Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the House to help save the lives of people who use public swimming pools in North Carolina. House Bill 598 mandates that a special circuit breaker device be installed on any line that provides power to a pool’s pump motor. This device is known as a ground fault circuit interrupter. […]
For the last several months, legislators’ primary focus has been on getting bills filed, and some number of those bills have been heard in committee and came to the floor for a vote. Over the next eight days, more bills will likely be heard in committees and come to the floor for a vote than […]
With The Bathroom Bill Gone, Here Are 5 Things Happening In North Carolina For The Media To Cover by Patrick Gleason Between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels beating Gonzaga to win the men’s college basketball national championship on Monday, and the North Carolina General Assembly last Thursday repealing House Bill 2, commonly referred […]
A bill sponsored by Representative McGrady giving North Carolina’s school districts more flexibility in setting their own calendars passed the House earlier this week with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 108 to 6. House Bill 375 allows a school board to schedule its school opening date to coincide with the opening date of an area […]
Last week was so hectic, with legislators in and out of meetings and sessions to secure the votes for House Bill 142 — the repeal of HB2, that legislators seemed exhausted this week even with looming bill-filing and crossover deadlines. Most activity occurred in committees where legislators pushed their bills through committees with the goal […]
After months of speculation about what the legislature might do regarding the controversial HB2, the so-called “Bathroom Bill,” the General Assembly passed House Bill 142 [Reset of S.L. 2016-3.] in one day. Governor Cooper immediately signed the bill. In the one-page bill, the legislature first repealed HB2, then preempted all state agencies, including state universities […]
Down through the centuries, border disputes have involved simmering geopolitical tensions that have often led to armed conflict. Thankfully, closer to home, a long-standing border dispute has been peacefully resolved: by moving the Lake Wylie Mini Mart to the state of North Carolina — or more to the point, the state of North Carolina moving to it. See, beginning on […]
When elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives six years ago, I would never have guessed that among my legislative specialties would be alcoholic beverages — which also includes distilled spirits, beer, wine and hard cider. Having never mentioned alcoholic beverage law as something that interested me in any campaign, it is surprising to […]
Ahead of National Crime Victim Rights Week, the House passed the “Kelsey Smith Act” this afternoon by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 113-5. House Bill 315 allows law enforcement officials to access a cell phone’s tracking technology to quickly locate a missing person in an emergency situation and the legislation shields cell phone service providers from prosecution for potential privacy violations while […]
A proposal to get tougher on gang-related crimes passed in the House today by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 109 to 4. The bill’s sponsors believe that it’s a fundamental right of every person to be secure and protected from the fear, intimidation, and physical harm caused by the activities of criminal gangs. House Bill 138 will […]
A new state law passed last session helps keep small-scale urban beekeepers from being regulated out of existence by their own towns. A provision in the “Local Government Regulatory Reform of 2015” (House Bill 44) prohibits cities and counties from enforcing any ordinance or resolution that prohibits folks from owning or operating five or fewer beehives. The bill […]
Yesterday, leaders of the House Finance Committee filed House Bill 356, “The Tax Reduction Act of 2017,” calling for another round of tax cuts for North Carolina’s families and businesses. This comprehensive legislation builds on the historic tax reforms that have stimulated the state’s rapid economic growth since 2013. House Bill 356 would once again increase North Carolina’s “standard deduction,” this time […]
My apologies for letting two months go by between communications. While lobbyists complained of a slow start to the legislative session, that isn’t my perspective. I’ve been busy from day one. Initially, some probably weren’t sure what exactly kept me so busy, but with the filing of House Bill 186 [Repeal HB2/State Nondiscrimination Policies], that should have […]
Yesterday, Representative McGrady introduced legislation in the House that seeks to reform the way that juvenile offenders are treated under the state’s criminal justice system. House Bill 280, The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act (colloquially known as the “Raise the Age Bill”) raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 16 to 18 years for children who are convicted of […]
A bill was been filed in the House yesterday in a bi-partisan effort to meet the vital needs of many North Carolinians by improving access to life saving oral cancer medications, some of which are the most effective medications on the market today. Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry has led to effective medications that were once available only […]
Representative McGrady was joined today by a diverse and bipartisan group of both state and local elected officials and an impressive coalition of 13 different business groups and associations in support of his bipartisan compromise legislation (HB186) to repeal HB2. They included Charlotte City Council members James Mitchell and Ed Driggs, Charlotte’s City Manager Marcus […]
The House unanimously passed a bipartisan bill on Monday, February 27 that will improve access to physical therapy services for North Carolina practitioners and patients. House Bill 57 will allow the state to recognize licensed physical therapists from other states who also enact their own compact. This bill, if passed by the Senate, will enhance […]
The N.C. Technology Association’s 2017 ‘State of Technology’ report ranked North Carolina No. 1 in the United States for IT employment growth and the percentage of women in the sector’s workforce. The report compares tech job trends across the United States between 2010 and 2015, ranking North Carolina according to key metrics such as IT […]
Today, Representative Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson), Rep. Marvin Lucas (D-Cumberland) Rep. Ken Goodman (D-Richmond), and Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover) filed HB 186 [Repeal House Bill 2/State Nondiscrimination Policies] a bi-partisan, compromise bill to Repeal House Bill 2 and move North Carolina forward. This compromise bill does the following: Repeals House Bill 2, Session Law 2016-3, […]
At a press conference earlier today, Representatives Nelson Dollar, Julia Howard, Sarah Stevens, and Susan Martin filed a bipartisan bill to provide space on North Carolina’s state income tax form that will allow individuals to donate a portion of their tax refund to support the early detection of breast and cervical cancer as provided by […]
Guest post by John Hood Do governors and state legislators really have much to do with the performance of state economies? If governors and state legislators are to be believed, their policies are responsible for all good economic news — and rarely responsible for the bad news. It’s easy to ridicule the self-importance of politicians. […]
The following piece was written by North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell and first appeared in the North State Journal on February 8, 2016. What We’ve Done for North Carolina North Carolina was once a state that was defined by slow economic growth, high unemployment, burdensome taxes, and massive federal debt. Our great state […]
With an overwhelming bipartisan vote earlier today of 104 to 9, the North Carolina House passed House Bill 3, legislation that proposes a constitutional amendment to preserve the private property rights of citizens across the state. Representative McGrady was the primary sponsor of the legislation. The constitutional amendment would specify that any government taking of […]
The North Carolina House of Representatives voted unanimously today to pass House Bill 13, providing local school districts with the flexibility they requested for class size scheduling in kindergarten through the third grade. Representative McGrady was the primary sponsor of the legislation. “House Bill 13 provides flexibility to local school boards as to how they […]
Representative McGrady has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation allowing Public-Private Partnerships to expand high-speed fiber optic networks to rural and other underserved communities. The BRIGHT Futures Act (House Bill 68) is legislation focused on accelerating digital infrastructure and economic development in rural and unserved areas of North Carolina by connecting them to the key markets of Broadband, […]
The North Carolina House of Representatives voted 110 to 3 on Wednesday to pass House Bill 7 Strengthen Savings Reserve. The legislation is part of an ongoing effort by Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly to save responsibly and prepare the state for potential emergency funding or disaster recovery needs. Representative McGrady was a […]
Once again, state government is forecasting a budget surplus flowing into its general fund for fiscal year 2016-2017 — that’s the period from July 2016 to June 2017 that the state uses for taxing and accounting purposes. This is just the latest in a string of positive budget news for state lawmakers and marks the third […]
The following editorial appeared in the Hendersonville Times-News on February 10. HB2: Don’t wait to find a solution Henderson County and Western North Carolina have a smart, pragmatic and experienced leader in N.C. Rep. Chuck McGrady. His consensus-building skills are needed as North Carolina tries again to repeal a law that’s cost the state millions, […]
Collegiality rules on first day of legislative session Berger, Moore re-elected to top posts unanimously; Blue, Jackson to lead Democrats Bipartisanship ruled the day as lawmakers returned Wednesday to begin the 2017 long session of the General Assembly. The collegiality on opening day marked a stark contrast with the final days of special legislative sessions held […]
(Or why I voted the way I did on S4 & H17) For me, the Special Sessions could go by the title of that old Clint Eastwood movie: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The optics of the first, two Special Sessions before the Christmas holiday, were horrible. We were called to Raleigh to […]