Imagine yourself in the following situation: Your children lack decent clothing and shoes and depend on reduced-price school meals to meet their weekly nutrition requirements.
All tagged general assembly
High staff vacancies meant NC agencies left budgeted money unspent
North Carolina agencies left untouched more than $1 billion set aside for them, partly because of the state employee staff shortage, the state budget office said Monday.
Governor Cooper Urges Legislators to Invest in Public Schools and Teachers, Stop Plans to Dismantle Public Education
On May 23, Governor Roy Cooper sent a letter to all state legislators in the House and Senate urging them to make meaningful investments in North Carolina’s public schools, students and teachers and stop their plans to dismantle public education by causing public schools to lose hundreds of millions of dollars through the expansion of private school vouchers, exacerbating the state’s teacher shortage and providing no substantive funding for early childhood education and child care.
John Hood: School Choice Offers a Brighter Future
The North Carolina General Assembly is about to make all children eligible for the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program.
Budget misses opportunity to support local law enforcement officers, protect the public
Attorney General Josh Stein today pushed the North Carolina General Assembly to support local law enforcement officers in its final budget. Current budget drafts do not include significant measures to address the law enforcement recruitment and retention challenges facing agencies across the state.
Following significant student learning recovery, Governor Cooper urges General Assembly to make major investments in public education
Governor Roy Cooper urged state legislators to make major investments in public education following a report from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction that showed students across the state experienced significant learning recovery in nearly every subject during the 2021-22 school year. These results come following over $5 billion in federal investments sent to North Carolina’s public schools to address the pandemic’s impact.
John Hood: Sweat the details on teacher pay
The General Assembly ought to enact big pay increases for educators in North Carolina’s public schools. In the context of soaring prices, strong revenue collections, tight labor markets, and persistent vacancies in key teaching positions, it’s the right thing to do.
NC Senate approves new compositions for unelected boards and commissions
The N.C. Senate passed a bill to bring much-needed balance to unelected boards and commissions.
New revenue forecast projects $3.25 billion surplus and 10.7% revenue increase for fiscal year 2022-23
Economists in the Office of State Budget and Management and the General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division released an updated consensus revenue forecast today anticipating an additional $3.25 billion in state revenues for FY 2022-23, putting total state General Fund revenue collections at $33.76 billion.
Leandro judge rules plan is underfunded by $785 million, won’t order transfer
The judge in North Carolina’s long-running Leandro school funding legal dispute calls for state government to spend an additional $785 million on education-related items. But he has jettisoned a controversial provision from a previous court ruling that raised constitutional concerns.
Governor Cooper announces State Boards and Commissions Appointments
Governor Roy Cooper announced nominations and appointments to North Carolina boards and commissions.
Golden Leaf got $83 million in COVID relief, but failed to properly monitor it, audit finds
The Golden LEAF Foundation failed to monitor how $83 million in federal money from the COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan Program were used, a new audit finds.
Legislative leaders Ask U.S. Supreme Court to hear redistricting case
General Assembly leadership petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the congressional redistricting case.
Democrats' 'no' votes on Free the Smiles veto override follow common pattern
Neither state Senate Democrat who initially voted for the Free the Smiles legislation last month was willing to stick with that "yes" vote this week. Both of their "yes" votes turned into "no" when they had a chance to help override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the school masking measure.
Gov. Cooper Refuses to End State of Emergency After Two Years
For 730 days, Gov. Roy Cooper has kept North Carolina in a “state of emergency” even as COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines have disappeared.
Property rights are worth defending
There’s always a cost to protecting property rights. No rational person has ever suggested otherwise. In free societies that place a high value on the individual right to own and control private property, it’s more expensive for governments to build roads or public facilities.
Ukraine invasion claims voter attention
Over the past couple of weeks, North Carolina politicos have focused intently on the outcome of the state’s latest redistricting saga. After the GOP-majority General Assembly saw its original set of electoral districts thrown out by the courts, lawmakers tried again. Their new legislative maps were accepted. A three-judge panel rejected the Republicans’ newly crafted congressional districts, however, and enacted a “remedial” map for the 2022 cycle.
Lawmakers take N.C. congressional map dispute to U.S. Supreme Court
State legislative leaders are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step into the legal dispute over a new congressional map for North Carolina.
State Supreme Court rejects competing redistricting appeals
The N.C. Supreme Court is refusing to insert itself back into the state's legal dispute over legislative and congressional redistricting at this time. A series of court orders issued about 10 p.m. Wednesday denied requests for action from supporters and critics of a three-judge panel's ruling on election maps.
Updated legislative electoral maps pass General Assembly
The N.C. House and Senate gave final approval to redrawn or remedial legislative electoral maps Thursday, after last-minute adjustments delayed the Senate session several times. The House gave largely bipartisan approval to its own map, 115-5, Wednesday night, with five Democrats voting against it. The Senate approved the House's maps, as well, with a 41-3 vote and no comment or change.