News
Kimmel off the air on three NC Stations
Nexstar & Sinclair won’t air Kimmel on ABC stations. Sinclair has 3 NC affiliates; Nexstar has none in the state.
News
ABC warehouse constraints cause issues for craft distilleries
To address space and capacity issues, ABC has introduced a profit threshold limit for products stored in warehouses in Wake County. National products that generate less than $20,000 in annual profit and North Carolina products that generate less than $3,500 in annual profit will be delisted and removed from ABC warehouses.
News
Lawmakers finish most legislative business with hectic week
The 2019 session of the N.C. General Assembly began Jan. 9, both in the House and the Senate. The session ended on Halloween, which was Wednesday, Oct. 31. Lawmakers left without a budget, failing to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, which came in June. To date, Cooper has vetoed 37 bills — 23 of which...
News
GOP leaders: We’ll keep passing budget items both sides want
The N.C. House on Wednesday, Aug. 28, unanimously passed pay raises for state employees. H.B. 226 would grant state employees a raise of 2.5% for each of the next two years. H.B. 126 would increase pay for the State Highway Patrol, and HB. 777 would give raises to staff of the State Bureau of Investigation...
News
Piecemeal spending plans move through General Assembly as budget stalemate drags on
While the budget stalemate continues, lawmakers are working to pass pieces of the General Fund budget bill with measures that include pay raises for some state employees. Meantime, Gov. Roy Cooper used a Tuesday, Aug. 27, news conference to attack Republican lawmakers for refusing to include Medicaid expansion in the General Fund budget — even...
News
State employees get temporary reprieve from higher medical costs as health plan insolvency looms
State employees are no longer in immediate danger of paying out-of-network costs for their health care, but they may confront higher premiums and higher taxes later. State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s Clear Pricing Project has folded, and its proposed reforms won’t touch hospitals. But the fiscal future of the State Health Plan is unclear. Without the...
News
Lawmakers try to resurrect Milk Commission, but some sour to the proposal
Some lawmakers want to bring back the state’s Milk Commission to protect local dairy farmers, but critics of the measure contend it will only lead to higher milk prices. During the July 31 House Agriculture Committee meeting, Reps. Jeff McNeely, R-Iredell, and Pat Hurley, R-Randolph, introduced a PCS to Senate Bill 380 that would bring...
News
Governor signs major distillery bill in Durham
Editor’s note: This story was updated Monday, July 29, at 8 p.m. Senate Bill 290, originally filed as the Distillery Regulatory Reform Bill, will soon become law. Gov. Roy Cooper signed the game-changing measure at Graybeard Distillery in Durham on Monday, July 29. The bill brings rules governing N.C. craft distillers more in line with...
News
Bill to establish private liquor stores gets committee hearing but no vote
Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, won’t seek re-election when his term expires next year, but he’s far from finished. House Bill 971, which McGrady sponsored, has stalled in the legislature. Still, McGrady got a hearing for a proposed committee substitute in the House’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee on Tuesday, July 23. He co-chairs the committee. The...
News
‘Game-changer’ alcohol bill on Cooper’s desk; governor expected to sign
Parity. It’s what North Carolina’s craft distillers wanted most, really. To, in a regulatory and statutory sense, take their place in line with the state’s brewers and vintners. If not in front of them, then just behind, in a place where they can extend an arm and gently tap them on the shoulder. If only...
News
Senate passes alcohol reform bill; awaits governor’s signature
A bill N.C. craft distillers see as a game-changer regarding how they do business and how they can grow their businesses is headed to the governor. The N.C. Senate, which had already approved Senate Bill 290, concurred with House changes in a 31-10 vote Tuesday, July 16. The N.C. House on July 11, after years...
News
House passes ABC reforms, bill heads to Senate for concurrence
The N.C. House on Thursday, July 11, after years of contentious debate and myriad failed efforts, were finally able to pass a bill, in an 86-28 vote, that would align craft distilleries more closely with rules governing wine and craft beer. The bill, Senate Bill 290, has already passed the Senate, 39-4, and returns to...
