A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the House to directly help victims of human trafficking and to establish a pilot program to educate students and law enforcement officers on ways to recognize the signs of trafficking activity. Human trafficking is the illegal practice of buying and selling people for the purposes of their forced […]
Bipartisan legislation passed the House overwhelmingly on Tuesday designating the Golden Silk Spider as North Carolina’s official state spider. House Bill 595 is the result of work by a first grade class that was studying state symbols. Students at Isaac Dickson Elementary School in Asheville were reviewing North Carolina’s General Statutes on state symbols with the goal […]
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 […]
As the opening line of a popular TV show says: “In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.” And with the passage of a new state law supported by Representative McGrady, criminals who are convicted of these sexually violent offenses can now expect to wait longer for their parole hearings. Under North […]
There’s quite a lot to be said for technology that allows us to pull out a smartphone and have a nice voice tell us the quickest route over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. But for all of its upsides, this same technology can also have a dark side; in the hands […]
A new state law gives immediate protection to victims of domestic violence who seek emergency protective orders by eliminating a roadblock many victims faced when they filed for emergency protective orders. Governor Pat McCrory signed the bipartisan legislation, House Bill 59, on July 31 after passing the General Assembly overwhelmingly. The roadblock concerned a requirement to orally record […]
With the Senate working on its budget, the House moved to take action on a range of controversial social issues. In the span of two weeks, the House is expected to consider legislation involving guns, abortion, alcohol, gay marriage, and animal welfare. An immigration-related bill could also be heard. While the issues themselves are difficult, […]
The House deadline for filing bills passed last week. At the beginning of last week, there were nearly 600 bills filed in the House since the start of the session in January. By the end of last week, over 900 bills were pending in the House. In other words, one-third of the total number of bills […]
Over the last several months, there have been a number of mischaracterizations in the media regarding a new law that will bring common-sense health and safety standards to clinics which provide abortions in the state of North Carolina. Contrary to what many activists have said, the legislation does nothing to change federal law or limit […]