State government

A picture of money and the words "state budget"

Legislators will vote on a state budget with Medicaid expansion and without casinos

BY: - September 20, 2023

The Republicans’ Frankenstein experiment that sutured promised Medicaid expansion in North Carolina to expanded legal gambling has failed. Republican legislative leaders announced Tuesday night that they are ending their attempts to authorize more casinos in the state — at least for this year — and that the $30 billion budget will move forward with Medicaid […]

Senate leader folds his hand. Casinos will not be part of North Carolina’s budget.

BY: - September 20, 2023

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) rarely loses a hand in the political games that play such a prominent role in the work of North Carolina General Assembly. But on Tuesday, Berger seemed to abide by the admonition in the famous Kenny Rogers’ song, “The Gambler”: “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when […]

NC House Elections and Campaign Finance Reform committee members

NC House okays GOP bills to alter election board appointments, open voting records

BY: - September 20, 2023

The state House voted along party lines Tuesday on a Republican plan to give legislators more control over elections.  The governor would be stripped of the power to appoint members of the state Board of Elections. Legislators would select all members of state and local elections boards, with Republican and Democratic leaders appointing equal numbers.  […]

Gov. Roy Cooper

BREAKING: Cooper rejects scheme to pair Medicaid expansion with casinos

BY: - September 19, 2023

Gov. Roy Cooper has decided to oppose a plan advanced by Republican state lawmakers to condition the state’s long-planned Medicaid expansion on passage of a proposal to dramatically expand casino gambling in the state. According to an administration official with direct knowledge of the decision, the governor was reaching out Tuesday afternoon to convey that […]

Medicaid expansion

Casino-Medicaid bill also includes proposal for spending ARPA windfall

BY: - September 19, 2023

Republican legislators’ proposed legislation to pair the approval of four new casinos in the state with Medicaid expansion also details how North Carolina would spend a “temporary savings fund” from the American Rescue Plan Act. Most, but not all, of the cash would go toward health-related programs and initiatives. It’s not clear if the bill […]

a roulette wheel

NC Democrats condemn GOP plan to link Medicaid expansion to casino approval

BY: - September 18, 2023

North Carolina Democrats are slamming a maneuver by Republicans in the legislature to tie Medicaid expansion to the approval of new casinos.  Legislative approval of a state budget has been held up by a proposal to roll authorization for four new casinos into the budget bill. The Republican-led legislature voted for Medicaid expansion in March, […]

North Carolina State Capitol Photo: Clayton Henkel

Weekend reads:Tenured faculty under review, changes on the bench, lockdown generation speaks up

BY: - September 17, 2023

UNC System examining tenure review, incentivizing faculty retirements   UNC System President Peter Hans speaks in a Wednesday committee meeting. (Image: PBS NC live feed) By Joe Killian The system wants a more rigorous review process for tenured faculty The UNC System Board of Governors is asking for a more uniform and rigorous tenure review […]

Democracy, casting a ballot

How much influence should college students have over local elections?

BY: - September 15, 2023

In the waning days of the 2023 legislative session, there seems to be no shortage of ideas of how to reshape North Carolina’s elections. From ballot signature verification to giving the General Assembly appointment power to the State Board of Elections, Republican legislators maintain their changes will instill voter confidence in the system. On Tuesday, […]

Hann Henson

“Where is there to go?” He needs gender-affirming surgery, but NC is fighting to deny coverage.

BY: - September 14, 2023

This story was originally published by Pro Publica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In the spring of 2022, Hann Henson accepted a job as a communications specialist for a North Carolina school district. Not long after his insurance kicked […]

Voters line up to vote.

Elections changes giving NC legislators more power move back to the forefront

BY: - September 13, 2023

Republicans’ multi-tiered reconstruction of elections in North Carolina moved ahead Wednesday with House committee approval of a bill remaking state and local elections administration that opponents see as a path toward reduced early voting and gridlock.  The bill takes away the governor’s power to appoint members to the State Board of Elections and gives it […]

Photo gallery: UNC-CH students call for gun reform at General Assembly

BY: - September 13, 2023

Two weeks after a fatal shooting on their campus, dozens of UNC-Chapel Hill students gathered in front of the Legislative Building Tuesday to demand the General Assembly pass legislation to tighten access to guns. Students spoke of the trauma they have endured since the school shooting and the failure of state lawmakers to consider ‘red […]

Mike Morgan

Former Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan joins growing Governor’s race field

BY: - September 12, 2023

As had been intimated in a series of recent public comments and social media posts, newly retired North Carolina state Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan announced today that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Governor in the primary election that takes place next March. Morgan’s entry into the field makes him the second prominent […]