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NC House speaker forms committee to study property taxes
The 23-member committee is tasked with reviewing factors that contribute to rising local property taxes and identifying ways to reduce the burden on homeowners.
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Brockman resigns after House forms expulsion group
State Rep. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, resigned from office Friday after the state House's Republican speaker formed a committee to consider his expulsion.
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Hall announces the North Carolina House committee appointments for 2025-26
As the North Carolina General Assembly prepares to gavel in the long legislative session, new House Speaker Destin Hall makes appointments to key committees responsible for shepherding policy through the state's lawmaking process.
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Lawmakers mull 30-year extension for Charlotte taxes
Earlier this month, lawmakers introduced two 30-year tax extensions in Charlotte to help fund stadium renovations or build a new stadium for the Carolina Panthers.
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Speaker Moore announces NC House committee assignments
On Tuesday, North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, announced committee assignments. House Republicans have 71 out of 120 seats, and would need 72 out of 120 for a gubernatorial veto override. This will likely be a focus when issues that are especially partisan - abortion, 2nd Amendment laws, voter ID, tax policy - come before members.
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Democrats’ ‘no’ votes on Free the Smiles veto override follow common pattern
Neither state Senate Democrat who initially voted for the Free the Smiles legislation last month was willing to stick with that “yes” vote this week. Both of their “yes” votes turned into “no” when they had a chance to help override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the school masking measure. The flip from “yes” to...
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N.C. House Republican majority grows, dashing Democratic hopes
North Carolina Democrats lost four seats in the state House on Election Day. Republicans will open the 2021 legislative session with a 69-51 majority. It was an upset. Legislative redistricting, brought on by lawsuits in 2019, should’ve made it easier for Democrats to gain ground. Instead, the party lost seats during an election year where...
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Bipartisan House group seeks to revive tax credits for filmmakers
How are North Carolina lawmakers different from movie directors? They find it hard to say “cut,” especially when giving Hollywood producers taxpayer subsidies to make films here. A bipartisan group of state representatives filed House Bill 751, resurrecting a 25 percent tax credit program. Legislators voted in 2014 to end a similar subsidy, which paid...
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Atlantic Coast Pipeline committee will examine timing of MOU, permit
Did state approval of the North Carolina segment of the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline depend on Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration securing a $57.8-million discretionary “mitigation fund” with the pipeline operators? Documents obtained by Carolina Journal suggest it did. The federal government approved the pipeline in October 2017, but the state did not sign off on...
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House Democrats have big night, ending GOP supermajority
State Democrats accomplished a major goal in Tuesday’s midterm election, breaking the Republican Party’s supermajority in the General Assembly. Unofficial results show the GOP, which has a 75-45 advantage in the 2017 session — three votes more than needed to override a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper with a unified caucus — lost nine seats....
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House picks subcommittees to probe Matthew recovery, ACP fund
The General Assembly’s newly created subcommittees to investigate the pace of spending on recovery efforts for Hurricane Matthew and the unusual side fund negotiated by the Cooper administration with the operation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are complete. In a Thursday, Sept. 6, press release, from the office of House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, said:...
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Pittenger, Ford, Burr, Hall head list of incumbent primary losers
The Rev. Mark Harris, who lost the 2016 Republican primary in the 9th Congressional District by 134 votes, won a rematch Tuesday with three-term incumbent Rep. Robert Pittenger. Harris’ stunning win was one of many surprises in North Carolina’s 2018 election cycle — the first major test the state’s elected officials have faced with divided...
