RALEIGH — State officials, lawmakers, and renewable energy consultants attempted Tuesday to downplay the $937.8 million cost of tax credits sought under the state’s new Safe Harbor Act — a total more than five times higher than initial projections. Some worried the program will be a drain on state finances that will provide large banks and insurance companies a windfall at the expense of taxpayers.
RALEIGH — Google announced in late November 2015 that it would participate in a new Duke Energy program allowing the Internet giant to buy power from a Rutherford County solar facility to run its new data center building located 50 miles away near Lenoir. Google did not mention in its press releases that the entire Caldwell County complex will continue to receive all of its power from Duke Energy, generated with the same general mix of fuels used by other Duke customers — dominated by nuclear, coal, natural gas, and hydro.
RALEIGH — The final batch of solar and other renewable energy projects requested under the “safe harbor” law enacted in April by the General Assembly could cost North Carolina taxpayers as much as $937,804,785 in credits, according to aggregated figures released Wednesday by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
RALEIGH — Saying the current plan is antiquated, a legislative agency on Monday recommended that the state scrap its three-tiered system for awarding economic development grants. “The economic development tier system, which was designed to award tax incentives, has outlived its purpose,” said Sara Nienow, senior program evaluator at the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division. “Measurement at the county level fails to identify struggling communities located within prosperous counties.”
RALEIGH — North Carolina residents could receive a larger personal income tax exemption if the General Assembly’s 2016 short session follows the lead of state Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, who has led the Senate’s tax reform efforts since 2011, when Republicans took control of that body.
A new report from the Tax Foundation shows how lower, simpler taxes have improved North Carolina's standing among other states and helped families and business owners in the state.
RALEIGH — Lawmakers spent two hours Wednesday grilling the state budget director and the public safety secretary over the extension of a prison maintenance contract by a contractor who kept mentioning that, as a campaign contributor, he thought he should get something from the state in return.
RALEIGH — Crediting budget reforms made by the recent session of the General Assembly, Gov. Pat McCrory announced on Thursday the acceleration of four major transportation projects, including the final leg of the eastern section of the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway, the Asheville Connector, The I-485 and Weddington Road interchange, and the Mid-Currituck bridge.
RALEIGH — Two House bills intended to reduce partisan manipulation of legislative redistricting could be acted on in the short session starting in April, though retiring Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, chairman of the Senate Redistricting Committee, predicted the Senate would not approve either. House members backing reform say they may not advance their measures if they have no chance of passing.
CHAPEL HILL — The UNC Board of Governors’ Oct. 30 closed-session vote to increase pay for 12 chancellors — which passed by a narrow 16-13 margin — will face the scrutiny of the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in the Legislative Office Building. The pay raises brought protests from legislative leaders who dubbed the action unlawful.
CHAPEL HILL — Amid questions about legislative interference in the actions of the UNC Board of Governors, the board voted Friday to make records of its controversial Oct. 30 meeting available for review by members of the General Assembly. The request by state Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore was made under the state's open meetings law.
