DURHAM — The General Assembly’s top economist on Thursday said that, unlike last year, when state tax collections appeared to suggest a shortfall in General Fund revenues, state government is on track to meet its projections for the current budget year. Wages and salary collections are coming in higher than expected, along with corporate income tax collections, Barry Boardman told the NC Chamber's tax conference.
SALISBURY — The city of Salisbury’s website boasts that it is “America’s first 10 gig city,” noting that anyone who connects to the municipal Fibrant broadband network has access to Internet connection speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second. But a technology analyst questions the wisdom of city leaders gambling with taxpayer funding over such a risky endeavor.
FAYETTEVILLE — Immigration, questionable presidential executive orders, military involvement in overseas conflicts, and the role of the courts were issues that confronted U.S. presidents in the early days of the republic, including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Actors portraying the two Founding Fathers spoke Monday night at the Cumberland County Historic Courthouse as a living history program sponsored by the John Locke Foundation’s North Carolina History Project.
RALEIGH – Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday credited reforms in North Carolina’s tax code and regulatory environment as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recognized the state for moving into the top 10 nationally in a Chamber ranking of high-tech performance and innovation and entrepreneurship. McCrory also credited his administration’s job innovations program for the state’s high marks.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The frustration with the failure of Congress to tackle immigration reform has prompted some observers to suggest that states look north for inspiration. At the recent annual meeting of the State Policy Network, experts from Americans for Tax Reform, the Reason Foundation, and the Niskanen Center suggested that states push for adopting a Canadian model, which shifts authority for some immigration policies to the state level.
RALEIGH — A legislative oversight committee on Wednesday voted to consider measures aimed at reducing the $25.5 billion unfunded liability in the state retiree health benefit fund. Kiernan McGorty, principal program evaluator for the legislature’s Program Evaluation Division, said options to reduce the liability include increasing taxpayer subsidies to the fund, raising premiums for active employees, or requiring retirees to cover more of their insurance costs.
RALEIGH – State GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse on Thursday called on Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper to support legislation passed by the General Assembly prohibiting local governments in North Carolina from establishing sanctuary cities that restrict enforcement of immigration laws. Cooper is expected to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2016.
RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory’s office on Tuesday announced plans to put two state properties on the market. One is in the state capital and the other in McCrory’s home city of Charlotte. These are in addition to two historic homes near the Executive Mansion that the governor’s office said last week it would place on the market.
RALEIGH — Republican U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, who serves the 10th Congressional District, said the single term he served in the state House more than a decade ago — along with his first term in Washington — taught him what to do, and what not to do. “My concerted effort [in Congress] was to be in the room where the decisions are made, which is different than on TV shows all the time or spending a lot of time in the press,” McHenry said.
RALEIGH — A group of conservatives opposed to the death penalty have started raising awareness of their cause to state leaders. They hosted a press conference Sept. 22 at the Legislative Building, hoping the conversation eventually can reach the level it achieved in Nebraska, which repealed capital punishment earlier this year. The group, called North Carolina Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, is led by Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford.
RALEIGH — The effort to move North Carolina’s consolidated primary to March 15, 2016, barely cleared the state House as 19 Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the measure because of a change in campaign finance law tacked onto the bill at the 11th hour. The bill passed the House on a 52-49 vote after clearing the Senate on primarily a 30-13 party-line vote.
