After more than two hours of debate, the N.C. House Friday afternoon passed a $24.5 billion General Fund budget by a 61-51 party-line vote. House Bill 966 heads to the Senate. Lawmakers considered 50 amendments during the two days of floor debate over the budget package. More than half…
John Bussian is the principal of the Bussian Law Firm, which specializes in media litigation and has long been a national leader in defending the First Amendment. Bussian and the firm, as its website says, have litigated myriad libel and open government…
The House passed its $24.5 billion General Fund budget for 2019-20 by a 61-54 margin Thursday, May 2, after spending three hours wrestling with 34 amendments. If House Bill 966, the 2019 Appropriations Act, passes…
Gentry Lassiter and his wife, Rebecca, run a small distillery on the main street in Knightdale. Lassiter Distilling Co. is the epitome of a small business, which the couple built just a few years ago. The Lassiters procure molasses, yeast, and other…
A sea of red shirts and picket signs flooded downtown Raleigh on Wednesday, May 1, and, for now, public opinion may be in their favor. But are the teachers and N.C. Association of Educators, which organized the rally, overplaying their hands, two policy experts ask.
Under the House General Fund budget for the University of North Carolina, the system would get a spending increase of $57 million over last year, bringing the budget up to $3.1 billion for the 17 campus system in 2019-20. A large chunk of money, $35…
The number of licensed professions has grown in the U.S. has grown exponentially since the 1950s. Today, about one in four jobs requires some sort of license. In North Carolina, more than 180 jobs — from EMTs to hair stylists…
The N.C. House, as lawmakers began reviewing the budget May 1, supported a sprawling transportation budget, allocating $2.3 billion for North Carolina’s Highway Fund, and $1.6 billion for the state’s Highway Trust Fund for fiscal year 2019-20. Spending for the Highway Fund is up $156…
State Rep. Greg Murphy will face Joan Perry July 9 in a runoff for the Republican nomination in the 3rd U.S. Congressional District. Former Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas won the Democratic nomination outright against five challengers. The special election, set for Sept. 10, will let voters choose a successor for…
The House proposed budget lowers some taxes, creates others, and cuts against the grain of past Republican efforts to prioritize savings reserves as a rainy day buttress to economic downturns and natural disasters. Lawmakers introduced House Bill 966 Monday, April 29, during an evening session. It …
