The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission voted unanimously last week to recommend the state award a 10-year contract for warehouse services to LB&B Associates, the target of an audit in 2018 that has over the previous years cost the state about $13.5 million.
The N.C. General Assembly on Monday, March 1, tried but failed — by one vote, 29-20 — to override the governor’s veto of a bill to reopen schools, even as students — parents, too — suffer, and opinion polls show residents want children back in the classroom.
Called the “Students, Parents, Community Rights Act,” these bills would allow 50% capacity at outdoor sporting events. Until this week, these events were capped at 100 attendees per Cooper’s executive orders. His most recent order raised that to 30% capacity.
The N.C. House and Senate have come to terms on legislation to reopen schools for in-person instruction. But Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has indicated he will veto it, even though he says he wants students back in school.
Majorities of the House and Senate agree that N.C. schools need legislative prodding to reopen, but they’re struggling to come to terms on how to do it.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s call for more money for schools while also indicating he would veto a bill that could send students back to school has many in the state scratching their heads.
The N.C. General Assembly passed a bill Thursday, Feb. 4, that provides more than $2 billion in COVID aid across the state, most of it to public schools. The bill now heads to Gov. Roy Cooper, who held a press conference Thursday calling for hundreds of millions in more spending.
When the General Assembly reconvenes next week, broadband promises to be a hot topic. One of lawmakers’ first order of business, according to Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, will be to pass legislation handling money in the rural broadband grant program.
The N.C. Supreme Court has affirmed the General Assembly’s control over state spending decisions. A new 6-1 ruling rejects the governor’s attempt to bypass lawmakers in determining how federal block grants should be spent.
As of November, North Carolina’s state government has some $4 billion in unreserved cash in its General Fund, plus well north of $1 billion in its rainy-day account and other reserves.
