Video

The Debrief: REINS Act, energy mandates, and NC state budget

This week on “The Debrief” we focus on legislators’ efforts to rein in government regulators and get rid of costly renewable energy mandates. We discuss the latest on the state budget debate and efforts to protect young people using social media. We’ll also respond to a Democratic lawmaker’s controversial social media post in the context...

News

NCInnovation audit committee flags errors, delays final approval of IRS filing

The audit committee for NCInnovation, the state-funded nonprofit at the center of recent legislative and financial scrutiny, has delayed approval of its latest IRS Form 990 following a detailed review revealing compliance issues, disclosure gaps, and unresolved questions about past filings. The decision came during a lengthy audit committee meeting this week, where external auditors...

Donna King

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Locke’s Mitch Kokai assesses NC tax cut debate

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the divide between North Carolina House and Senate Republicans over future tax cuts. Kokai offered these comments during the June 13, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai
Video

The Debrief: Big Energy Savings, Big Government, And Big Storm Warnings

This week on The Debrief, Carolina Journal’s Donna King, Mitch Kokai, and Brianna Kraemer cut through the noise and break down the biggest headlines shaking up North Carolina. The House just voted to repeal the 2030 carbon mandate, promising $15 billion in savings—but critics say it jeopardizes clean energy; Meanwhile, the Senate passed the REINS...

News

NC Senate passes REINS Act to address costly regulations, boost oversight

North Carolina may join a growing number of states to rein in bureaucratic rulemaking with passage of the REINS Act. The measure imposes new checks on unelected regulatory bodies to curb the economic burden of expansive government. It now goes back to the North Carolina House for consideration.

CJ Staff
Opinion

Flashy but flawed: The myth of the sales tax holiday

Despite being touted as a pro–working-class policy that spurs economic activity, sales tax holidays fail to increase economic growth while imposing burdensome compliance costs on small businesses and disproportionately benefiting affluent individuals. From 2002 through 2013, North Carolina offered a back-to-school sales tax holiday during the first weekend in August, for which eligible items, such as school supplies and...

Joseph Harris