NCACC Weekly Update — February 18, 2022 | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    Notable Activity

    Members of the General Assembly returned to Raleigh this week. Redistricting maps were the primary focus of the week to meet the NC Supreme Court deadline of Friday at 5:00 p.m. Late Wednesday night, the House passed HB 980 with strong bi-partisan support, 115-5. The Senate passed its map, SB 744, on Thursday afternoon, along with the Congressional map, SB 745. These maps will now be sent to a three-judge panel to decide the constitutionality of the newly created maps. As a reminder, the primary elections were moved from March to May. The State Board of Elections has said it needs districts in place by February 18 to make the May election timetable. Candidates will have until March 4 to decide which districts to run in. Interim committee meetings will resume next week. NCACC will monitor all happenings at the General Assembly and provide any updates of interest to counties and our members.

    Other Bills of Note

    Senate Bill 173 Free the Smiles Act - allows parents to opt their children out of any mask mandates imposed in K-12 public schools, regardless of any state or local law to the contrary mandating masks to be worn in public and/or indoor places. The bill passed the General Assembly on Thursday. The bill now heads to the Governor for his consideration. It is unclear if he will sign or veto the legislation. Governor Cooper this week encouraged local governments and schools to ease their mask mandates but stopped short of suggesting it was the duty of the state to rollback local mandates.