RALEIGH — The action was in the House of Representatives, where legislators pushed forward measures requiring voters to present a photo ID at the polls and lifting the cap on charter schools. A proposed constitutional amendment expanding access to government records and meetings stalled.
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue's $19.9 billion budget relies on an extension of a three-quarter-cent sales tax increase enacted in 2009. Republicans vowed to repeal the tax in last year's campaign.
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue offered a mixed bag in her State of the State address Monday night — proposing a cut in the corporate income tax rate to 4.9 percent while vowing not to reduce taxpayer-financed incentives to businesses. She also proposed a new program offering free two-year degrees for high-performing high school graduates.
RALEIGH — The divisions between the legislature and the governor were so pointed that they could not agree publicly on whether, or to what extent, they negotiated with one another as the Balanced Budget Act of 2011 moved forward.
RALEIGH — Two high-profile bills are expected to cross over to their second chamber this week — one tackling the state’s estimated $3.4-billion deficit, the other putting formally North Carolina in opposition to the Obama administration’s federal health care reforms.
RALEIGH — Republican leaders signaled a new direction in three high-profile areas: fiscal policy, education, and health care.
RALEIGH — As Republican senators approved a bill in committee that could slice almost $1 billion from the state’s Fiscal Year 2011-12 deficit, they learned that lower projected spending and higher-than-expected revenue could shrink next year's expected shortfall even further.
RALEIGH - At the first meeting of an economic development oversight committee members learned of an unexpected loophole in the Dell incentive package. The computer company closed its Forsyth County assembly plant just a few years after opening it despite its record-setting incentive deal. The plant may be closed, but the computer maker can still claim some tax breaks from the incentives as long as it maintains any presence in the state. The presence could be as meager as a mall kiosk.
DURHAM — After an extensive study of the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control system, Gov. Bev Perdue announced Thursday that she opposes privatizing the system. She said privatization would not generate enough money to offset the cash lost if government gave up control.
RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Revenue says the counties with the largest spike in value during the real estate boom also are most likely to see the greatest fall in value this year.
RALEIGH — The Wake County Taxpayers Association is preparing a petition it hopes will force Raleigh and Wake County into getting voter approval for any new debt. The process for putting the petition into action is a complicated one. It's unclear whether the group even has enough signatures, although its members say they're confident they have the right number.
