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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
50 million tourists spent $23 billion in North Carolina last year, an all-time high, according to a new report by the U.S. Travel Association. These tourism dollars supported 45,000 small businesses, 218,340 jobs, and generated $3.6 billion in taxes. And much of that spending was undoubtedly linked to outdoor recreation; figures also released today by the Outdoor Industry Association show that in 2016, outdoor […]
With an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 109 to 8, the North Carolina House yesterday afternoon passed the “BRIGHT Futures Act” (House Bill 68) to accelerate the build-out of digital infrastructure in rural and other underserved areas of our state. Representative McGrady co-sponsored the bill. The goal is to bring greater economic prosperity to more folks by way of a […]
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 […]
September is a big month as far as gubernatorial proclamations go. The goal of a proclamation is to bring greater awareness and understanding of a particular subject area, including heritage and culture, tourism, the economy, and public health matters — just to name a few. Governor Pat McCrory has proclaimed September as Alcohol And Drug Addiction […]
Governor Pat McCrory and Department of Commerce Secretary John E. Skvarla III announced last week that visitor spending has increased in all regions of North Carolina. New data from Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, shows that domestic visitor spending has increased in 91 of the state’s 100 […]
Governor Pat McCrory announced today that CSX Corporation, one of the world’s leading transportation companies, will open a new intermodal terminal in Edgecombe County. Known as the Carolina Connector (CCX), this critical infrastructure project will bring jobs and economic opportunity to eastern North Carolina and position the state as a leader in enhanced freight movement. CCX […]
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) held a joint press conference yesterday to announce details of the $22.34 billion budget agreement reached between Senate and House conferees this past weekend. The compromise budget includes a responsible 2.8 percent spending increase and achieves both chambers’ shared goals with Governor Pat McCrory of […]
With a unanimous vote this afternoon, the House gave its final approval to the Regulatory Reform Act of 2016. The measure now goes to the Senate for its consideration. The wide-ranging legislation, which continues the legislature’s ongoing commitment to reforming the North Carolina’s burdensome and outdated system of regulations, amends a number of state laws related to business, […]
Yesterday, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed its version of the state’s budget for the second year of this session’s biennium. The spending plan cleared the chamber by an overwhelming margin, with a bipartisan vote of 103-12. Representative McGrady, one of the House’s Chief Appropriations Chairs (largely responsible for crafting the plan) voted with every other […]
Revenues for the current year are projected to finish $330 million above initial budget projections, according to the latest figures released by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management and the legislature’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. The latest revenue forecast also boosts projections for FY 2016-17 by $231 million above the certified budget. […]
Governor Pat McCrory announced today that North Carolina tourism generated record visitor spending in 2015 with a total of $21.9 billion, a 2.7 percent increase over 2014 which outpaced the national average for growth last year of only 2.1 percent. Additionally, tourism industry-supported employment topped 211,000 jobs to set another record for the state. “Nearly […]
Gov. Pat McCrory And North Carolina RepublicansHave A Great Story To Tell North Carolina has been generating national headlines over passage of House Bill 2, the new state law blocking a local ordinance passed by Charlotte earlier this year that allows people to use public restrooms assigned to the gender with which they identify. Opponents […]
In October of 2015, Governor Pat McCrory signed into law the Connect NC Bond Act, giving voters across the state the opportunity to approve a $2 billion bond during the primary election. The bond referendum that will be on tomorrow’s ballot was passed in the legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. The bond has also received a […]
This is pretty cool…Governor Pat McCrory surprised NASCAR champion and North Carolina resident Jeff Gordon by awarding him with the prestigious Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest award the governor can bestow. Governor McCrory celebrated Gordon’s achievements and the contributions of the motorsports industry to North Carolina at a banquet with nearly 400 business leaders, […]
From the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild: Representative Chuck McGrady Wins First Annual Legislative Leadership Award Craft beer has a powerful ally in the North Carolina legislature, and his name is Chuck McGrady. On December 2 at its annual conference, the NC Craft Brewers Guild awarded Representative McGrady its first annual legislative leadership award. In […]
Governor Pat McCrory issued the following proclamation designating today as “Small Business Saturday 2015” here in North Carolina: A Proclamation WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina celebrates our local small businesses and the contributions they make to our local economy and community; and WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are currently an […]
North Carolina was recognized as one of the nation’s leading tech states by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation during a press conference yesterday in the Old House Chamber of the North Carolina State Capitol. Governor Pat McCrory was joined by Carolyn Cawley, Managing Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; S. Lewis Ebert, President […]
From Forbes Magazine: North Carolina moves up one spot to rank second. The Tar Heel State is the only one to appear in the top five every year of our Best States study. North Carolina has the smallest union workforce in percentage terms in the U.S., which keeps costs down. Labor costs are 10% below the […]
At a signing ceremony this morning at the GE Aviation plant in Wilmington, Governor Pat McCrory proclaimed September 28 through October 2 “Manufacturing Week.” GE Aviation develops and produces the world’s most advanced composite components for jet engines and the company is continuing to expand operations in its various facilities across North Carolina. Manufacturing is North Carolina’s largest industry […]
Yesterday, the House passed House Bill 117, the “NC Competes” Act, with a bipartisan vote of 84-24. This major package of economic development initiatives offers several targeted tools designed and proven to spur job growth and encourage business investment in North Carolina. Representative McGrady supported the legislation. House Bill 117 now goes to Governor Pat McCrory for his signature. The Governor […]
Tonight, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bipartisan State Budget by a vote of 80-35. Representative McGrady, as one of the House’s Chief Appropriations Chairs largely responsible for crafting the budget, voted with all of his Republican colleagues and nine moderate Democrats in support of the plan. The budget, which covers funding for Fiscal Year 2015-2016 and Fiscal Year […]
As we mentioned the other day in our post delineating the many highlights of the proposed state budget, there’s a provision to expand the state’s sales tax base (not the rate) in order to help North Carolina’s poorer counties to build schools, community colleges, and attract employers; to see how the new money will be distributed, have […]
Representative McGrady joined House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger this afternoon at a joint press conference to announce details of the $21.735 billion budget agreement reached by members of the House and Senate this past weekend. As one of the “big chairs” of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative McGrady was one of just […]