News
State Sen. Krawiec announces retirement, endorsement
Longtime State Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, announced on Monday that she will not seek re-election and is retiring at the end of her current term.
News
Cooper vetoes trio of bills critics claim are ‘Anti-LGBTQ’
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper unsurprisingly vetoed three bills Wednesday involving transgender women playing in women's sports, gender transitioning in children, and parental rights.
News
Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act gets bipartisan praise in NC Senate Health Committee
The North Carolina Senate Health Care Committee held a discussion Wednesday on a bill that would help those affected by medical debt, and members are hoping that the second time is the charm.
News
NC bill would require high school sports teams to be single sex or co-ed
A North Carolina Senate bill was introduced Thursday that would prevent biologically female high school athletes from being forced to compete against biological males in sports designated for females. Under the bill, high school transgender athletes would be required to compete on either co-ed teams, or on teams designated for their biological sex.
News
Senate passes ‘No Patient Left Alone Act’
Senate Bill 191, “No Patient Left Alone Act,” is headed to the governor’s desk. The bill passed the state Senate, 49-0, on Wednesday, Oct. 6. The bill ensures patients in health care facilities can have a visitor, which should be commonplace but ended because of COVID restrictions. Many people died alone. The bill passed the...
News
Senate votes to ban abortions based on race, gender, or Down syndrome
Jaden Ng, 13, and her family sat in the gallery on Thursday morning to watch the N.C. Senate vote to ban abortions sought based on the likelihood of Down syndrome, the condition Jaden has had her entire life. As a Down syndrome teen, she and her family worked the halls of the N.C. General Assembly...
News
Senate advances trio of health care bills aimed at reducing costs, increasing transparency
The Senate is close to approving a trio of health care bills aimed at reducing costs and increasing transparency in the system. The bills would help curb surprise billing and ease restrictive laws that prevent health care companies from increasing supply. But they fall short of more substantial changes some policy experts have pushed. “Health...
News
Surprise medical bills are the target of new N.C. Senate legislation
A measure that would require a healthcare facility to notify patients of any out-of-network care they receive is moving through the Senate. Senate Bill 505, comes amid patient complaints that an out-of-network provider would participate in their care, often without seeing the patient, resulting in a hefty surprise bill weeks later. The Senate Health Care...
News
Senators move to make nonprofit donor names private
A new bill supported by influential N.C. senators would protect the confidentiality of donors to nonprofit organizations and charities. Senate Bill 636 would prevent the disclosure of the names of people giving money or property to nonprofit corporations, making their identities confidential. The bill would also prohibit legislators and government workers from disclosing confidential information...
News
Senators push for more transparency in government worker personnel records
Editor’s note: This story was updated March 30 to correctly identify Phil Lucey, N.C. Press Association executive director. A growing number of senators are signing on to a bill that would make more information available to the public on government employee performance. Under Senate Bill 355, a description of the reasons for personnel actions like...
News
Cohen says No Patient Left Alone Bill would violate federal law, pose risks
On May 7, Cheryl Holtsclaw took her dad to the emergency room at Watauga Medical Center in Boone. Hospital policy blocked visitors to prevent the spread of COVID-19, so the 86-year-old man, suffering kidney problems, awaited treatment alone. While waiting, he suffered a catastrophic stroke. He was paralyzed on the right side. He couldn’t swallow....
News
Legislative roundup, week of June 8-12, 2020
Each week of the General Assembly’s short session, CJ staff will look back at several important bills lawmakers handled. Elections: An election bill awaits Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature. House Bill 1169, Bipartisan Elections Act of 2020, sends money to the N.C. State Board of Elections for COVID-19 expenses, and includes temporary reforms to absentee and vote-by-mail...
