Legislative Updates

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly: We had less activity than normal due to the weather in the Raleigh area, we had “no-vote” sessions in the House of Representatives and few votes in the Senate, and we were able to put more work “behind the scenes” into some of the bills we hope…

Last week in the General Assembly in Raleigh we: Honored the 105th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the 100th anniversary of the Order of the Arrow, the scouting honor society; had many discussions on the gas tax issue and saw the Senate pass a bill stabilizing the gas tax; and heard the…

During the last two and a half sessions I have provided this weekly update for publication in our local newspapers, as well as distribution on my website and email list. Others pass it along via their own email networks, frequently within their communities and political groups. The feedback has been very positive with people generally…

While snow flurries dusted towns north of Raleigh, there was a flurry of activity last week in the halls of the General Assembly in Raleigh. Legislators were preparing bills for introduction, Legislative Assistants were sorting through mail from citizens and lobbying groups, and lobbyists were working the halls and offices with renewed enthusiasm. It was…

Last week was the final week of the 2013 -2014 session. The only thing that can bring us back is a special session called by the Governor. The session this year lasted from mid-May until last Wednesday, August 20th. We had hoped to be finished by July 4th, but negotiations on the budget and other…

The North Carolina House and Senate held no voting sessions for almost two weeks, so there was no article in this series last week. There were “skeleton sessions” held to comply with the constitution, which says we must meet every four days while in session. These sessions are attended by members who live in the…

There was a major announcement last Monday that an agreement had been reached on the budget. This is the budget bill, Senate Bill 744 – Appropriations Act of 2014, that adjusts the biennial budget passed last year for the current year of 2014 – 2015. Major adjustments had been made, and the bill had to…

This past week in Raleigh will not be remarkable in the history books, but it is one that I will always remember. The reasons for that are both good and bad. The spirit of cooperation on the 2014 – 2015 budget adjustments was much improved, but still apart on a few major items. We also…

We started last Monday in Raleigh with high hopes that a budget deal could be completed during the week. We were hoping to wrap up this session. We went into a caucus meeting on Monday afternoon expecting to hear whether or not there was a new offer on the budget but didn’t hear much about…

It was an interesting week in Raleigh, although the majority of the House members were not required to be there. Only the members on the budget conference committee or conference committees for other bills were needed in Raleigh. So, after the July 4th parade and other Independence Day activities, I prepared to wait for the…