“Kudos to cartoonist Brent Brown for nailing the absurdity of the legislature’s opossum bill debacle.”
Tag: N.C. General Assembly
Showing 106-126 of 126 results
State textbook funding woefully inadequate
Have you noticed that prices are dropping and you can get more for less these days? We haven’t either, but our lawmakers are acting as if this were true. Our current state budget touts a $1 billion increase in educational funding, but little is said about how much of that money actually reaches classrooms. In […]
Letter writer: Valuable solar tax credits are set to expire
It was heartening to read the story about First Congregational United Church of Christ’s commitment to get as far off the electric grid as possible. The stated goal is to completely offset their power consumption. Their fundraising event as described in the Conscious Party article [“Souls for Solar,” March 11, Xpress] was a great way […]
Stop it, Moffitt
North Carolina Rep. Tim Moffitt and his study committee recommended to the General Assembly that Asheville city water be taken over by the state; this bill is expected to be voted on soon. See ashevillewater.blogspot.com for updates. Jane Whilden is running against Moffitt for the N.C. House of Representatives, District 116. Please spread the word […]
Redistricting: By-the-number breakdown
The proposed 11th Congressional District, which includes the city of Asheville, would lose almost 9,000 registered Democrats and gain more than 26,000 Republicans, according to stats released on the North Carolina General Assembly website.
NCmatters: Drawing lessons
Whatever the outcome of the N.C. General Assembly’s 2011 redistricting, the process has already attracted both national and state-level scrutiny. An across-the-aisle coalition has formed North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform, a nonprofit that aims to take redistricting away from state legislators in favor of an independent body to ensure an open, public-driven process. As Executive […]
Healthcare reform needs your voice
Although "healthcare reform" was passed, the state is now making decisions about how North Carolina will respond to the new federal rules. The N.C. General Assembly is considering legislation that would put Blue Cross Blue Shield permanently on a board whose purpose it is to help small businesses and those who cannot afford health insurance. […]
Playing the numbers
With the 2010 census numbers now in hand, the state Legislature has begun redrawing the lines for N.C. House and Senate, as well as congressional districts. May 15 is the target date for producing new district maps; public hearings are now being held around the state, with a visit to Western North Carolina slated for […]
Multiple choice
The Joint Committee on Regulatory Reform, established by North Carolina legislators this year, is on the road. Its mission: Scrutinize “burdensome state rules and regulations on behalf of the private sector.” The 18-member team wants to hear from business and farm owners around the state concerning “outdated rules and regulations that should be eliminated.” The […]
Legislators pile up the bills; governor throws another one out
Legislators added more than 130 new bills to the roster last week, while one of the premier acts in the House (HB 2, which proposes bucking the federal health-care bill) was returned by the governor, who exercised her veto power for the second time.
Will charter school legislation pass the test?
Area Democratic representatives plan bill-to-bill combat with the Senate’s proposed charter-school changes.
photo by Jonathan Welch
Clock is ticking on Health Care Freedom Act
The North Carolina General Assembly’s protest of the national health-care mandates is resting uneasily on the governor’s desk.
Perdue vetoes Republican deficit bill
Gov. Bev Perdue, at 3:05 p.m. yesterday, Feb. 22, exercised her veto power to send SB 13, “The Balanced Budget Act of 2011,” back to the General Assembly, calling it a “one-time cash-grab.”
Will the real budget deficit please stand still?
In a bit of a shell game, legislators continued to formulate their approach to the state’s budget deficit even as the governor announced that new projections had erased $1 billion of the originally predicted $3.7 billion shortfall for the next fiscal year. (The projected deficit was subsequently scaled down to $2.4 billion.) Meanwhile, the Legislature […]
Choice battles emerge in Legislature
With the release of Gov. Bev Perdue’s proposed 2011-2013 budget on Feb. 17, an important line was drawn.
NC Matters
Entering her fourth term in the N.C. General Assembly, Rep. Susan Fisher of the 114th District is the senior representative from Buncombe County. As a Democrat, however, she lost the leadership positions she held last year as Republicans took control of both houses of the Legislature in January. "None of the Democrats are seeing office-holding […]
Would the real budget deficit please stand still
In a bit of a shell game last week in the N.C. General Assembly, legislators continued to look for their own approach to the state’s budget deficit while the governor announced new deficit projections had erased $1 billion of the original $3.7 billion shortfall.
Democrat Susan Fisher describes the “new landscape” in a Republican-controlled Statehouse
Buncombe County’s senior representative in the North Carolina House sees an “interesting time” ahead for the next two years, but says the minority Democrats are working very well together.
Legislators argue money, praise Boy Scouts, and contemplate election law changes
In the midst of budgetary rancor, there was a trace of bipartisan support in the Legislature last week for reforming state election law and saluting the North Carolina’s Boy Scouts.
N.C. fiscal woes include $2.5 billion debt for unemployment benefits
To pay unemployment benefits, the state has borrowed approximately $2.5 billion from the federal government since 2009.
State legislative roundup: Total bills filed down by 12 percent so far this session
Windfall: The past week in the state legislature saw another host of new bills moved for such purposes as aiding public libraries and small businesses, and establishing wind-energy permitting procedures. Overall bill numbers this year are down, however, by around 12 percent, as the legislators economize on their ambitions.