The full legislature has gone home, but the work continues. A legislative committee that oversees government operations weighed in on three major news stories that have drawn media attention. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson discusses the questions legislators asked, and the decisions they made, regarding Gov. Pat McCrory’s call for a pause in the influx by the federal government of Syrian refugees into North Carolina, a prison maintenance contract renewed for a donor to the governor and other politicians, and raises approved behind closed doors for some UNC chancellors. Speaking of educators, they were the subject of recent comments by State Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. The Senate leader raised eyebrows recently during a speech for the Best NC group, which offers a business perspective on the state’s public education needs. Berger took aim at ineffective college education schools and questioned continued government spending on teaching assistants. You’ll hear his comments, along with reaction from Terry Stoops, the John Locke Foundation’s director of research and education studies. Next is a look at the life and legacy of the late 6th District Congressman, Howard Coble, the longest-serving Republican congressman in state history. Coble died at age 84 after a long illness. One of the mourners at Coble’s Greensboro funeral, former congressional colleague Robin Hayes, recalled Coble’s friendship and work ethic. That’s followed by a look at North Carolina’s auto insurance rates. North Carolinians often hear that this state has among the best auto insurance rates in the country. Stephen Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute, says that claim tells only part of the story. Pociask explains how North Carolina’s existing auto insurance system penalizes good drivers and prevents them from reaping the benefits of full-fledged competition among insurers. And finally, we look at innovations in health care with John Locke Foundation Health Care Policy Analyst Katherine Restrepo. She discusses direct primary care, a business model being adopted more and more as doctors seek to unburden their practices from the web of insurance paperwork and patients seek a more direct, personal relationship with their doctors.
Legislative Update: Refugees, Contracts, Pay Hikes
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