This week, Rep. Chris Millis (R-Pender) resigned from the NC House. Resignations aren’t that usual, but this one is noteworthy because Millis was one of the younger Members, and cited the need to spend more time with family, when announcing his resignation. His resignation came after the legislature came back in session for the second […]
Twelve years ago today, former Governor Mike Easley signed legislation establishing the so-called “North Carolina Education Lottery.” From the very start, the proposal sharply divided the public; opponents considered the lottery a regressive, thinly-disguised tax on the poor — and the way the controversial bill became law is a case study in political shenanigans. During […]
North Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped once again to 4.1 percent in July, decreasing 0.1 percentage points from June and remaining below the national average of 4.3 percent. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, most economists consider full employment (otherwise known as the “Nonaccelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment,” or NAIRU) to be in […]
Four months after being overwhelmingly passed in the House, the Restore Campus Free Speech Act has become law. House Bill 527 is bipartisan ‘campus free speech’ legislation that strengthens standards for free expression in our state university system and mandates that all public universities “ensure the fullest degree of intellectual freedom and free expression.” HB527 […]
Bipartisan legislation overwhelmingly passed the General Assembly last month that takes steps to fix the ongoing challenges in North Carolina’s child welfare system. It was signed into law on June 21. “Rylan’s Law” (House Bill 630) was named after Rylan Ott, a Moore County toddler who drowned in a pond after he was put back […]
Hundreds of thousands of hardworking North Carolinians will no longer pay any state income tax by 2019, thanks to several rounds of tax relief provided by the legislature’s Republican majority. A recent memo from the head economist at the non-partisan Fiscal Research Division notes that “of the nearly 4 million tax returns anticipated for tax […]
Legislation passed unanimously last month by the General Assembly makes it a crime to operate drones near North Carolina’s prisons or jails. House Bill 128 creates multiple criminal offenses for a person using an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) within 500 feet of local confinement facilities or State or federal correctional facilities (and within 250 feet […]
Many bills passed in the last two weeks of the session and are awaiting action from the Governor. He has until the end of the month to decide whether he will sign or veto most of these bills. He also has the option of allowing bills to become law without his signature. At this point, […]
North Carolina has received four national economic distinctions so far this month, including being hailed as the #1 state for starting a business, the #5 best state for business, the #5 best state for budget solvency, and one of only 12 states in the country with a unanimous ‘AAA’ bond rating. Fit Small Business, a Madison Avenue research and […]
Planning your summer vacation and looking for some light beach reading? Joseph Coletti over at the John Locke Foundation has you covered with a comprehensive analysis of this year’s state budget: A New State Budget Based On Time-Tested Principles In his 1985 address to the North Carolina Foundation for Research and Economic Education (NC FREE), […]
Lawmakers in Raleigh passed bipartisan legislation at the end of June giving more authority to cities and counties to relax certain prohibitions on the sale of alcohol. Representative McGrady was a chief architect and leading advocate of the legislation in the General Assembly. Senate Bill 155, the culmination of months of work, is catch-all legislation reforming more than a dozen alcoholic beverage control (ABC) laws. […]
Having overridden Governor Cooper’s veto of the budget, the General Assembly concluded its work just past 2:00 am on June 30, and headed home. The legislature had rocked along at a fairly slow pace until the last few weeks, but then completed its work in a series of long days and nights. More legislation was […]
Study: North Carolina is best state for starting a business by Danielle Chemtob, TBJ News Intern, Triangle Business Journal Entrepreneurs and business owners need look no further than the Tar Heel state to set up shop — North Carolina came out on top in a new study of the best states to start a business. […]
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which […]
Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest lays out the facts on public education spending contained in the General Assembly’s 2017-2018 Biennium Budget.
With a bipartisan majority of 76 to 43, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted yesterday to override the governor’s recent budget veto. The budget, now state law, enacts another round of middle-class tax cuts, a fourth consecutive teacher pay raise, and a record-high savings reserve. “The governor chose partisanship over the people of North […]
The North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously approved a final version of House Bill 243 — the “Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act” earlier this afternoon, passing a comprehensive measure to address the opioid epidemic through smarter prescribing and labeling, better dispensing and stricter requirements for use of the state’s Controlled Substances Reporting System. Key provisions […]
Anything about guns is contentious in the General Assembly. Groups, on the right and the left, take positions on gun-related legislation often mischaracterizing the legislation being considered. Advocates for Second Amendment rights and advocates for gun control talk right past each other, often without any real understanding of whatever bill is being considered. The latest […]
With both the House and Senate passing the budget with bipartisan and veto-proof majorities, they are each moving quickly to finish their work. Numerous bills are being taken up by both bodies, and the usually light Monday night calendar has been replaced by earlier sessions on Monday with lots of bills in the queue for […]
“With the passage of Senate Bill 257, our state will designate September 11th as First Responders Day, to honor those brave men and women who suit up each day to protect and serve our communities throughout North Carolina. I want to thank the leadership of the General Assembly, and in particular Senator Norm Sanderson, for […]
The North Carolina General Assembly gave its overwhelming approval yesterday to a $23 billion state budget that, among other things, increases education investments by more than $700 million, raises teacher pay for the fourth consecutive year, provides needed disaster relief to communities affected by Hurricane Matthew, helps lower-income people by further expanding the state’s zero-tax bracket, and adds $363.9 million to the state’s savings reserve account. […]
The State’s budget comes in two parts: Senate Bill 257 [The Appropriations Act of 2017], the actual law, and the so-called “Money Report” which shows all of the various appropriations by the numbers. SB257 is 438 pages long, and although not sequentially numbered, the Money Report is even longer. The Money Report is relatively easy […]
Legislation passed the House overwhelmingly last month that will help stimulate commerce and job creation for coin dealers and those in the Precious Metals trade. House Bill 434 updates current sales tax laws to allow for the exemption from sales taxes for the commercial sales of gold and silver bullion and coins. Included in the exemption is the […]
After two weeks of negotiations between Senate and House conferees, the compromise budget was introduced late last night, starting the clock on when the House can take up the bill. Under Senate rules, the Senate can take up the bill immediately, and it will likely take up the bill today and tomorrow. Under House rules, […]
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) held a joint press conference Monday to announce details of the roughly $23 billion budget and tax relief agreement reached between the state House and Senate. As a result of responsible budgeting decisions, millions of middle-class families and job-creating small businesses will keep more […]
Today we celebrate Flag Day, marking the adoption of the national flag of the United States of America by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The official journal for that day reads: “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a […]
Voting Thursday night and again in the wee hours of Friday morning, the House passed its budget. On Thursday, the vote was 82-34, and the Friday vote was 80-31, after 35 amendments were considered on the floor during the two sessions. Earlier in the week, the bill, SB257, was heard in the Finance Committee, the […]
General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during the Second World War, delivered the above message to encourage Allied soldiers taking part in the D-Day invasion. (Image courtesy of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum). The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944 brought together the land, air and […]
The House Budget for FY 2017-18 includes net appropriations of $22.9 billion, which is $559 million or 2.5% above the amount enacted for FY 2016-17. The following top line highlights are taken from the House Appropriations Committee’s full “Budget Highlights” report. To view specifics of the House Education Budget, the House Health and Human Services Budget, and […]