Budget negotiations among powerful legislators received most of the news coverage, but during the short session, lawmakers addressed other issues that will impact every North Carolinian. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray summarizes the non-budget efforts, including ethics reform, transparency, offshore drilling, campaign finance, and more. Then we turn to the summer’s battle over control of private property along the Yadkin River, which culminated in a free-press battle. Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, R-Cabarrus, used his legislative committee’s subpoena power to compel UNC Public Television and one of its reporters to provide unaired footage from an unfinished documentary focusing on the dispute. You’ll hear Hartsell read the reporter’s response to the subpoena. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson explains the significance of the episode for the reporter and for UNC TV as a news-gathering operation. Then, should long-time minimum wage workers get the first shot at education scholarships funded by North Carolina’s state lottery? State lawmakers debated that question this summer. You’ll hear arguments for and against that idea. That’s followed by differing views over how to fight North Carolina’s high public school dropout rate. One idea is to force students to remain in the classroom after age 16. Lawmakers debated the wisdom of this proposal during the closing days of the legislative session. You’ll hear highlights from the debate and analysis from Terry Stoops, Director of Education Studies for the John Locke Foundation. And finally, the state’s unemployment rate has been higher than the national average for more than a year. John Locke Foundation Director of Health and Fiscal Policy Studies Joe Coletti explains the factors that are hindering private-sector job growth, particularly the role that uncertainty plays in the decisions of business leaders who are way of putting capital at risk.
Legislative Session Recap: Budget, Ethics, and More
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