The N.C. House has approved its $22.2 billion General Fund budget plan for 2016-17, a proposal that would increase spending by roughly 2.3 percent. Becki Gray, the John Locke Foundation’s vice president for outreach, assesses the House plan and its highlights. They include pay raises for teachers and state workers, additional income tax cuts for anyone who takes a standard deduction, and an investment that boosts the state’s rainy-day reserves to $1.4 billion. Government policies can have a major impact on the types of energy you use, along with the costs. Donald Bryson, N.C. state director of Americans for Prosperity, is focusing attention on those policies. AFP is raising concerns about the potential costs associated with the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. The N.C. community college system has looked south to find its new president. Jimmie Williamson joins the community college system after serving as president of the S.C. Technical College System. During a recent briefing for reporters and community college supporters, Williamson explained that one of the most useful pieces of his professional resume involves a job he held outside the higher education sector. State lawmakers hope to reduce cases of drug overdose deaths through a new tool. Legislators approved a plan allowing the state health director to issue a “standing order” for naloxone. It’s a drug that can reverse the effects of a drug overdose within seconds. The standing order would allow people across the state to get naloxone at their pharmacies. With multiple lawsuits filed in connection with the controversial House Bill 2, it’s clear federal courts will decide the final outcome of the debate over the so-called “bathroom bill.” Jon Guze, JLF’s director of legal studies, dissects key legal issues the courts will address.