Governor Cooper signs four bills into law
Governor Roy Cooper signed bills into law.
Opinion
Lawmakers finalize bill blocking AG from collusive lawsuit settlements
The state House voted 58-47 on Wednesday, Sept. 15, to endorse a bill requiring the state attorney general to get approval from legislative leaders before settling lawsuits on their behalf. The bill now heads to the governor.
Split 2-1 Superior Court panel rejects N.C. voter ID law, cites discriminatory impact
A split 2-1 state Superior Court panel has rejected North Carolina's voter ID law, five months after holding a trial in the case. The court majority labeled the 2018 law racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.
Income and poverty facts matter
The income of the median American household fell by nearly 3% last year as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent regulations shuttered many businesses for months, closed others for good, and forced still other employers to cut back on hours and wages for the people they still employed.
Should N.C. prison system be restored as a standalone agency?
The N.C. prison system, comprising 55 facilities and employing roughly 16,000 staff, is one of the largest agencies in the state. That might surprise some, as prisons, from the real estate they occupy, to the critical role they play in governance, are not foremost in our minds when it comes to policy.
Senator blasts left-wing redistricting activist’s social media complaint
Complaints on social media from a left-wing redistricting activist are drawing fire from a state Senate redistricting leader. He accuses the activist of "begging" people to deliver her scripted remarks during public hearings.
State auditor says NCDOT has yet to develop trustworthy spending plan
The N.C. Department of Transportation continues to be under the watchful eye of the state auditor, who in a report released this week says that department failed to exceed its developed spending plan only by pure luck.
Local elected officials couldn’t profit from their offices under stalled bill
A bill intended to prohibit conflicts of interest by local elected officials is stalled in the N.C. legislature, as lawmakers wrangle over the state budget and the end of session remains uncertain.
Biden’s Mandate Goes Too Far
I got the COVID-19 vaccine shortly after it became publicly available. I did so because I was persuaded that the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risk.
OPINION: A tale of two critiques highlights Democratic contradictions
Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest veto tosses the debate about N.C. public school indoctrination back into the hands of state lawmakers.
Redistricting public hearings held across the state
The N.C. General Assembly kicked off a month-long series of 13 public redistricting hearings held across the state. State legislative and congressional districts are redrawn every ten years using new data from the U.S. Census report. This year, the data was delayed due to difficulties collecting it during the COVID pandemic. Still, results showed that N.C. has growing by 9.5 percent in the past decade, faster than the national average of 7.4 percent. The results give N.C. a 14th congressional seat.
Governor Cooper pushes vaccination requirements and urges schools districts to keep mask mandates
"We know that keeping kids learning in the classroom is the most important thing for our students right now. Getting vaccinated, wearing a mask in public indoor settings and following the science is what we need to do," said Governor Cooper. "The faster we put this pandemic behind us, the sooner we can all rest easy and stay healthy."