Becki Gray

One of the last legislative actions of the 2018 short session were proposed amendments to the NC Constitution.  The General Assembly cannot make changes; the state constitution does not allow that. But what they can do is put before the voters proposed amendments and by referendum, the voters make that…

Why?  Because our State Constitution says so: Article II, Sec. 22.  Action on bills. (1)              Bills subject to veto by Governor; override of veto.  Except as provided by subsections (2) through (6) of this section, all bills shall be read three times in each house and shall be signed by…

House Bill 379, sponsored by Senator Andy Wells and Representative Dennis Riddell has passed the Senate unanimously and is now in the House.. It will be heard in the House Judiciary I Committee today and if approved, will go to the House for a final concurrence vote. The proposal would…

The House of Representatives is considering HB 1065, Digital Communication in Elections.  The bill was heard yesterday in the House Elections and Ethics Committee. Committee members had many questions, agreed the whole issue and details of implementation are confusing. As Rep Michael Speciale said, social media has unique qualities…

In addition to the 2018-19 state budget, school safety is a top priority for the 2018 short session. At the conclusion of the long session, Speaker Tim Moore established a House Select Committee on School Safety  comprised of forty members. They were charged with examining the current safety standards…

For the first time in recent memory, the General Assembly is well underway in putting together the state budget before session has even started.  For fiscal conservatives, anyone interested in sound budget management and taxpayers, this is good news. Legislative leaders started the budget process by establishing, based on actual…

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is coming to North Carolina to meet with Roy Cooper tomorrow morning after meeting with South Carolina Governor McMaster this afternoon. WRAL reports: Both McMaster and Cooper are seeking exemptions from the Trump administration’s proposal to vastly expand offshore oil drilling…

The Joint Legislative Committee on Judicial Redistricting and Reform met for the second time yesterday.  For a large part of the meeting, they heard Administrative Office of the Courts’ reports on work load in judicial districts, how long do certain cases take, what kind of cases are heard…