Two House bills intended to reduce partisan manipulation of legislative redistricting could be acted on in the short session starting in April, though retiring Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, predicted the Senate would not approve either.
Published: Monday, January 11th, 2016 @ 12:07 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
In what is evolving into a war of words and political philosophies, Gov. Pat McCrory said he would pursue what Attorney General Roy Cooper would not - formal opposition to a Virginia transgender student's lawsuit that could force North Carolina to allow both sexes to use the same K-12 public...
Published: Friday, January 8th, 2016 @ 10:09 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
North Carolina has accepted 59 Syrian refugees, and as many as 270 others are expected to be relocated throughout the state, according to Gov. Pat McCrory's office. The governor's office updated the information Monday, three days after it responded to an open-records request from Carolina Journal...
Published: Thursday, January 7th, 2016 @ 11:37 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Expressing disappointment in President Obama's threat to veto his bill requiring a more thorough screening process of refugees from Syria and Iraq, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, R-8th District, said Thursday he hopes the measure gets the same veto-proof support in the Senate it received in the House.
Published: Thursday, January 7th, 2016 @ 2:52 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Yesterday, ace Carolina Journal reporter Dan Way brought a fascinating yet frightening UNESCO email to my attention. The organization announced a new campaign that calls on teachers "to become advocates for education to help lobby for progress toward achieving the new sustainable development agenda.
Published: Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 @ 3:19 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
While environmental activists believe New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's investigations of oil giant Exxon Mobil and coal producer Peabody Energy could develop into a multistate class-action matter on the scale of the lawsuit against cigarette makers, North Carolina has not joined...
Published: Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 @ 1:36 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright told attendees of a Sept. 19 event at a progressive church in Chapel Hill he is "giddily happy" with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, blamed U.S. foreign policy for the rise of ISIS, and took swipes at President Obama for failing to push racial reparations and...
Published: Saturday, October 3rd, 2015 @ 4:57 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
State taxpayers will pay $400 million less over the next two years if lawmakers pass a $21.735 billion state budget deal announced Monday by legislative leaders. The 2016-17 state budget also expands the sales tax base to include more repair and service work to help offset the tax rate reductions.
Published: Thursday, September 17th, 2015 @ 3:26 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
An environmental group lauding North Carolina for ranking No. 4 nationally in solar energy capacity agrees with foes of renewable energy mandates — the state's purported boom in clean energy mostly results from the government forcing utilities to purchase the higher-cost energy, along with...
Published: Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 @ 3:25 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Reversing eight years of state policy, the McCrory administration is restoring requirements that able-bodied adults without dependent children must work to continue receiving food stamps in North Carolina.
Published: Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 @ 9:17 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Despite recent legislation easing some restrictions on the marketplace, North Carolina's rate-setting structure for car insurance is little more than a government price-fixing scheme that hits consumers in the wallet while protecting the profits of some insurance companies, a consumer advocate...
Published: Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 @ 1:43 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
State Rep. Rob Bryan plans to introduce legislation creating a pilot program transforming as many as five perpetually failing elementary schools into charter-like entities under a new Achievement School District with its own superintendent.
Published: Wednesday, August 26th, 2015 @ 5:55 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
The Senate on Tuesday rejected a last-minute amendment that would expand Medicaid eligibility, and with 34-10 bipartisan support passed a bill making sweeping changes to the government insurance program for the poor, elderly, and disabled.
Published: Friday, August 21st, 2015 @ 3:30 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
The Senate on Monday night gave preliminary approval to House Bill 372, the Medicaid Transformation Act, by a 38-10 vote after a dispute over rules and decorum and a testy debate over whether this legislation would make expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act more likely.
Published: Saturday, August 15th, 2015 @ 2:22 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
North Carolina school districts should face few challenges administering a split tenure system for teachers following a state Court of Appeals opinion which maintained job protection for long-term teachers while eliminating it for those entering the profession, one official says.
Published: Wednesday, June 24th, 2015 @ 4:04 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Some Durham residents have raised alarms over what they view as a hidden, illegal tax imposed by city government in the yard waste removal program.
Published: Friday, June 12th, 2015 @ 2:50 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
North Carolina hospitals argue that dismantling regulations in the state's certificate of need laws would impair their ability to treat indigent patients. A research scholar at George Mason University's Mercatus Center says empirical studies conclude such dire warnings are little more than a...
Published: Tuesday, May 26th, 2015 @ 9:05 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Whether U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan's keynote address at N.C. Central University's 125th commencement ceremony illustrated what is wrong with the liberal stranglehold on higher education, or properly embraces an emerging social paradigm, likely depends on your own politics.
Published: Monday, May 25th, 2015 @ 12:27 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
A withering state audit uncovered a pattern of abuses by a division director at the Department of Health and Human Services, unearthing $1.6 million in excessive salaries and wages, rampant nepotism, failure to follow state policies, and continuing lax oversight at the agency.
Published: Sunday, May 17th, 2015 @ 12:51 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Opponents of the state's preferential treatment of renewable energy sources said North Carolina ratepayers should be relieved by the passage of House Bill 760 by a 77-32 vote on Wednesday after numerous delays, repeated compromises, and contentious debate.
Published: Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 @ 1:43 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Employers now will have "certainty about the cost of doing business in North Carolina," Gov. Pat McCrory said Tuesday in announcing that the state has paid off a $2.8 billion unemployment insurance debt to the federal government that he inherited upon taking office in January 2013.
Published: Sunday, May 10th, 2015 @ 5:16 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
The House on Tuesday approved a Senate bill that would extend the state's 35 percent renewable energy tax credit - set to expire at the end of 2015 - by one year to allow several major solar farms to hook up to the power grid. Over five years, the solar companies could collect as much as...
Published: Tuesday, April 28th, 2015 @ 5:49 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
House Republicans are taking another whack at ending subsidies attached to government-mandated purchases of renewable energy. House Bill 681 would require solar and other "green" power to compete with traditional fuel sources in the government-regulated electricity industry and determine the energy
Published: Saturday, April 18th, 2015 @ 12:19 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Right-leaning lawyers and legal analysts agree that the courts are a vital venue for preserving constitutional rights. But they note a surprising trend of conservative support for using judicial activism to achieve that aim rather than the traditional conservative deference to state and federal...
Published: Thursday, April 16th, 2015 @ 7:45 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
A State Board of Education task force may scrap longstanding end-of-grade tests for a system of interim assessments designed to provide more reliable and immediate data to identify students who need help in core subject areas.
Published: Thursday, April 16th, 2015 @ 4:18 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Howard Mortman, C-SPAN communications director, pleasantly strolled me down Memory Lane during his recent lecture at William Peace University concerning the rise of social media. Then he slapped me back into a present and petrifying reality. More about that downpage.
Published: Thursday, April 2nd, 2015 @ 4:08 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
A U.S. Supreme Court decision that many opponents of restrictive occupational licensing rules saw as a victory for small-scale entrepreneurs may wind up being a setback, as the General Assembly's Program Evaluation Division wants to create an Occupational Licensing Commission to supervise...
Published: Tuesday, March 24th, 2015 @ 5:07 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
A three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments for April 6 in a high-profile case pitting the public's access to official records against government attempts to suppress information from public view.
Published: Monday, March 23rd, 2015 @ 11:48 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Senate Republicans are pushing bills to reduce the state corporate income tax rate from 5 percent this year to 3 percent in 2017, and restructure the manner in which corporate taxes are calculated. The intent behind the legislation is to make the state more business-friendly and better able to...
Published: Monday, March 23rd, 2015 @ 10:29 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|
U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-11th District, wants to sack the National Football League's tax-exempt status because, he said, it's unfair for a multibillion-dollar sports enterprise to enjoy special tax treatment usually reserved for churches, educational entities, and charitable organizations.
Published: Friday, March 20th, 2015 @ 1:11 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Speaking at a Raleigh, North Carolina, luncheon on March 10, UNC system president Tom Ross warned of "dangerous" trends in higher education today, especially in North Carolina.
Published: Tuesday, March 17th, 2015 @ 12:11 pm
By: John William Pope Center
|
Removing outdated legal barriers to consumer health care choices could help corral rising Medicaid costs in North Carolina, reform advocates say.
Published: Tuesday, March 17th, 2015 @ 6:51 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Hoping to loosen the monopoly hospitals have on a variety of medical procedures and facilities, State Rep. Marilyn Avila, R-Wake, has introduced House Bill 200, a measure repealing portions of the state certificate-of-need regulatory statutes.
Published: Tuesday, March 17th, 2015 @ 12:21 am
By: John Locke Foundation
|
Potentially "tragic" results could occur because the professional board that regulates the state's dentists issues sedation permits before it inspects dental facilities, and does not conduct compliance checks to ensure dentists can deliver anesthesia safely and respond to medical emergencies...
Published: Tuesday, March 10th, 2015 @ 10:28 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
|