If you can’t get a law, then go to court. Such was the theme of opening testimony for Common Cause v. Lewis, the partisan redistricting lawsuit launched last year by Common Cause NC, the N.C. Democratic Party, and a handful of individual…
On a Tuesday in June, mothers who lost children to distracted driving took a minute to speak. The mothers stood alongside N.C. lawmakers, who are pushing for legislation requiring drivers to put down their phones. Holding a phone while driving is akin to holding a weapon, Jeanette Nash told those…
North Carolina continues to see growth in homeschooling, charter schools, and private schools, a recent report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction says. The report shows more than 80,000 additional students have chosen an educational option beyond their locally assigned district school between 2008…
Partisan gerrymandering returns to state court Monday, July 15, for a battle that could stretch over weeks. On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision that federal judges should step out of squabbles over partisan redistricting, there is Common Cause v. Lewis.
As the 2020 elections approach, state lawmakers are working to protect absentee voters from fraud. If signed into law, Senate Bill 683 will require absentee voters to submit a ballot request form with a copy of their ID. This ensures the…
Despite low performance, NC Virtual Academy may get to raise its enrollment by 20% after the House approved legislation granting the enrollment growth. On Thursday, June 11, the House passed Senate Bill 392, by a vote of 87-26. The bill now…
The N.C. House on Thursday, July 11, after years of contentious debate and myriad failed efforts, were finally able to pass a bill, in an 86-28 vote, that would align craft distilleries more closely with rules governing wine and craft beer. The…
The N.C. House is poised to pass Senate Bill 290 — which passed the Senate, 39-4, June 25. A new version of S.B. 290 on Wednesday, July 10, passed the House Rules Committee. Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, announced in the meeting the bill had been combined…
The state House overwhelmingly passed a bill temporarily ending a stalemate over the budget. But even after House Bill 111 passed Wednesday, July 10, the General Assembly’s political game of chicken with Gov. Roy Cooper continues. At the center of the fight is Medicaid expansion. The…
The General Assembly is shuffling and slogging its way toward a simpler criminal code. Senate Bill 584, Criminal Law Reform, is another attempt to clean up North Carolina’s mishmash of criminal laws. Picking through the disarray is proving a slow process for lawmakers. The…
