Op-Ed: Mounting national debt
I was disappointed to see both candidates in the recent presidential debate fail to discuss what was among the most important questions: how they would handle the mounting national debt.
News and Opinion
Speaker Moore Comments on Partisan Actions of NCSBE
Speaker Moore comments on the State Board of Elections’ partisan refusal to approve third party ballot access:
Folwell responds to state health plan victory over Blue Cross NC
From the beginning, it has been clear that the State Health Plan (Plan) performed a well-reasoned, high-integrity, and correct procurement process for third-party administrative services. This process clearly revealed that Aetna’s bid was superior to Blue Cross NC’s, and the Plan’s Board of Trustees properly approved the contract’s award to Aetna. As Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter said in her opinion:
NC Legislative Economic Development Caucus Announces Formation of Manufacturing Study Committee and Files German Friendship Resolution
As the North Carolina Legislative Caucus on Economic Development and Foreign Trade (“EDFT Caucus”) wraps up its first year in the General Assembly, co-chairs Representative John Bell (R – Wayne) and Representative Robert Reives (D – Chatham, Randolph) round out a successful and productive year with two key initiatives, creating a study committee to examine ways the legislature can foster manufacturing growth in the state, and filing a resolution in the House encouraging Congress to work more closely on economic and trade issues with Germany, one of the leading sources of capital investment and trade in North Carolina.
John Hood: We Need More Hospital Competition
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s hospital sector has undergone lots of mergers and acquisitions over the past decade. Now the pace of change is, if anything, accelerating.
Op-Ed: North Carolina’s health plans aren’t broken. Don’t fix them.
As a business owner, I know a thing or two about competition. Achieving success requires a sense of mission, wisdom, effective management, and – most importantly – dedicated employees.
Governor Cooper Vetoes Two Bills
RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the following bills:
John Hood: Citizens Should Clarify Voting Rights
RALEIGH — North Carolina voters will be asked this fall to remove a troubling ambiguity in the state constitution. An overwhelming, bipartisan majority of state legislators — 40 of 50 senators, 104 of 120 representatives — voted to place the amendment on the ballot.
Governor Cooper Signs Four Bills and Vetoes Two Bills
Governor Roy Cooper signed the following bills into law:
Attorney General Josh Stein Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Federal Ghost Gun Regulations
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a federal rule that regulates ghost guns—untraceable weapons often made at home from kits—like other firearms. In an amicus brief filed in Garland v. VanDerStok, Attorney General Stein and a coalition of 24 attorneys general urged the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision that overturned the ghost gun rule, arguing that the rule is a common-sense measure to prevent gun violence and help law enforcement solve crimes.
North Carolina’s May County and Area Unemployment Figures Released
Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 95 of North Carolina’s counties in May 2024, decreased in four, and remained unchanged in one. Scotland County had the highest unemployment rate at 6.0 percent while Buncombe and Currituck Counties each had the lowest at 2.8 percent.
Governor Cooper Joins US Department of Transportation Secretary Buttigieg for First S-Line Project Groundbreaking and Blue Ridge Road Construction Site Visit
Governor Roy Cooper joined US Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Raleigh for the first groundbreaking of the S-Line Project, the major infrastructure project that will revitalize the Southeast Corridor of passenger rail, and a visit to the Blue Ridge Road construction site, a project that will improve traffic flow, access, and efficiency along the Raleigh Beltline.