News

Sunshine Amendment Scuttled After GOP Caucus Balks

RALEIGH — House Bill 87’s chief sponsor, Republican Rep. Stephen LaRoque of Lenoir County, said the shift to a statute was necessary due to concerns from both parties that amending the constitution was a bridge too far.

David N. Bass

Debate Heats Up Over State Health Plan and Tort Reform

RALEIGH — A heated debate over reforms in the State Health Plan broke out on the House floor Thursday. Democrat Jennifer Weiss of Wake County said the bill would impose “draconian costs” on state employees, many of whom make between $30,000 and $40,000 per year. She suggested instead implementing a $1-per-package cigarette tax to close the budget gap.

Sara Burrows

NCICL’s Jeanette Doran explains how a ‘but for’ test would improve N.C. economic incentives

Jeanette Doran, senior staff attorney for the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, explains how a “but for” test would improve North Carolina’s existing program of targeted tax incentives. Doran offered these comments during an interview for Carolina Journal Radio (Program No. 411).

Slush Funds Survive Party Change

RALEIGH — The practice has been characterized by various state officials as problematic, shrouded in secrecy, lacking accountability, and being an end run around the legislature. DOT records show former Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, personally authorized at least $50 million for nearly 800 projects over his 18-year tenure as Senate leader.

Don Carrington

VIDEO: Bill Would Protect Athletes With Concussions

RALEIGH — The bill will be named after Matthew Gfeller, who died of a brain injury sustained during a high school football game. He played for R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem. The bill is likely to require athletes showing any sign of a concussion to be pulled from competition until testing shows it's safe for the athlete to return to play.

Anthony Greco

Treasurer seeks to reform health plan

We need to arm patients with more information and choice. And we need to do these things right now.

John Hood

Nicholas Spetsas, Charles Buist

The rise of AI and social media in personal injury law

Anything you post online could harm your case, as the defense attorneys and insurance adjusters will scrutinize your social media for reasons to deny or reduce your claim for damages.

With legislative action, NC poised to become stablecoin capital

The GENIUS Act didn’t just set federal policy; it ignited the next great wave of American financial innovation. And that wave is breaking first on North Carolina’s shores. On July 15, 2025, just two days before the US House passed the bill and three days before President Trump signed it into law, I met with...

Dan Spuller

Dispute at second-highest NC court highlights AI’s potential pitfalls

A negligence case stemming from a fallen tree branch takes an interesting technological turn.

Mitch Kokai

House rich and cash poor: lessons on liquidity

For all of us, being sure that you can meet essential expenses when things go wrong is an important part of financial well-being, and a key but underappreciated way to have an even happier life.

Brad Briner

Should NC reform its primary system? The case to return to 40% threshold

In a Carolina Journal poll conducted shortly after the November elections, 43% of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the 2024 primaries, stating that they did not produce the best candidates for the general election. While 46% were satisfied and 10% were unsure, the significant level of dissatisfaction highlights potential issues within North Carolina’s primary system.

Boliek sworn in as state auditor, says he’ll start with audit of DMV

On Wednesday, Dave Boliek was sworn in as the new state auditor of North Carolina and announced his hires for senior staff and says he will start work with an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Katherine Zehnder

2024 in review: A year of civic engagement in NC

The year 2024 was marked by significant developments across politics, the economy, education, and energy in North Carolina. As one of the nation’s most dynamic and closely watched states, it played a pivotal role in shaping regional and national conversations.

Trump nominates Bishop to be deputy director for budget at OMB

"Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees," Trump said in a press release issued Tuesday night. "Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State."

Theresa Opeka

Democrats want federal court to address GOP challenge of 60,000 NC ballots

The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Friday to ensure challenges of 60,000 ballots in the state's latest election are addressed in federal court. Republicans filed the challenges with the State Board of Elections. The challenges could affect the outcome of the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin, along with a handful of state legislative contests.

CJ Staff

Griffin asks Appeals Court to order decision on election protests by Tuesday

Republican North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin is turning to North Carolina’s second-highest court for an order that would force state election officials to make a final decision about Griffin’s election protests Tuesday. The State Board of Elections had planned to hear oral arguments about the protests the following day, according to a document Griffin filed Friday with the state Court of Appeals.

CJ Staff

The Debrief: Trump tariffs head to the high court

Voters in many North Carolina cities made their choices this week in municipal elections. We recap the top results and look at some of the major voting decisions across the nation. Then we turn attention to a national story with major North Carolina implications: the future of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The nation’s highest court...

Locke’s Mitch Kokai responds to AG Jackson’s lawsuit over SNAP benefits

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson joining Democratic counterparts in other states in a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. It focuses on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Kokai offered these comments during the Oct. 31, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai

Locke’s Donald Bryson discusses SCOTUS case dealing with Trump’s emergency tariffs

Donald Bryson, John Locke Foundation CEO and Carolina Journal publisher, discusses the US Supreme Court case addressing President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs. Locke filed a joint amicus brief challenging the constitutionality of emergency tariffs. Bryson offered these comments during the Oct. 28, 2025, episode of Spectrum News’ “Capital Tonight.”

Donald Bryson

Carolina Journal’s Donna King analyzes NC congressional redistricting plans

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the North Carolina General Assembly’s plans to redraw the state’s congressional election map. King offered these comments during the Oct. 17, 2025, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Podcast: Revolutionary Roads

As the United States prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2026, this podcast explores North Carolina’s pivotal role in the nation’s founding — from the War of Regulation to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and beyond. This 10-episode series, hosted by John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson, features guests with...

The Debrief: Legislator arrested, Iryna’s Law aftermath, Oct. 7 remembered

This week on The Debrief, a Guilford County legislator’s arrest on sex-related charges prompts quick reaction from colleagues. Gov. Josh Stein chose an unusual way to signal his signing of Iryna’s Law. We discuss the governor’s video message and get expert analysis of the law’s potential impact. We also highlight a possible federal response. Lawmakers at the...

Another John Birch moment

If the right fails to police their side and lets it be conquered by white nationalism and conspiracy madness, we will be dragged down the same way the left has been by "woke." And we will have nobody to blame but ourselves.

David Larson

Historic discovery rewrites T. rex history

An NC State paleontologist discovered definitive proof that the Nanotyrannus is indeed its own species of dinosaur.

Jacob Emmons

NC State Fair draws nearly a million for new foods, celebrity buzz

The 2025 NC State Fair drew nearly a million visitors, mixing classic attractions, new food trends, and celebrity buzz over its 11-day run.

Julianna Roseland

5 years of fighting human trafficking in NC

Despite progress, there is still so much work ahead. NC consistently ranks among the top 10 states in the nation for reported human-trafficking cases.

Simon Arkley

Locke’s lessons for a government in gridlock

John Locke's insights aren’t dusty history, but living ideas guiding how our government must act and what citizens must expect.

The importance of civic engagement 250 years after the founding

What YMCA's Youth and Government program is doing is remarkable. This year’s conference garnered interest from NC state legislators, mayors, policy analysts, and state officials.

Drew DiMeglio

Institute fosters stronger public leadership

Times change. When we introduce IOPL to potential fellows, partners, and donors, some hear the word “political” and think “toxic,” or at least “partisan.”

John Hood

NC leaders champion post-election unity through ‘Civic Saturdays’

Like a faith gathering, it incorporated music, fellowship, shared meals, and thoughtful discourse — but with democracy as its central theme.

Ashlynn Warta

For healthy civil society, politics needs to stay in its lane

Political and cultural causes are important. They motivate us to make the world around us better and hone our sense of justice. Also, the excitement of fighting the good fight can be, for lack of a better word, fun. But everything has its time and place. And even if we think a particular political issue...

David Larson

Flashback: North Carolina’s Easter Monday tradition forged on the baseball diamond

On Good Friday state offices will be closed in North Carolina for Holy Week, along with 10 other states. However, that has not always been the case in North Carolina. The Monday after Easter — rather than Good Friday — was a legal holiday in North Carolina for 52 years, and for many years before...

Dallas Woodhouse

Carolina Journal’s Donna King discusses Disney going ‘woke’

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses Disney’s controversial programming changes. King offered these comments during the April 8, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”