More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic brought North Carolina to a screeching halt, Gov. Roy Cooper shows no sign of relinquishing the sweeping and open-ended emergency powers he has claimed under state law. The General Assembly is now trying once again to clarify exactly…
Even as a bill to reopen schools across North Carolina garnered unanimous bipartisan support and was fast-tracked through the legislature, North Carolina’s teacher’s union released a statement blasting Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and lawmakers from both political parties for the compromise. In a rare instance of bipartisan agreement, Cooper…
A group of N.C. House lawmakers have introduced a bill to, they say, strengthen and clarify current law to require approval from a majority of the Council of State for emergency actions by the governor. “This is not a Republican or Democrat issue,” said Rep. John…
Article updated at Thursday, March 11. to include Senate and House proceedings and governor’s signing. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican lawmakers have reached an agreement on reopening public schools for in-person instruction under a compromise plan that returns most decision-making autonomy to local school boards. The state Senate voted…
N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, says lawmakers are negotiating with Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, on a plan to reopen schools. Berger, in a news conference Tuesday, March 9, with Sen. Deanna Ballard, R-Watauga, offered no specifics about the plan. Berger had scheduled a…
The General Assembly has passed with a unanimous vote a new COVID relief bill that would direct nearly $1.7 billion in aid across the state. The legislature now will consider more contentious pandemic-related legislation, including a new bill that would allow the state’s bars and restaurants…
A majority of North Carolina public school students failed to pass end-of-course tests in fall 2020, according to new data from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The results were discussed at a state Board of Education meeting Wednesday, March 3. The data suggest learning losses for students due…
After coming up one vote short in its first effort to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill to reopen schools, the Senate is moving to try again. Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, announced that he would bring…
The N.C. General Assembly is considering a new COVID relief bill that would spend more than $600 million, primarily on North Carolina’s colleges and universities, and K-12 schools. The money comes from the federal government, part of the $2.3 trillion spending bill passed at the end…
Lawmakers in the General Assembly have filed a series of bills that would exempt counties they represent from some or all of Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID restrictions. These so-called “local bills” only apply to a small number of counties each. But unlike statewide legislation, these bills…
