It wasn’t about partisan politics, former Gov. Jim Martin said. It’s something much worse. Martin, and the four other living former North Carolina governors, held a news conference Monday, Aug. 13, in the State Capitol building, standing in bipartisan opposition to two constitutional amendments they say…
A Wake County Superior Court judge wants state Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin to appoint a three-judge panel to hear challenges by Gov. Roy Cooper and two left-leaning advocacy groups about four proposed constitutional amendments. Judge Paul Ridgeway said he was confident Martin would appoint…
The N.C. Conference of the NAACP and Clean Air Carolina are asking Wake County Superior Court to strip four proposed constitutional amendments from the Nov. 6 general election ballot. The lawsuit argues the amendments are vague, incomplete, and misleading — and that the General Assembly itself is an…
Gov. Roy Cooper has filed a court challenge to two constitutional amendments because they “would take a wrecking ball to the separation of powers” by rewriting bedrock constitutional provisions — including the Separation of Powers Clause itself. Cooper, a Democrat, says the Republican-led General Assembly…
Editor’s note: This story was edited after initial publication to include information about legislation from Sen. Jeff Jackson and Gov. Roy Cooper’s proposed litigation. The Republican-led General Assembly wasted no time Saturday, Aug. 4, batting down a pair of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes dealing with constitutional amendments. A Supreme…
Chris Anglin was a relatively unknown late addition to a state Supreme Court race. The General Assembly propelled him into the spotlight by passing Senate Bill 3. S.B. 3, the Party Disclosure/2018 Judicial Races Act, requires candidates for judicial races to…
Lawmakers are galloping back to Raleigh just one month after the N.C. General Assembly closed the 2018 short session — this time to scrutinize a ballot language that may dramatically affect November elections. On Monday, July 23, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Senate Leader…
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the $23.9 billion General Fund budget for 2018-19, warning Republicans that voters in November’s general election will reject GOP candidates and their policies. “It’s important to make this statement. It’s important to do the right thing,” Cooper…
The $23.9 billion state General Fund budget proposal reduces personal and corporate income taxes and increases education spending by nearly $700 million. It gives raises to teachers, principals, and state employees, and still sets aside millions of dollars in state reserves. The 2018-19 budget was released Monday night…
Republican legislative leaders’ decision to hold secretive budget deliberations was bad politics, and could further motivate angry Democrats to flood the voting booth this fall, political observers say. GOP leaders counter that the budget they unveiled Monday night (links here) merely makes some minor adjustments…
