Becki Gray

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…

2017 – a year of fights.  Because some things are worth fighting for and sometimes it’s just politics. General Assembly v. Governor Cooper: even before he was elected, the Democrat Governor picked fights with the Republican legislature. He made their position on HB2 the flashpoint of his campaign, took…

The first tax credits for restoration or renovation of historic buildings started in 1976. The federal government issued credits, so did state governments. Even local governments got in on the action.  .  Recognizing that NC’s tax credit for historic restoration was a special treatment, unfair to other tax payers and…

The Heritage Foundation features Coletti’s analysis of why the federal budget proposed by President Trump, which looks alot like NC’s reforms, could lead to the economic growth we’ve seen right here.  In other words, responsible fiscal budgeting and spending works.  Look at NC.  Scroll to the second highlighted feature: October…

As we prepare for the special session, I wanted to share John Locke Foundation’s research on topics that will likely surface this week. As you keep up with legislation this week on CarolinaJournal.com and  and JohnLocke.org, JLF continues to be your best resource. Regarding the veto override for HB 56,…

We’re still combing through last week’s committee reports, sorting out details from this morning’s Finance meeting and waiting for the full budget documents, but we’re starting to get a picture of what the House proposes in its budget. Here are a dozen things that struck me: 1. Spending is same…