined. With the past three vetoes stamped over the past three weeks, Cooper’s total comes to 57 vetoes, and the session isn’t over. The next closest was Democrat Gov. Bev Perdue, with 20 vetoes during her tenure from 2009 to 2013. Her...
The N.C. State Board of Education has OK’ed the final round of “unpacking documents” for new controversial social studies standards for K-12 public schools. The vote Thursday, July 8, means social studies teachers now have the full range of guiding documents to implement the revised standards for the coming school year. As with past votes,...
The purpose of the certificate-of-need law, according to the state health department, is to restrict “unnecessary cost increases” and “limit unnecessary services” in health care across the state. But it may do the opposite, limiting access and stifling competition. The law prohibits health care providers from acquiring, replacing, or adding to their facilities and equipment,...
North Carolina boasts three of the top four metro areas in a new national ranking comparing a decade’s worth of housing growth to job growth. California claims the three lowest rankings in the list compiled by the Manhattan Institute. Durham-Chapel Hill ranks No. 1 in the list of 20 metro areas, ahead of Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar...
At least one local board of education has voted to delay controversial new social studies standards that emphasize race and gender in teaching U.S. history and civics. The Moore County Board of Education voted unanimously June 14 to adopt a resolution, urging the N.C. State Board of Education or lawmakers to delay implementation of the...
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Friday that would have ended $300 in extra weekly federal unemployment benefits in North Carolina. The bill also would have tightened job search requirements to continue collecting unemployment. North Carolina would have joined 25 other states in cutting off the federal unemployment supplement. Other states have cited labor shortages...
