Pardon Our Dust
We recently launched this new site and are still in the process of updating some of our archived content. Some details of this article may be incomplete, links may be broken, and other elements may not display properly yet. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
The primary focus of the North Carolina General Assembly last week was the state budget. Last week the Joint Appropriations Subcommittees met and reviewed last year’s budget as well as what the legislature needed to financially focus on in the upcoming years. On Thursday, to the Joint Appropriations Committee heard from the General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division, who predicts there will be a $271 million shortfall this fiscal year.
BUDGET & TAX
CITIZEN-TIMES: NC income tax refunds may disappoint
Many North Carolinians will pay less state income tax but get smaller tax refunds after they file their 2014 returns because of changes in the state’s tax structure, the General Assembly’s top economist told legislators Thursday.
WRAL: State budget outlook a mixed bag
State lawmakers heard both good and bad news in revenue and budget forecasts delivered Thursday by legislative economists.
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Tax-change renewal could hurt troubled homeowners in North Carolina
North Carolina lawmakers are poised to renew a rule requiring homeowners to pay state income taxes on mortgage debt forgiven by lenders – a move that could cost some homeowners thousands of dollars in additional taxes.
ECONOMY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
WRAL: House lawmakers preparing economic development bill
Members of the state House will roll out an economic development package next week that includes a revamp of the JDIG job recruitment fund and pave the way for small investors to help fund startup companies, according to multiple lawmakers with knowledge of the bill.
NEWS & OBSERVER: Legislators file competing NC crowdfunding bills
Competing crowdfunding bills that would enable startups to solicit investments from the public, including solicitations over the Internet, have emerged in the state legislature.
NEWS & OBSERVER: Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration has nearly depleted NC’s job incentives program
After promising employers nearly $300 million in incentives grants for new jobs in his first two years, Gov. Pat McCrory’s administration has nearly depleted the main pot of money the state uses to lure companies to North Carolina.
EDUCATION
WRAL: School calendar debate likely to wait until after summer break
Wake County is among dozens of school districts pushing lawmakers to roll back a decade-old calendar law that keeps school officials from beginning the academic year before Aug. 25, but progress on any such bill is likely to be slow this year, if it comes at all.
NEWS & OBSERVER: NC committee to recommend sweeping changes to student testing
A state group wants to eliminate many of the hours-long, high-stakes tests that stress many students and whose results have come to define public schools.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
CITIZEN-TIMES: Coal ash upside? State, Duke seek beneficial uses
Advocates of coal ash recycling say a recent federal ruling that determined the waste is not hazardous has paved the way for continued use of coal ash in concrete and other industries.
HEALTH CARE
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Health Secretary still hedging on timeline for possible Medicaid expansion
The state’s health secretary continued today to try to put the best foot forward on how the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is performing even as she skirted again giving a timetable on a potential Medicaid expansion.
NEWS & OBSERVER: Study finds NC health care regulations drive up costs
North Carolina’s health care regulations drive up medical costs by restricting the supply of hospitals and services, according to a research paper issued Thursday by a pair free-market advocates at George Mason University.
PUBLIC SAFETY
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Proposed state legislation doesn’t deal with proper limits on monitoring by law enforcement
The General Assembly will get its first formal look Thursday at a bill aimed at bringing more clarity to the state’s unmanned aircraft system law, which was enacted in August.
STAR NEWS: Group wants bill to decriminalize syringe possession
The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition wants to strengthen HB850 to include the comprehensive decriminalization of syringes.
Please contact the Raleigh McGuireWoods Consulting team if you have any questions or comments:
Harry Kaplan, Senior Vice President
hkaplan@mwcllc.com
Jeff Barnhart, Senior Vice President
jbarnhart@mwcllc.com
Franklin Freeman, Senior Vice President
ffreeman@mwcllc.com
John Merritt, Senior Vice President
jmerritt@mwcllc.com
Johnny Tillett, Senior Vice President
jtillett@mwcllc.com
Kerri Burke, Vice President
kburke@mwcllc.com
Bo Heath, Vice President
dbheath@mwcllc.com
Jillian Totman, Assistant Vice President
jtotman@mwcllc.com
Sarah Wolfe, Assistant Vice President
swolfe@mwcllc.com
Katy Feinberg, Vice President, MWCAdvocacy
kfeinberg@mwcllc.com