North Carolina Political News

Foxx back at the top for Republicans

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:45:31 -0400

PPP's monthly look at next year's race for the US Senate in North Carolina finds Virginia Foxx back at the top of the Republican wish list for their candidate. 15% say she's their pick to 14% for Cherie Berry, 10% each for Phil Berger and Renee Ellmers, 7% for Greg Brannon, 6% for Thom Tillis, 4% for Jim Cain, and 3% each for Mark Harris and Lynn Wheeler. Foxx also has the highest net favorability of the potential GOP contenders with Republican primary voters at +15 (34/19)....”

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Hagan seat changed from “Lean Democrat” to “Tossup/Tilt” Democrat

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:40:38 -0400

LStu Rothenberg, a noted national political analyst, has moved North Carolina 2014 Senate race from “lean Democrat” to “tossup/tilt Democrat.'' Writing in his blog Wednesday, Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, based the changed on the changing national political landscape with recent controversies having put the Obama administration on the defensive and breathed new life into the Republicans....”

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House Finance chair gives up gavel, blasts Speaker

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:38:11 -0400

Longtime House lawmaker Rep. Robert Brawley, R-Iredell, handed back his Finance gavel Wednesday afternoon with a blistering public letter against fellow Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis. In his letter read aloud during Wednesday's House session, Brawley says Tillis pressured him over House Bill 557, Brawley's bill to increase the territory area for local broadband provider MI Connections in Mooresville....”

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Senate leaders explain budget plan

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:56:13 -0400

State Senate budget writers say their $20.58 billion budget proposal is a balanced effort that meets "the fundamental responsibilities of state government" with resources currently available, while covering a big increase in Medicaid costs and providing funding for tax reform efforts. The budget team met with reporters Monday morning to answer questions about the 413-page document....”

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Jim Cain also looking at Hagan race

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:53:59 -0400

Raleigh’s Jim Cain, former ambassador to Denmark and one-time president of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team, tells Roll Call he is taking a serious look at running in the Republican primary next year to challenge U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C....”

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NC jobless rate falls below 9 percent

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:51:56 -0400

North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the third consecutive month in April, declining three-tenths of a percentage point to 8.9 percent. It marks the first time that the state’s jobless rate has been below 9 percent since January 2009. North Carolina added 6,100 jobs in April after seasonal adjustments, according to a payroll survey of employers, and has now added 73,300 over the past year, an annual growth rate of 1.8 percent....”

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About 180 bills advance in NC House, Senate

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:38:18 -0400

Scrambling to hurdle a key deadline, state lawmakers approved roughly 180 bills this week, spending seconds on some and hours on others, often in marathon sessions that left them confused and bleary-eyed. The House gave final approval Thursday to measures that rejected the use of Islamic Sharia law in North Carolina and prohibited coverage for abortions in the new state health insurance exchange, both marked by a heated debate. The Senate, by contrast, spent 14 minutes in session, declining to consider legislation to repeal local bans on smoking in public parks and beaches and study the expansion of midwifery that leaves the measures essentially dead.....”

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House, Senate differ on how to pay for NC tax cuts

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:34:30 -0400

The divide between legislative Republicans over how to revamp the state’s tax code became clear Thursday as House leaders unveiled their plan, calling it a more measured approach than one outlined last week by the Senate. The House legislation offers smaller income tax cuts in exchange for fewer new taxes on services. Supporters pledged it would give a break to all taxpayers, but the numbers remain unclear....”

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Senate targets Sunday for budget proposal

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:26:32 -0400

The state Senate plans to unveil its budget plan for the coming fiscal year late Sunday, Appropriations Chairman Pete Brunstetter, R-Forsyth said Thursday. Lawmakers will not include legislation rewriting the state's tax system in the budget bill, Brunstetter said. However, he said, the Senate's spending plan will anticipate a change in tax code, meaning budget writers will have less money with which to work...”

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Marcus Brandon forms committee for congressional bid

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:45:56 -0400

Democratic State Rep. Marcus Brandon made his intentions to seek Congressman Mel Watt's 12th District seat official, according to Federal Election Commission documents made public this week. Watt is President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Housing Finance Administration. If confirmed, a Democratic frenzy is expected in the race to replace him...”

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House ends session after 10 hours on floor

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:28:37 -0400

Just before midnight Wednesday, the House adjourned. Republican leaders saved a number of controversial measures for the end with a measure to reject Sharia law as the grand finale of the night. The lawmakers spent about 10 hours on the floor. Most bills were approved, such as an ALEC-drawn measure to exempt food companies from liability lawsuits, nga bill asserting religious freedom and another to require health insurers to cover autism...”

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House votes down benefit corporations

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:23:39 -0400

State House lawmakers Wednesday night voted down House Bill 440, a proposal to create benefit corporations in North Carolina. Benefit corporations, or "B-Corps," are a hybrid of standard for-profit and nonprofit corporations. They allow the corporation, while making a profit, to serve a primary "public benefit" purpose other than maximizing profit for shareholders...”

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GOP wants to revamp the way judges are elected

Thu, 9 May 2013 11:00:27 -0400

The legislature is considering revamping the way North Carolina selects its high-court judges this session, including possibly scrapping the state’s pioneering system of public financing and moving to partisan elections. The efforts come as Republicans – in complete control in Raleigh for the first time since the 1800s – seek to put their stamp on the judiciary. On the agenda is undoing a Democratic-passed program that made North Carolina the nation’s first state to begin a voluntary program of public financing....”

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Bill expands governor’s ability to hire, fire state workers

Wed, 8 May 2013 14:57:40 -0400

More state workers would serve at the pleasure of the governor under a bill that cleared the House State Personnel Committee Wednesday. The measure, which has drawn opposition from the State Employees Association of North Carolina, rewrites much of the State Personnel Act, a 60-year-old law that governs when and how most state employees are hired and fired....”

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Proposed amendment limit terms of House, Senate leaders

Wed, 8 May 2013 10:58:14 -0400

A bill approved Wednesday in the House would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot calling for term limits for House and Senate leaders. House Bill 9 would cap the terms of the House speaker and Senate president pro tem at two sessions of the General Assembly, or four years. Lawmakers approved a similar proposal two years ago, but the House and Senate couldn't agree on the details....”

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Commerce dept to act more like private marketing firm

Wed, 8 May 2013 10:55:27 -0400

Top advisers encouraged Gov. Pat McCrory to move toward privatizing the Commerce Department's job recruiting operations in a white paper drafted a month before the Republican took office. Key among the advantages of a public-private partnership is the ability to pay job recruiters based on performance and reward those who recruit businesses to the state, wrote the authors, who now occupy top policy jobs in McCrory's administration....”

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George Battle III adds name to potential candidate list

Mon, 6 May 2013 11:33:20 -0400

Add another name for the potential vacancy in the 12th Congressional District.
George Battle III says he's considering a run for the seat that could be vacated by Democratic Rep. Mel Watt. Watt is President Obama's choice to lead the Housing Finance Agency. "I'm listening to people," Battle says. "I'm flattered folks think enough of me to even mention my name....”

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Senate plan would expand sales tax, lower N.C. rates

Mon, 6 May 2013 11:27:24 -0400

Senate Republicans rolled out Monday evening the frame of their tax overhaul plan for North Carolina that they say will cut income tax rates while expanding the scope of the sales tax. Senate leader Phil Berger, a Rockingham County attorney, announced the release of a video and website in which he lays out some of the highlights of the plan. The video was designed as a preview as Berger and leaders of the chamber’s tax committee scheduled a news conference today to talk more about the details....

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Tata names more top DOT officials

Mon, 6 May 2013 11:25:07 -0400

Sherman Lupton, a 30-year Navy veteran, has been named State Part Authority and Global Transpark Director of Logistics. He starts Monday and will be responsible for synchronizing and coordinating activities of the ports and the Transpark. Lupton most recently served as deputy director in the in the Office of Naval Operations Staff....

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Business climate climbs under GOP rule, new survey shows

Mon, 6 May 2013 11:20:11 -0400

Small businesses likes what they see with the new Republican rule in Raleigh.
A new survey found that small business owners believe the business climate in North Carolina has improved during the past year. Last year they gave it a C-plus, ranking its 26th in the nation in business friendliness. This year they give it a B plus ranking it 13th in the country....

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