Opinion

Note to lawmakers: Don’t mess things up 

Starting in 2011, North Carolina lawmakers have implemented transformational changes resulting in a strong and growing economy. More people are working, more opportunities are available, and a streamlined, more efficient state government is treating residents more fairly and equitably.    We’ve come a long way. Don’t mess it up.   Faced with a $2.6 billion shortfall in 2011, legislative leadership had to make big changes quickly. They reduced...

Becki Gray
News

House sends hunting amendment to voters, voter ID to Senate

The General Assembly Monday night sent its first constitutional amendment to the state’s voters, and is close to passing several more. The final version of Senate Bill 677, which would enshrine the right to hunt and fish, passed the House 92-23, and the Senate 41-6. It will appear on the ballot in November. House Bill...

Will Rierson
News

Amendments protecting hunting and fishing, requiring voter ID move closer to full House vote

The House Rules Committee passed two potential constitutional amendments Thursday. If added to the House calendar, and passed by at least 72 members of the House (three-fifths of the chamber), the amendments  will appear on the November ballot. The committee passed Senate Bill 677, which would enshrine the right to hunt and fish, by a...

Will Rierson
News

Bill requiring agencies to inventory crimes on its way to governor

State and local governments, occupational licensing boards, and other public agencies will need to dust off their rule books. Legislation requiring all these entities to list the criminal offenses they impose and report them to the General Assembly by Dec. 1 passed the House Wednesday, June 13, and is on its way to Gov. Roy...

CJ Staff
News

House follows Senate, overrides governor’s veto of 2018-19 budget

The House completed the snub of Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget veto with a 73-44 override vote, as a single Democrat, outgoing Wake County Rep. Duane Hall, joined a unified Republican caucus. The House vote on the Republican-written $23.9 billion budget Tuesday, June 12, followed the Senate’s June 7 override. A veto override requires a three-fifths...

Dan Way
News

Governor’s brother manages businesses, in possible violation of judicial code

District Court Judge Pell Cooper, Gov. Roy Cooper’s brother, manages three businesses — a potential violation of state judicial rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest by judges. In 2009, state officials forced another district court judge who refused to leave two corporate boards to resign from the bench. [See editor’s note at end of...

Don Carrington

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News

Bill would make agencies list all crimes on N.C.’s books

Some North Carolina lawmakers are looking to simplify the state’s complex criminal code. The criminal laws are bloated, inconsistent, and redundant, said Steven Walker, general counsel to Lt. Gov. Dan Forest. Walker and several lawmakers introduced House Bill 379, “Recodification Working Group.” The measure would require state agencies, boards, and commissions to sort through and report...

Kari Travis
News

Ohio bank claims 100 percent renewable power from N.C. solar project 

Update: This story was updated 11:08 June 4, with a statement from Jordan McGillis, a spokesman for the Institute for Energy Research. Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank claimed in a March press release it’s the “first Fortune 500 company and first bank to contract for 100 percent renewable power through a single new project.” The project is...

Don Carrington
News

House sends budget to governor, who won’t say what happens next

Debate was more civil, but the outcome was the same. House Republicans followed the Senate’s lead, voting 66-44 to pass a $23.9 billion General Fund budget, and sent it to Gov. Roy Cooper over Democrats’ objections. Cooper, a Democrat whose $24.5 billion spending plan was dismissed by majority Republicans, has 10 days to sign the...

Dan Way
Opinion

Vote wisely when considering constitutional amendments 

What can lawmakers consider during the 2018 short session? Not everything, because of limits imposed by the long session Adjournment Resolution. Important issues such as school funding, certificate of need repeal, work requirements for Medicaid, repeal of the capital gains tax, changes to the ABC system, and more will be delayed until 2019.  But there’s still plenty of work for legislators. Cross-over bills are OK, as are all budget bills and...

News

State budget cuts taxes, raises salaries, and has money left for savings

The $23.9 billion state General Fund budget proposal reduces personal and corporate income taxes and increases education spending by nearly $700 million. It gives raises to teachers, principals, and state employees, and still sets aside millions of dollars in state reserves. The 2018-19 budget was released Monday night in the form of a take-it-or-leave-it conference...

Dan Way
News

GenX concerns cloud possible expansion of solar facility

The state Utility Commission will weigh whether the GenX compound that has polluted the Cape Fear River Basin could contaminate the Wilkinson Solar Plant in the Terra Ceia community of Beaufort County. Opponents of the 74-megawatt, industrial-scale solar generating plant have spent the past year raising concerns during N.C. Utility Commission hearings. It may be...

Dan Way
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