News
NC House passes Jaleeyah’s Law targeting gang-related crime
The NC House passed Jaleeyah’s Law, a bill increasing penalties and prosecutor resources for gang-related crimes after a Goldsboro teen’s killing.
News
NC lawmakers propose $50 million affordable housing loan fund
Bipartisan legislation would create a revolving loan fund to help nonprofit developers cover infrastructure costs for affordable housing projects.
News
The budding NC market for safe, consistent hemp products
There is a new and thriving market for hemp products in North Carolina and across the country; you’ve probably noticed the convenient store shelves full of CBD gummies, smokable hemp flower, vape pens, and more. But who’s making them, and by what standards, is often an open question in this new free-for-all economy. The nascent...
News
Promises made but not kept as Cooper official testifies on hurricane recovery
It was a case of rinse and repeat for North Carolina lawmakers Wednesday as they heard much of the same testimony from North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) officials on efforts to help those who lost homes due to Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
News
NC House bill would ban foreign adversaries from purchasing farmland
North Carolina becomes the latest state to file or pass legislation prohibiting foreign entities from purchasing farmland.
News
NC House Speaker Moore’s reelection makes him longest to serve in role
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, will serve his fifth term as Speaker when the General Assembly convenes for the long session in January, making him the longest-serving Speaker of the House in North Carolina history. The NC House Republican Caucus unanimously reelected Moore on Friday.
Opinion
How long will we allow a dictator to rule?
Having learned the lessons of tyranny under British rule, our state forefathers and their successors intentionally made our governor one of the weakest in the nation.
Opinion
A perpetual state of emergency: NC governor’s unilateral power must be limited
North Carolina has now been under Gov. Roy Cooper’s unilateral statewide state of emergency for over 33% of his entire tenure in office – or nearly 600 days. The current order was impressed upon the citizens of North Carolina on March 10, 2020, without following statutory mandates to consult with the Council of State. In...
News
Lawmakers to Cooper: Show us the science
It has been 450 days since Gov. Roy Cooper put North Carolina under a state-of-emergency order due to the COVID pandemic. State lawmakers are demanding concrete information on when it will end. On Tuesday, leaders in the N.C. House formally asked Cooper to provide the scientific data used to justify continued emergency restrictions. In a...
News
House leadership reassigns Howard after she objected to moving bill
Rep. Julia Howard, R-Davie, has been removed from her powerful role as senior chair of the state House’s tax-writing Finance Committee. Howard has been reassigned to the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, where she’ll serve as a member at large. That news comes in a statement to Carolina Journal from House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, Speaker Pro...
News
N.C. lawmakers file ‘No Veteran Left Behind Act’
A bill introduced by House Majority Leader John Bell, R-Wayne, is meant to help improve crisis intervention and services for veterans suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues. House Bill 370, No Veteran Left Behind Act, creates a pilot program for several military and veteran heavy counties in North Carolina to improve and expand...
News
House leaders introduce Emergency Powers Accountability Act
A group of N.C. House lawmakers have introduced a bill to, they say, strengthen and clarify current law to require approval from a majority of the Council of State for emergency actions by the governor. “This is not a Republican or Democrat issue,” said Rep. John Bell, R-Wayne. Bell is House majority leader. “We can...
