COVID-19 and the ongoing fallout from the pandemic will likely dominate the 2021-22 session of the General Assembly. On tap for lawmakers is crafting a new budget for the biennium plus drawing new legislative and congressional maps for the next decade based on fresh census data.
Committee chairs for the 2021-2022 biennium of the North Carolina House of Representatives were appointed on Opening Day of the state General Assembly.
Governor Roy Cooper has named retired Lieutenant General Walter Gaskin to lead the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Senate Leader Phil Berger's (R-Rockingham) opening day remarks as prepared are below: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for that warm welcome and for once again providing me with the high honor to serve as President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate.
Governor Roy Cooper has mobilized approximately 550 North Carolina National Guardsmen to assist with upcoming security needs in Washington, DC and North Carolina. The Governor mobilized approximately 350 National Guard personnel for duty here in North Carolina, beginning this weekend to support state and local authorities and protect the well-being of residents, property, and the right to peacefully assemble and protest.
Gov. Roy Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, state health secretary, took a decidedly political tone in a COVID-19 news conference Tuesday, Jan. 12.
On Saturday, Governor Roy Cooper was sworn in for his second term as North Carolina’s Governor. Members of North Carolina’s Council of State also took the oath of office. The theme of the Inaugural ceremony was North Carolina: Strong, Resilient, Ready, and due to the ongoing pandemic, the ceremony was altered to follow COVID-19 safety protocols.
North Carolina native Josh Dobson, who was elected in November as the 18th state labor commissioner, was officially sworn into office Saturday, Jan. 2. N.C. Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. administered the oath on the front steps of the Labor Building. Commissioner Dobson today announces 11 appointments that will make up his leadership team at the state Department of Labor. As an independently elected statewide official and member of the Council of State, Commissioner Dobson has the authority to appoint individuals to key positions within the agency.
Governor Roy Cooper on Friday announced two judicial appointments, one to the North Carolina Superior Court and one to the North Carolina District Court.
Quoting directly from Article 1 Section 18, constitution’s open court provision, Justice Paul Newby stated, “The courts shall be open, and that justice shall be administered without favor, denial or delay.”
North Carolina won’t fully open anytime soon. The governor’s curfews and shutdowns will continue for three more weeks. Dr. Mandy Cohen piled on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The head of North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services enacted a “secretarial directive” warning people to stay home, especially those older than 65.
Nearly 4,000 air purifiers are being installed in the ductwork of 53 North Carolina prisons in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.
