LATEST NEWS AND OPINION

Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, and the United States Department of Justice proposed an end to Google’s illegal monopoly over internet search engines and changes to restore competition to benefit consumers. North Carolina is one of the states leading the coalition of 38 other states that filed this lawsuit in 2020.

In 2021, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service finalized a rule, initiated in 2019 by an executive order from then-President Donald Trump, that required all hospitals in the United States to list their prices for 300 common services. According to the rule,

In 2021, the General Assembly passed HB 951, a bipartisan energy bill prioritizing regulatory guardrails to protect grid reliability and least-cost generation planning while pursuing Gov. Roy Cooper’s politically favored carbon reduction goals.

Governor Josh Stein delivered his first State of the State Address, highlighting the ongoing work to recover in western North Carolina and urging the General Assembly to invest in economic opportunity, workforce development, families and children, public schools, and public safety. 

The North Carolina Senate passed Senate Bill 227, “Eliminating ‘DEI’ in Public Education,” to prohibit promoting discriminatory policies and practices in public schools.

Four Republicans members of the North Carolina House of Representatives — Erin Paré and Mike Schietzelt of Wake County, Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County, and Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County — have just launched this year’s policy debate on teacher pay in our state.

Over the past year, hospitals, pharmacies, and patients have been the victims of devastating cyberattacks that have crippled the healthcare system. The wave of healthcare cyberattacks recently led NPR to refer to 2024 as the “year of health care hacks.”

Governor Josh Stein announced Boards and Commissions Appointments.

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) filed a bill to prioritize energy cost-saving measures and create a new cost-recovery framework to help keep energy more affordable for families and businesses

Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt was appointed Co-Chair of Governor Stein’s new Task Force on Child Care and Early Education. The task force was announced during a visit to Kate’s Korner Learning Center in Durham, where the Governor and Lieutenant Governor toured the center, met with providers, and sent time with children in a classroom