A court battle over legislative redistricting escalated Tuesday, July 2, into a tug-of-war over records that may or may not be considered public. The decision over the private/public question could be a game-changer in a lawsuit involving allegations of partisan gerrymandering. The dynamics of a fractured…
While initial rulings in the Leandro case had nothing directly to do with charter schools, recent discussions are bringing the traditional public school alternative into the conversation. Terry Stoops is vice president of research and director of education studies…
A push to reform North Carolina’s certificate-of-need restrictions on health providers will make it to the Senate floor. A watered-down version of CON reform laws, House Bill 126, passed the Senate Rules Committee Tuesday, July 2. CON laws require…
N.C. lawmakers, one could argue, have had unprecedented success this legislative session in reforming the state’s archaic laws governing spirituous liquor. Senate Bill 290 — which passed the Senate, 39-4, and was sent to the House, where it passed the House ABC Committee and now sits…
A bill allowing for a provisional funeral director license is moving through the Senate with little pushback from lawmakers. But some funeral directors and the N.C. Board of Funeral Service aren’t happy with the measure. House Bill 554, or the Funeral…
During a Friday, June 28, conference call, the State Board of Education agreed to delay implementing Istation, the state’s newly picked K-3 reading diagnostic tool. The decision, proposed by the Department of Public Instruction, resulted from concerns about a compressed timeline to put…
Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed the biennial budget bill, saying North Carolina residents are dying because Republicans won’t expand Medicaid rolls. With prospects of budget passage evaporating before the fiscal year ends at midnight June 30, Cooper and Republican lawmakers traded sharp accusations Friday, June…
The N.C. Senate passed a $24 billion General Fund spending plan without debate. The House took nearly an hour Thursday, June 27, before following suit and approving the 2019-21 compromise proposal, House Bill 966. The vote was 33-15 in the Senate;…
In a landmark victory for N.C. Republican lawmakers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled gerrymandered congressional districts are a political issue, which federal courts should not decide as a matter of law. In writing the 5-4 majority opinion for…
The N.C. Senate on Wednesday, June 26, unanimously passed House Bill 770, which prevents occupational licensing boards from automatically denying a license because of a prior conviction. The measure, otherwise known as the Freedom to Work bill, returns to the House…
