News
NCGA allocates billions for opaque “Reserve Funds”
NCGA allocating money in reserve funds lacks transparency.
News
Surprise upsets: Some incumbents ousted by primary challengers in legislative races
Incumbents on both sides of the state legislative aisle fall to primary challengers on Tuesday night as North Carolina looks toward November.
Opinion
Congress should follow NC’s lead on long-term fiscal stewardship
Congressional leaders have once again narrowly averted a government shutdown by passing a short term spending bill to fund government through March. Undoubtedly most political insiders and pundits are familiar with this reoccurring dance. The perpetual reliance on short-term funding bills not only reveals deep partisan divisions but also highlights the inability of Congress to...
Opinion
Budget delay strengthens case for limits
House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters last week that the North Carolina General Assembly is unlikely to craft and approve a state budget deal before Labor Day. That’s more than two months into the 2023-24 fiscal year that began July 1. The good news is that, in stark contrast to the rules of the federal...
Opinion
NCUC public comment hearings produced first amendment concerns
From July 11 through August 23, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) conducted several public comment hearings regarding the state’s plan to reduce carbon emissions. At these meetings, members of the public could (or should have been able to) freely speak out and address the commission on their implementation of the carbon plan, which the General Assembly...
Opinion
Democrat judges repudiate NC voters
I watch in amazement as Democrats repeatedly dare voters to fire them. On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court’s four Democrats — Anita Earls, Robin Hudson, Jimmy Ervin, and Mike Morgan — declared that when perpetual districting litigation leads to a decision that districts must be redrawn, the people of the state lose power to...
News
COVID state of emergency officially ends today after 2 years
After 888 days, today officially marks the end of North Carolina’s COVID-19 State of Emergency. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced in July that the state of emergency would end on Aug. 15 because the 2022 $27.9 General Budget, which he signed into law on July 11, included changes in the law that were requested by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Opinion
Sales tax to pay for state roads
When the North Carolina General Assembly enacted its budget revision for the 2022-23 fiscal year, it contained a major change in how the state funds roads. Until now, the system relied overwhelmingly on revenue from taxes on motor fuels, taxes on vehicle sales, and annual vehicle registrations. Unlike many other states, North Carolina doesn’t have...
Opinion
A battle of the experts: implementing energy solutions for North Carolina
Last year the General Assembly passed, and Gov. Roy Cooper subsequently signed House Bill 951, a transformational energy policy for North Carolina. For all intents and purposes, it is a conservative response to the costly Green New Deal. The General Assembly gave the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) authority to pick energy source winners and losers. Through...
Opinion
North Carolina’s opportunity to ban health industry gag clauses and unleash price transparency
This piece was co-written with Cynthia Fisher. [Editor’s note: This opinion piece was originally published at Forbes.com and is reprinted with permission] Jason Dean from Tennessee needed stitches on his knee after a minor accident last year. He went to a local hospital that told him insurance would cover the procedure. Weeks later, he received a $6,500...
Video
Carolina Journal’s Donna King analyzes N.C. legislative news
Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the week’s major developments at the N.C. General Assembly. King offered these comments during the June 17, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”
Opinion
GOP dominates in legislative candidate filing
Republicans “won” the candidate filing race in both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly, with candidates in significantly more races than their Democrat counterparts for the 2022 elections. Democrats’ lackluster candidate recruitment effort is a stunning development after Democratic-aligned groups successfully sued the legislature over redistricting maps. Republicans were forced to make significant changes...
