House legislators pushed forward today on a bill that would make it harder for cities to provide Internet service to residents. House Bill 129 passed the chamber’s Public Utilities Committee on a voice vote, despite bill sponsors saying they planned to overhaul key sections of the bill as soon as this afternoon. Committee members were […]
Travis Fain
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Castle Doctrine would relax state’s gun law
A bill that would expand the circumstances under which you can shoot someone in self-defense is closer to becoming law. Senate Bill 34, known as the Castle Doctrine, passed the state Senate Monday night by a vote of 35-13. Voting against the measure were Democrats Bob Atwater of Chatham County, Ellie Kinnaird of Orange County, […]
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Well shoot, Legislature to debate expanding gun rights
Monday update: Senate Bill 34, the Castle Doctrine makeover covered below, passed the state Senate tonight 35-13. It heads to the House for further debate. Spurred by the Republican takeover of the N.C. General Assembly, gun lovers are pushing to to loosen a range of state gun laws.
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Perdue: Use sales tax, cuts, to protect teaching jobs
Gov. Bev Perdue would keep most of a temporary sales tax increase in place and use other cuts and shifts to protect teacher jobs in a budget she released Thursday. Now the Republican-run legislature will pick away at the governor’s $19.9 billion plan, starting, quite likely, with the sales tax. An extra penny-on-the-dollar was put […]
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Perdue promises to protect teachers and cut business taxes, but how will she pay for it?
Gov. Bev Perdue promised Monday not to cut a single teaching job in the budget she’ll roll out later this week. She also called for a corporate tax cut and new statewide scholarships for two-year college degrees. Perdue, in her state-of-the-state address, didn’t say how she plans to pay for all that, though she did […]
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No slam dunk for private school tax credits
With the GOP controlling the state legislature, House Majority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam’s bill laying out $2,500 tax credits for families who sent their kid to private school might seem like easy legislation to pass. Especially since it only applies to families making less than $100,000 a year. Legislative support for this bill has been […]
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Health care cuts could hurt poor, disabled, elderly
The State of the State What: Gov. Beverly Perdue will deliver her State of the State address
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The N.C. budget: Let’s talk revenue
There’s a flip side to any discussion about budget cuts: A discussion about revenues, which is usually a nice way of saying taxes. Now, North Carolina’s state budget has increased nearly 50 percent since the 2000-2001 fiscal year, which many Republicans will point to as evidence of a spending problem. Too much spending, they argue, […]
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Where to trim the budget when there’s nothing left
Lawmakers are about to tear into the state budget looking for $3.7 billion in cuts. That’s roughly 20 percent of the state’s $19 billion annual budget. It’s nearly 95 percent of the state’s entire health and human services budgetan area Republican budget writers have said they plan to scrutinize for cuts.
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The legislative Magic 8 ball: Outlook not so good
If I’ve learned one thing covering state legislatures the past few years, it’s that you really can’t tell what these folks are going to do when they get together. I saw it for many years in Georgia, where I worked for The Macon Telegraph and covered three legislative sessions. I saw it a bit last […]
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