Be sure to watch this week’s NC SPIN. Our balanced debate begins with Governor Cooper’s appointment of a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to replace Mark Martin, who is resigning at the month. We speculate as to who the Governor might appoint to fill the vacancy of the high court. Next we debate the […]
Archive for September, 2015
After SPIN! Video – “Is the new State Charter Schools office justified?”
After SPIN! “Question to Becki Gray – The legislature has approved a new Office of State Charter Schools and shifts management of these charters from the Department of Public Instruction to the State Board of Education. Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson says it can be likened to moving from your current home to your […]
Court of Appeals candidates must list party affiliation
by Mark Binker, WRAL, September 29, 2015. Candidates running to be judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals will be required to list their party affiliations on the ballot under a bill headed to Gov. Pat McCrory. House Bill 8 would have originally required all judicial races be fully partisan, complete with party primaries. […]
Lawmakers amend parallel party legislation
by Mark Binker, WRAL, September 29, 2015. Top Republican Party officials and senior GOP lawmakers made a show Tuesday of patching of differences sparked when the General Assembly created a new form of fundraising apparatus meant to support those running for legislative seats. Lawmakers plan to finish their work for the year some time on […]
Several high profile bills left unfinished
by Laura Leslie and Mark Binker, WRAL, September 30, 2015. As lawmakers prepared to wrap up their session in the early hours of Wednesday morning, several high profiled bills were shelved for the year. Among those were: S279 Local Pre-emption: This bill started out as a measure allowing people who are not experts in sexual education to […]
Lawmakers end legislative session at 4:18 a.m.
by Laura Leslie and Mark Binker, WRAL, September 30, 2015. The 2015 session of the North Carolina General Assembly finally adjourned at 4:18 am Wednesday after lawmakers waited around through the early hours while House and Senate leaders negotiated changes to legislation already passed this year. The “Technical Corrections” bill, an annual tradition, is usually […]
Party disunity can be fatal
by John Hood, Syndicated columnist and NC SPIN panelist, September 30, 2015. Party disunity can be fatal for political campaigns in competitive races. Just ask former governor Rufus Edmisten. Sorry, make that former gubernatorial candidate Rufus Edmisten. After serving 10 years as North Carolina’s attorney general, he won the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor in 1984. His […]
Will McCrory veto legislative leaders’ brazen power grab?
by Rob Schofield, NC Policy Watch, September 29, 2015. Last minute political slush fund bill draws opposition from across the spectrum It should probably come as no surprise given the relentless drive of North Carolina conservatives to accumulate political power and silence their opponents, but there’s still something remarkably brazen about the late session campaign finance […]
Budget cuts create more crises for mentally ill
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, September 28, 2015. From the day the state started moving mentally ill people out of the hospitals and back into their home communities, our mental-health system has failed. With the passage of each year, and each new state budget, problems appear to grow. The coming fiscal year doesn’t shape up to […]
New buildings will rise, but what about roads?
Editorial by Fayetteville Observer, September 29, 2015. It won’t do everything Gov. Pat McCrory wanted, nor everything the state needs. But a $2 billion bond proposal that is moving toward legislative approval this week is a good start. McCrory wanted $3 billion in bond funding for a package of improvements on state buildings and highways. […]
After SPIN! Video – “What impact will $110 million less in mental health funds have?”
After SPIN! “Question to Chris Fitzsimon – We’ve said the devil is in the budget details. We just learned that the new state budget cuts $110 million in mental health funds. What’s the justification for this and what impact will it have?”
