All tagged nc general assembly

Elizabeth Johnson: Hospital Authorities

As the NC General Assembly nears the end of its legislative session, legislators are working on a massive state budget that includes a proposal to allow the largest healthcare system in the state to grow even bigger. That system, Atrium Health, has 67 hospitals throughout NC, Wisconsin, Illinois, and a multitude of other states. 

State democrats get reality check

The North Carolina General Assembly is going to stay in Republican hands after the 2022 midterms. For state Democrats, this is a bitter pill to swallow. That they’ve already managed to swallow it, however, is evident in their manifest failure to recruit enough candidates to put up a credible fight this year for control of the legislature.

Student mask rules lift after legislature’s vote, Cooper’s announcement

Mask mandates are stripping away across the state as school districts vote to end nearly two-year requirements that students in grades K through 12 remain masked for up to eight hours a day. As of Monday Feb 21, 2022, fewer than 50 school systems in North Carolina currently have mask mandates standing and this week even more are eliminating the requirement them, according to the N.C. School Board’s Association.

State legislatures to hold final votes on congressional, legislative maps

The North Carolina General Assembly is slated to give final approval to the state’s new congressional and legislative district maps on Thursday. The three proposal boundary maps moved quickly through committees and floor votes this week. During Thursday’s sessions the House is slated to pass the map for U.S. congressional seats in North Carolina, and the map for N.C. Senate districts. The Senates will consider the N.C. House district map.

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.

CON laws are too risky

I’ve long thought the North Carolina General Assembly should reform our state’s archaic and anti-competitive requirement for certificates-of-need. In the post-COVID world we are entering, however, CON reform is no longer just a good idea. It’s an imperative.