State government
Weekend reads: Public education’s ‘state of emergency’, lawmakers’ new wager on video gambling, and a bad week for NC waterways
In this week’s top news: 1. Gov. Roy Cooper declares ‘state of emergency’ for public education By Greg Childress Gov. Roy Cooper went on the attack Monday, blasting away at Republican legislation that he contends will “choke the life out of public education” in North Carolina. The Democratic governor said that it’s time to declare […]
Rash of legislation, intimidation, threats of violence pressure LGBTQ allies
When the giant retail chain Target rolled out its line of LGBTQ Pride Month merchandise earlier this month, it was welcomed as a bright spot in a dark year of near unprecedented legislative assaults for the community. More than 700 bills have been filed across the country, including in North Carolina, that would restrict how […]
Two NC House Republicans resign leadership positions in the wake of derogatory remarks
North Carolina House Republicans Jeff McNeely and Keith Kidwell have resigned leadership positions within their caucus in the wake of controversial statements each representative made last week. The resignations were first reported by Raleigh’s News & Observer. Republican House Majority Leader John Bell announced the resignations during a House session Thursday morning, the paper reported. […]
Proposal to authorize video gambling machines draws mixed reviews in state House committee
Representative Harry Warren (R-Rowan) has been trying for more than a decade to address the proliferation of video gambling machines that can be found in bars, restaurants and “sweepstakes parlors” across the state. Warren hopes this year with House Bill 512, he’s found a winner. The “Forgivable Loans/HBCU Supplemental Funding” bill, first discussed Tuesday in […]
One on one with Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the NC State Board of Elections
The November 2024 general election is more than 530 days away. We don’t know who will be on the ballot. We don’t know the key issue that will drive voters to the polls. But what we do know is that this month and next could be among the most critical for the North Carolina State […]
Thousands face Medicaid whiplash in South Dakota and North Carolina
This story was first published by KFF Health News. Until recently, Jonathon Murray relied on Medicaid to pay for treatments for multiple health conditions, including chronic insomnia. Murray, a 20-year-old restaurant worker from the college town of Brookings, South Dakota, said that without his medication, he would stay awake for several nights in a row. […]
Weekend reads: The latest on NC abortion restrictions, the state budget, protecting our voter rolls….and bombs in swamps?!? Really.
In this issue: 1. NC legislature overrides governor’s veto of abortion ban to make new restrictions law By Lynn Bonner Republican state legislators overturned Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a 12-week abortion ban Tuesday as hundreds of spectators packed the chamber galleries or watched from the hallway. Cooper’s veto was canceled in party-line votes […]
As Mark Walker enters GOP primary race for governor, a party weighs statewide appeal
When former Congressman Mark Walker takes the stage Saturday at the Triad Baptist Christian Academy in Kernersville, he’ll be mounting an uphill battle for the Republican nomination for governor. For Walker, it’s a familiar battlefield. In 2014 Walker, then a politically unknown Baptist pastor from Greensboro, entered a crowded, bare-knuckle scrum of a GOP primary […]
NC Republicans prohibit the state joining an organization meant to keep voter rolls clean
State House and Senate Republicans agree that North Carolina will not join a multi-state effort to maintain accurate voter rolls. Both chambers included provisions in their budget proposals that prohibit the state from participating in the Electronic Registration Information Center and eliminate what was to be next year’s $35,000 membership fee. Republican states started abandoning […]
NC Senate budget proposal receives bipartisan support, though Democrats’ amendments are sidelined
The Senate on Wednesday took a crucial 36-13 vote to pass its version of the next state budget, with seven Democrats joining Republicans in pushing the spending plan to its next phase. After another vote scheduled for today, Senate and House negotiators will write a compromise version of the budget that the legislature will pass […]
House Democrats condemn ‘hurtful’ GOP remarks about Black colleagues’ abortion, education
Democrats issued a statement late Wednesday condemning “hurtful remarks” Rep. Jeff McNeely, a Republican from Iredell County, made questioning whether a Black colleague was only able to attend Harvard University because he was a track athlete and a minority. House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said lawmakers must conduct themselves appropriately and with respect for other […]
The House budgeted for Voter ID. The Senate did not.
In its budget proposal unveiled last month, North Carolina’s House of Representatives budgeted $3.5 million for the State Board of Elections to implement voter ID requirements — before the state Supreme Court even ruled on whether it was constitutional. The Senate released its budget proposal this week. Unlike their House colleagues, however, it did not […]