As N.C. state government continues to consider policies that benefit the solar energy industry, residents of one Beaufort County community are fighting a proposed 600-acre solar facility planned near a local school. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, explains why people in Terra Ceia are raising concerns about the project. North…
A pair of bills in the N.C. Senate would change the way teachers are chosen and hired. By expanding the hiring pool, Senate Bill 448, Professors in the Classroom, and S.B., 599, Excellent Educators for Every Classroom, is meant to address a growing demand for qualified teachers. Sen. Chad Barefoot, R-Wake, is the primary…
After more than three hours of debate, on Wednesday the state House passed the budget conference report for 2017-19 by an initial margin of 77-40, five votes more than needed to override a potential veto by Gov. Roy Cooper. The House is set on Thursday to give the compromise budget a…
Since 2010, when Republicans won their first majorities in both legislative chambers in modern times, they’ve consistently pursued a conservative approach to fiscal policy and state government.
Legislation to provide surplus computers to students from low-income homes has passed the General Assembly. Republican Sens. Jeff Tarte, R-Mecklenburg; Andrew Brock, R-Davie; and Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell; sponsored Senate Bill 312. Rep. Jason Saine, R-Lincoln, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee on Information Technology, sponsored a similar version of the bill…
The $23 billion House and Senate budget compromise will include a 3.1 percent increase in spending in the 2017-18 budget year, which is higher than the two chambers agreed to several months ago when budget writing began. (Committee report here. Table of Contents for Senate Bill 527 here.
From Carolina Journal Radio Program No. 735: Some N.C. lawmakers want to step up state efforts to fight human trafficking. Legislation moving through the General Assembly specifically targets sex trafficking. During a recent news conference, a sex trafficking survivor shared her story. Legislators also explained their proposal to help…
From Carolina Journal Radio Program No. 735: North Carolina lawmakers continue to wrestle with the best way to handle taxation of sales made over the internet. One idea under discussion would force online vendors to collect sales tax in North Carolina if they have gross sales of at least…
Patients deserve better access to both life-saving and life-preserving health-care treatments. Which means physicians, hospitals, and other health care facilities should be able to invest in their communities to address unmet patient demand for critical services such as kidney dialysis units, cost-effective surgery, neonatal intensive care units, nursing homes, and much, much, more.
A Senate panel passed legislation Thursday to accelerate mental health Medicaid reform and free up nearly $1 billion in frozen assets to provide more behavioral health services. Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, a co-chairman of the Senate Health Care Committee, presented an amended version of House Bill 403 that…
