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 […]
“Let us hold it our sacred duty and our inestimable privilege on this day to decorate these graves ourselves — with a fervent prayer and a pledge of true allegiance to the cause of liberty, peace, and country for which America’s own have ever served and sacrificed. “Our pledge and our prayer this day are […]
The North Carolina House of Representatives released highlights of its balanced budget proposal for the 2017-2018 biennium on Thursday, submitting a plan that continues to advance successful government investment strategies contributing to revenue surpluses, rainy day reserves, rapid economic and population growth this decade. The budget highlights released on Thursday were provided to area appropriations subcommittees […]
This afternoon, members of the North Carolina House of Representatives will hold session in the Old Capitol Building — instead of in their normal digs over at the Legislative Building. The special occasion is to commemorate the 242nd anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies during […]
Thanks to a new state law, this summer you’ll be able to do something you’ve never been able to do before in North Carolina: enjoy a big thick steak grilled over an open flame — at your favorite restaurant. Senate Bill 24, which unanimously passed both chambers of the General Assembly last week, now allows restaurants to […]
Those who know me well know I have conflicting views on the legislative process. There are some things I like and some things I hate. The basis for these conflicting views was pretty evident over the past two weeks. It is easy to describe my positive views. There is nothing like the feeling of successfully […]
North Carolina is one step closer toward raising the age for juvenile offenders. House Bill 280, Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act, on May 17 passed the state House in a sweeping 104-8 vote. The bill would move 16- and-17-year-old nonviolent offenders out of adult court and place them under the juvenile justice system, effective December 2019. […]
Legislation sponsored by Representative McGrady will save local governments money by giving them the option to post legal notices on the internet — rather than in a so-called “newspaper of record.” Cities and counties are required by law to officially notify the public when certain things are about to occur, including public meetings and hearings (e.g. a proposed change in zoning), purchase […]
Just as a year has distinctive seasons, the legislative session has its own seasons. The first season starts with the convening of the legislature. There is some pomp and circumstance and typically things go slowly in the beginning. Legislators get to know each other, begin to draft legislation, and things get organized — with the […]
From the Triangle Business Journal: There will be no sharing of Site Selection magazine’s Prosperity Cup title this year. In its May issue, released Thursday, North Carolina took first place for the 2017 award. Formerly known as the Top Competitive State award, North Carolina had tied with Texas for the top spot in 2016 after having […]