North Carolina may run out of room to borrow money for transportation projects in just a few years, according to a new report released this week by State Treasurer Dale Folwell. This puts in jeopardy the state’s Build NC Bonds, a…
Gov. Cooper’s commission proposes raising the sales tax and using half the proceeds to reduce the gas tax. The net tax hike would come to as much as $6.3 billion over the next 10 years.
State lawmakers are trying again to eliminate the use of hand-held cellphones by operators of motor vehicles. A bipartisan group of legislators recently introduced Senate Bill 20, “Hands Free NC,” in hopes it will go into effect July 1 if passed…
Less than a year after an audit of the N.C. Department of Transportation found massive overspending, a blue-ribbon panel is recommending the department get a 40% budget hike. The N.C. First Commission, created by former Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon to assess the state’s transportation priorities,…
Lawmakers are trying to fix the Department of Transportation’s spending problems that triggered mass layoffs, project delays, and chaos in the transportation industry. The department’s overspending exposed failures in oversight, both in the department itself and in the Council of Internal Auditing. The department’s internal oversight…
Now that we’ve been dealing with COVID-19 for several months, health experts have better information about the typical characteristics of patients struggling with the disease. Jordan Roberts, John Locke Foundation health care policy analyst, recently reviewed available data and compiled them for a COVID-19 patient profile. The 2020 election is…
Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the impact of recent N.C. Department of Transportation pay raises on the state’s public pension system. Kokai offered these comments during the Aug. 7, 2020, edition of UNC-TV’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”…
Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. N.C. State Fair: North Carolinanians won’t get to sample overindulgent fried foods or take a spin on some of the fair’s dizzying…
North Carolina’s state transportation budget is full of “cracks, potholes, and detours.” That’s the conclusion of the John Locke Foundation’s top budget analyst, Senior Fellow Joseph Coletti. He dissects key problems with the state Transportation Department’s budgeting practices. Gov. Roy Cooper recently issued a statewide order for North Carolinians to…
Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Here’s this week’s review: End of session: The General Assembly closed out the week with several failed attempts to override Gov. Roy…
