The N.C. General Assembly on Monday, March 1, tried but failed — by one vote, 29-20 — to override the governor’s veto of a bill to reopen schools, even as students — parents, too — suffer, and opinion polls show residents want children back in the classroom. Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 37 came about...
Gov. Roy Cooper’s 11th-hour veto of a school reopening bill Friday isn’t sitting well with nearly half of North Carolina likely voters, a Civitas Flash Poll shows. More than 49% of respondents to the poll say they oppose Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 37, a measure that requires school districts to offer in-person...
Public school systems in the Tar Heel State are experiencing the highest declines in student enrollment in decades. Since the pandemic arrived in North Carolina last March, student enrollment in public schools has declined 4.4%, or nearly 63,000 students. For context, that number is nearly the size of North Carolina’s third-largest school district, Guilford County’s....
Republican leaders in the N.C. General Assembly say they will consider overriding the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 37, the school reopening bill, as soon as Monday, March 1. The Senate is scheduled to return to session at 4 p.m., the House at 6. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the school reopening bill on Friday, Feb....
The General Assembly is again considering a mild expansion of gun rights in this legislative session, a year after Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a similar Second Amendment bill. The potential laws would give concealed handgun permit holders more freedom to carry their firearms — allowing some emergency medical personnel to carry a handgun on duty...
With new U.S. Census data not expected until September, the State Board of Elections is recommending moving all of this year’s municipal elections to 2022. Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell also told the elections board Tuesday, Feb. 23, she recommends delaying the 2022 primary elections from March until May. The changes would need to be...
Free-market advocates in North Carolina are optimistic the relaxing of regulations in the state will help promote the growth of broadband and help close the digital divide. Jon Sanders, research editor and senior fellow, Regulatory Studies, at the John Locke Foundation, told the Taxpayers Protection Alliance he’s optimistic the state Legislature could pass more laws...
Five years after House Bill 2 put North Carolina at the center of national controversy, cities in the state’s liberal enclaves are once again discussing discrimination and the LGBT community. Six cities and counties in North Carolina have passed ordinances that designate sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, and LGBT advocates are now...
Leaders in the General Assembly are planning to beef up the legislature’s oversight of state government, creating a new system that will be quick to act and more responsive to pressing issues in North Carolina. The new watchdog function will take place within the legislature’s joint committees and will replace the Program Evaluation Division, a...
A Greenville bar owner heads to court this afternoon to seek permission to reopen. Her case hinges on whether Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 executive orders discriminate illegally and unconstitutionally against private bars. “The vast majority of bars in North Carolina are open and serving patrons indoors,” according to the latest court filing from attorneys representing...
The N.C. House and Senate have come to terms on legislation to reopen schools for in-person instruction. The measure, Senate Bill 37, says schools shall provide the option of in-person instruction to students in grades kindergarten through 12 for the remainder of the scheduled 2020-21 school year. Classes would begin no later than the first...
