Late last night the General Assembly released the Joint Conference Committee Report on the Budget (Money Report) and the Conference Committee Substitute for House Bill 1030 (Special Provisions). These two documents detail the proposed adjustments to North Carolina’s FY 2016-17 budget. After many long days and nights, the budget is finally done. The Conference Committee […]
As the legislative session winds down, legislators and lobbyists wonder when exactly the session will be over and what bills will be taken up before adjournment. Hardly a day goes by without some lobbyist frantically calling to find out whether I think some bill will be taken up in the House. A few years ago, […]
The clearest signs that the legislative session is almost over are increased activity to reach a budget compromise and a flurry of activity in Senate committees. Those signs were evident on Friday as budget negotiators shuttled back and forth between the House and Senate sides of the Legislative Building and almost every Senate committee met, […]
Two years ago, the General Assembly passed the Coal Ash Management Act of 2014. It basically set up a regulatory scheme which would require the cleanup of Duke Energy’s coal ash basins and ponds. The NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was tasked with rating the risk of several dozen coal ash basins, and that […]
This afternoon, the House passed bipartisan legislation that builds upon the Coal Ash Management Act of 2014 and reconstitutes the Coal Ash Management Commission. Representative McGrady, the bill’s chief sponsor, had this to say: “I believe that this bill is about more than protecting public health, safety, and the welfare of North Carolina citizens. This […]
If all politics are local, then every budget is about the effect the budget will have upon one’s district. While legislators clearly pay attention to a budget’s effect on specific statewide programs (education, roads, state parks, etc.), legislators pay particular attention to what is in their backyards. As an Appropriations Chair, I am particularly aware […]
The House budget made it to the floor of the House yesterday following an Appropriations Committee meeting that went all day long. Early in the morning, the budget went to the Finance Committee, which signed off on one fee change and approved two tax reform provisions. Those provisions increased the Standard Deduction from $15,500 to […]
Last week, the various subject matter appropriations committees (Education, Transportation, Justice and Public Safety, Agriculture and Natural & Cultural Resources, among others) reported out their portions of the budget. Over the weekend, the co-chairs of Appropriations Committee (the so-called “Big Chairs”) met to cobble together the House budget. In addition to reviewing all of the […]
Two weeks ago, Governor McCrory announced his budget priorities. No real surprises — he wants more compensation for teachers, targeted raises for other state employees, and recommends substantially more money for mental health among other things. The details of his budget were sent over to the legislature the following week. Last week, with little fanfare, the […]
Representative McGrady announced his intention to sponsor legislation that will re-create the Coal Ash Management Commission following a NC Supreme Court decision that declared the former commission unconstitutional because of how the commission was appointed. The NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has responsibility for making recommendations to the Commission as to how coal ash […]
During any legislative session, it is common for a legislator to miss a few votes, although most legislators (with the exception of the Speaker who doesn’t normally vote) vote well in excess of 90% of the time. Only one House member, Rep. Nelson Dollar (R-Wake), voted 100% of the time during the last Long Session […]
Today the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research released its 2016 rankings on the effectiveness of each member of the North Carolina General Assembly. Representative McGrady ranked 7th of the entire 120-member body, moving up 19 spots from the 2013 long session, the last time the organization issued its biennial ranking. From the NCCPPR: The effectiveness rankings […]
by Scott Mooneyham, Director of Public Affairs for the North Carolina League of Municipalities Rep. Chuck McGrady knows that he is an oddity. In fact, he takes it a step further. “I tell people, I have known what an endangered species was for a long time. I never thought I would be one,” the Hendersonville […]
When I first heard that a three-judge panel of federal judges had declared two of the congressional districts unconstitutional because the legislature had relied on race in drawing those districts, I expected we’d be called back for a Special Session to redraw those districts. Since I didn’t serve on the committee dealing with elections, I […]
Webster’s Dictionary defines a “caucus” as “a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction.” While the definition is accurate, it doesn’t give one a real sense of how important a caucus is within the legislature. Under North Carolina law and the General Assembly’s rules, a caucus provides […]
From Derek Lacey at the Hendersonville Times-News: Sen. Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson) and Rep. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) are the first state legislators to be awarded the inaugural Tourism Champion Awards from the N.C. Travel and Tourism Coalition, the organization announced Wednesday. The two Western North Carolina legislators are the first-ever winners of the Champion Awards, which […]
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 […]
Representative Chuck McGrady announced this afternoon that as a result of the budget the legislature passed in September, several Department of Transportation projects will be accelerated and new projects added in Henderson County. These are just several of the projects across the state that that will be accelerated as a result of reforms in the […]
Hendersonville, NC – Today Representative Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) issued the following statement in response to Duke Energy’s announcement regarding proposed transmission lines in Henderson County and its plans for replacement of the Asheville coal-fired power plant: “I’m gratified that Duke Energy has responded to the overwhelming sentiment expressed in the over 9,000 comments it received […]
The North Carolina House of Representatives took its last vote of the Long Session at 4:12 am on September 30. The vote came on a technical corrections bill, Senate Bill 119 [GSC Technical Corrections 2015]. 37 members weren’t around to vote and the bill passed because the remaining Members were assured that the bill just […]
Today, Senator Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson) and Representative Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) released the following joint statement in response to the decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals relating to the public water system operated by the City of Asheville: “We are gratified by the unanimous decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals upholding the […]
With three days left in the session, just about everybody is grumpy. Legislators expected to be home months ago, and can’t wait for the session to be over. Lobbyists expected legislators would be gone, and they’d have an easier routine dealing with some interim committees that might meet. Staff haven’t had a rest, and some […]
High Profile, Will Pass Bills House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger announced late last week that the legislature would adjourn on September 30, bringing an end to one of the longer legislative sessions. Before the session ends, there appears to be consensus on the “must pass” bills, including bills reforming […]
A week ago, the legislature was working on its budget. There was light at the end of the tunnel on the budget, but not a clear path forward on a myriad of other issues. This week, the budget has already passed the Senate with bipartisan support, and in votes late today and early Friday the […]
Last week was a week of travel. That isn’t usually what legislators do during session, but budget negotiations in Raleigh and a public meeting on Duke Energy’s proposed electric transmission lines in Hendersonville caused me to travel back and forth — twice. After heading back to Raleigh on Sunday, I drove back to Hendersonville on […]
Budget Negotiations Last Thursday night, it seemed like we were finally making headway with the budget. The spending targets had been set for the various subject-matter appropriations committees, and each of them was meeting to negotiate their budgets. For example, the House’s Education appropriators were meeting with their Senate counterparts, and the same was true […]
From BlueRidgeNow: McGrady receives 2015 Friend of the Counties Award Former Henderson County Commissioner Chuck McGrady, in his third term in the North Carolina House of Representatives, was named winner of the 2015 Friend of the Counties Award by the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners during its 108th Annual Conference in Pitt County. First-term […]
If last week was Legislative Purgatory, then the beginning of this week can be described again in a Roman Catholic term, Limbo. Limbo, whether for the souls of unbaptized babies or the patriarchs of the Old Testament, is a temporary state, and this is where things currently stand with the budget. The budget negotiations are […]
The State Budget In Roman Catholic doctrine, Purgatory is a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven. If I didn’t understand that concept before this week, I now understand the concept. I’m caught in Raleigh occupying windowless rooms communicating and negotiating about […]
The chasm between Raleigh’s and Henderson County’s public policy priorities was clear last week. In Raleigh, the priority was and remains the budget. My colleagues, the media, and lobbyists are all focused on that, and that issue has crowded out the discussion of lots of other issues, including Medicaid reform. While other issues will again […]