Since 2010, when voters put Republicans in charge of most state governments across the United States, North Carolina became one of about a half-dozen states where conservative reformers have frequently — and sometimes spectacularly — faced off with progressives in ways that have attracted significant national attention. In 2011, the new GOP-majority General Assembly defeated […]
Transportation
Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car
The future of self-driving cars is upon us, and the North Carolina General Assembly is, well, paving the way. With a bipartisan and near-unanimous vote during the short session, our state legislature passed House Bill 469 into law, regulating the operation of fully autonomous vehicles — if and when they become available in our state. […]
Reviewing North Carolina’s FY2017-19 Budget
Planning your summer vacation and looking for some light beach reading? Joseph Coletti over at the John Locke Foundation has you covered with a comprehensive analysis of this year’s state budget: A New State Budget Based On Time-Tested Principles In his 1985 address to the North Carolina Foundation for Research and Economic Education (NC FREE), […]
Legislature Approves State Budget
The North Carolina General Assembly gave its overwhelming approval yesterday to a $23 billion state budget that, among other things, increases education investments by more than $700 million, raises teacher pay for the fourth consecutive year, provides needed disaster relief to communities affected by Hurricane Matthew, helps lower-income people by further expanding the state’s zero-tax bracket, and adds $363.9 million to the state’s savings reserve account. […]
Legislative Leaders Craft Budget Deal
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) held a joint press conference Monday to announce details of the roughly $23 billion budget and tax relief agreement reached between the state House and Senate. As a result of responsible budgeting decisions, millions of middle-class families and job-creating small businesses will keep more […]
House Releases 2017-18 Budget Plan
The North Carolina House of Representatives released highlights of its balanced budget proposal for the 2017-2018 biennium on Thursday, submitting a plan that continues to advance successful government investment strategies contributing to revenue surpluses, rainy day reserves, rapid economic and population growth this decade. The budget highlights released on Thursday were provided to area appropriations subcommittees […]
CSX to Bring 1,500 New Jobs to NC
[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/wXcz7jixyKY” width=”580″ modestbranding=”1″ autohide=”1″ fs=”1″ border=”1″ hd=”1″] Governor Pat McCrory announced today that CSX Corporation, one of the world’s leading transportation companies, will open a new intermodal terminal in Edgecombe County. Known as the Carolina Connector (CCX), this critical infrastructure project will bring jobs and economic opportunity to eastern North Carolina and position the state […]
Details of the Budget Compromise
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) held a joint press conference yesterday to announce details of the $22.34 billion budget agreement reached between Senate and House conferees this past weekend. The compromise budget includes a responsible 2.8 percent spending increase and achieves both chambers’ shared goals with Governor Pat McCrory of […]
Some Great News from the DMV
Online Driver License Renewal Hits Major Milestone Governor Pat McCrory applauded a major milestone as the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles’ online driver license renewal program had more than 355,000 North Carolina drivers renew their licenses online, resulting in customer time savings of 177,900 hours. “Transforming the culture of customer service across state government, particularly […]
House Passes Budget With Extraordinary Bipartisan Support
Yesterday, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed its version of the state’s budget for the second year of this session’s biennium. The spending plan cleared the chamber by an overwhelming margin, with a bipartisan vote of 103-12. Representative Collins voted with all of his House Republican colleagues for the Budget, joining with 30 other House Democrats who also supported the […]