Legislative Updates

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly was the first week the members could file bills for this session.  We also got the final word on the committees to which we were assigned. On Monday, the 25th, Speaker of the House Tim Moore published the list of House standing committees to which each member…

Last week at the North Carolina General Assembly was the first week of the 2021 – 2022 session.  We were sworn in on Wednesday, the 13th, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. We elected officers, such as the Speaker of the House, the Speaker Pro Tempore, and President Pro Tempore of the…

Last week at the North Carolina General Assembly was a short whirlwind, as we rode into Raleigh on Wednesday morning, passed a major COVID related spending bill, and rode out of town on Thursday afternoon.  To be fair to our appropriations chairs, they had been working on this bill for weeks on a bipartisan and…

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly was fast and furious.  After assuming we were adjourned until September, we were called back just a week into the summer break.  We took up several veto override votes, confirmed some of the appointments by the Governor and legislative leaders, and made some last minute changes to…

Last week at the North Carolina General Assembly seemed like a month, particularly as far as time spent in voting sessions, as well as bills handled and passed by both the House and Senate.  As we were winding down the short session and planning to adjourn, many bills were combined, approved by both chambers, and…

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly was a whirlwind of bills going into and out of committees, and going to the floors of the House and Senate chambers for votes.  There were bills dealing with education, transportation, criminal law, tax law, opening businesses, and many other issues. In the education area House Bill…

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly seemed like the first week this year that was almost normal.  We still had many members attending committee meetings by virtual means, but many were spread out in the committee rooms and wearing masks in many cases.  I attended these in person so I could review the…

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly began to heat up, just as the temperatures in the state passed 90 degrees.  We got deep into the state budget adjustments for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1st.  We also were handling bills in committees, some of which were carried over from the 2019 long…

Last week in the North Carolina General Assembly was somewhat depressing, not unlike the weather with the overcast skies and rain of Tropical Storm Bertha.  We had received the consensus revenue forecast for the remainder of this fiscal year and for the 2020 – 2021 fiscal year.  Our minds were focused on how to deal…

The North Carolina General Assembly met last week in Raleigh for the first time since January 14th.  Our House of Representatives has been meeting in committees by remote teleconferencing for at least the past month.  I was assigned to one of the 4 task forces working under the House Select Committee on COVID-19 appointed by…