With a third short session convening Nov. 7, the N.C. General Assembly’s leadership has now announced a fourth: the legislators will reconvene Nov. 28-30. And in further scheduling, January is now the target date for the first meeting of the study committee that will delve into the sensitive history — and future — of the Asheville water system.
As the N.C. General Assembly members gear up for their third special session following the January-June assembly in Raleigh, legal challenges are already in process regarding their work so far. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles has temporarily blocked one part of the state’s new abortion law, the remainder of which took effect on Oct. 26. Meanwhile, the pro-choice group NARAL is questioning the funding and non-regulation of crisis pregnancy centers in the state.
Early voting in Buncombe County begins today, Thursday, Oct. 20, but this being a municipal-election year, there are some twists to how it is being conducted.
North Carolina’s political climate may be experiencing its own form of global warming. At minimum, it’s already a hot topic nationally. The October 10 issues of The New Yorker and Time magazines feature articles examining politics in this state through fairly strong lenses.
N.C. House Majority Leader Paul Stam is certain of one thing: "There is no legal controversy" concerning the wording of a constitutional amendment that will appear on the statewide ballot next May. Voters will decide the fate of the amendment, which would make marriage between one man and one woman the "only domestic legal union" […]
There’s controversy, for sure, about the state’s Defense of Marriage amendment proposal. But N.C. House Majority Leader Paul Stam says there is no “legal” controversy in the ballot’s wording.
It’s September — normally a safe time for state legislators who have businesses or jobs to attend to in their home territories. But although the actual number of legislative days in Raleigh is down from past years, the N.C. General Assembly just met for the third time this year, and a fourth round looms.
The proposed defense-of-marriage amendment to the N.C. Constitution took on yet another persona today when the Senate passed SB 514, formerly known as the Nutrient Management Plan.
A new version of a proposed defense-of-marriage amendment to the North Carolina Constitution is slated for consideration today, Sept. 12, as the General Assembly reconvenes, but its text is judged as “no less discriminatory” by Buncombe County Democratic Rep. Susan Fisher.
The controversial constitutional amendment setting a one-man, one-woman requirement for legal marriage in the state of North Carolina has taken an odd detour as a special session of the Legislature convenes. The wording is the same, but it now appears under a bill number originally intended to set term limits for Legislative leadership.
The N.C. General Assembly convenes its second special session on September 12 after a several-week summer hiatus. The primary reasons stated for this third convening of the 2011 session include dealing with proposed constitutional amendments and legislation relating to election laws.
On Monday and Tuesday, July 25 and 26, North Carolina legislators overrode four closely watched gubernatorial vetoes, including bills that create medical liability reforms, set up sweeping state regulatory reform, establish new rules for Medicaid and health care providers, and make significant changes in the Employment Security Commision. Late Tuesday, in a party line vote of 67-52, the House failed to override the veto of HB 351 (Restore Confidence in Government), which would require photo ID for voting, but the bill remains alive through passage of reconsideration vote. Of the remaining bills considered for potential override, HB 854 (Abortion — Woman’s Right to Know) passed in the House and moves to the Senate.
With threats of lawsuits already flying as redistricting gets under way, North Carolina’s history provides a mirror for illuminating the shape of the debate to come. To achieve equal representation, the boundaries for congressional as well as state House and Senate districts must be redrawn every 10 years, based on the latest census figures. North […]
Moving behind all the hoopla of the 2011-2012 N.C. General Assembly thus far have been some quiet, mostly nonpartisan background bills that have now become state law. They have dealt with tax exemption for land conservation, flexible school schedules for inclement weather, brain concussion awareness in school athletics, and other issues directly affecting or pertinent to Western North Carolina.
Watching the N.C. General Assembly's 2011-12 session thus far has been like sitting through a civics lesson on steroids. There’s been the high drama of the Republican Party's complete takeover of the Statehouse for the first time since 1870; the crisis of looming budget deficits in the wake of a national economic tidal wave; the […]
It’s official! Stock-car racing is now the state sport of North Carolina.
Leaving some 200 fresh bills on the governor’s desk, the N.C. General Assembly adjourned Saturday, June 18. The redistricting process, however, will be carried on by committee, with a videoconference public hearing scheduled for Thursday, June 23.
If North Carolina were a home-rule state, the conventional wisdom goes, then the Legislature might keep its hands off local issues and actions.
Shortly past midnight this morning, the N.C. House voted 73-46 this morning to override Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto of the state budget proposal. Other action during a busy day saw the elimination of the state’s air toxics program pass in committee. Proposed changes to state election law failed in committee, but is expected to be voted on again today.
While the all-important $19.7 billion state budget labored its way through the General Assembly en route to Gov. Bev Perdue’s historic June 12 veto (the first time a North Carolina governor has ever rejected a budget), legislators also pushed a number of other bills along the Statehouse corridors toward the June 9 crossover deadline (after […]
The controversial abortion-control bill that passed the N.C. House last week is expected to be approved by the Senate. Fresh on the heels of her history-making veto of the state budget bill, will Gov. Bev Perdue veto the abortion bill as well?
