Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. COVID-19 relief: The General Assembly passed a third massive COVID-19 relief package with a $1 billion price tag. House Bill 1105, aka the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0, passed with a large...
Judge David Lee, the overseer of the Leandro case, approved a plan Tuesday, Sept. 1, calling for millions more in education spending to meet North Carolina’s constitutional obligation to provide a sound, basic education to every child. But the General Assembly, whose constitutional duty it is to appropriate money, wasn’t involved in the decision. During...
Each week of the General Assembly’s short session, CJ staff will look back at several important bills lawmakers handled. Elections: An election bill awaits Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature. House Bill 1169, Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020, sends money to the N.C. State Board of Elections for COVID-19 expenses, and includes temporary reforms to absentee and vote-by-mail...
N.C. Senate leaders say they value government transparency — especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. A bill recently filed in the House presents an opportunity for those senior officials to show commitment to the state’s “sunshine laws.” House Bill 1111, Sunshine Amendment, would make access to public records and meetings a constitutional right in North Carolina....
Gov. Roy Cooper was noncommittal during a Monday, May 4 news conference on whether the state will begin to ease COVID-19 restrictions on May 8, or extend the order. North Carolina is poised to become one of the last states to begin reopening as the rest of the country slowly lifts restrictions on the economy....
The N.C. General Assembly passed two bills to deal with fallout from COVID-19. The General Assembly’s 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act was separated into two sections. House Bill 1043 covered money, and Senate Bill 704 addressed a variety of policy changes. The bills were a compromise between the House and Senate after a couple of days...
Appropriation leaders in the House and Senate are busy working behind closed doors to find consensus on a COVID-19 relief package. The House approved a $1.7-billion omnibus bill Thursday, April 30, a day after the Senate passed its 1.3-billion version. The two chambers will now hash out their differences to pass a single appropriations bill...
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include amendments adopted, the floor vote, and a new spending total. The N.C. Senate on Wednesday evening passed by a 48-0 vote a $1.3-billion bill distributing money for COVID-19 relief statewide. Senate Bill 704, introduced late Tuesday, April 28, includes dozens of emergency relief items — all appropriating money...
The N.C. General Assembly is in session, but it’s unclear how long it may take lawmakers to deal with economic fallout caused by COVID-19 . Lawmakers converged on the legislative complex to begin work as a few hundred people gathered in downtown Raleigh to protest shutdown orders from Gov. Roy Cooper. The House gaveled in...
The N.C. General Assembly has tough decisions to make, and little time to make them. That’s the message lawmakers voiced Monday, April 27, during a handful of presentations about policy priorities. As the legislature gavels in Tuesday for its short session, Raleigh’s legislative complex will fall under intense scrutiny as people watch their representatives and...
North Carolina is funding a study that will help decide lawmakers’ stance on reopening the economy and a “host of issues, from school calendars to tax policy,” Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, announced in a news conference Wednesday, April 15. Lawmakers gave Wake Forest Baptist Health $100,000 for random antibody testing to gather data on...
