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.
Last week, Governor Pat McCrory (R-NC) released his budget proposal, outlining his priorities for North Carolina over the next two years. For their part,legislators considered a wide range of bills from education and economic development to driver safety.
Economy and Economic Development
WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL:Wilmington-area Legislators File Bills to Revive Film Tax Credits
A group of Wilmington-area Republican legislators are hoping a two-fisted approach to film production grants – simultaneous bill filings in the House andSenate – will bolster support for reviving the incentives.
NEWS & OBSERVER:Tax Credits Loom Large in NC Budget Debate
Legislation that is now moving quickly in the North Carolina General Assembly–and the budget proposed Thursday by Governor McCrory for the next fiscalyear–includes at least seven specific tax credit programs that are characterized as needed to preserve or generate jobs.
GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD:Governor McCrory Moving Away from Uniform Raises for NC Workers
Governor McCrory’s two-year spending plan offers neither all public school teachers nor rank-and-file state employees across-the-board raises. Rather, thegovernor emphasizes improving pay for certain teachers and targeting state employees in hard-to-fill or dangerous law enforcement positions.
Education
WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL:Legislators Push for School Calendar Flexibility
Legislators who want to change state law that dictates the start and end dates for public schools are hoping there is power in numbers, just not the oneswith dollar signs in front of them.
Energy
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Keep Wind Farms Farther Offshore, Secretary Says
North Carolina’s environment secretary has urged a federal agency not to sell wind energy leases within 24 miles of the state’s coast, a limit thatadvocates say would largely block wind farms.
Healthcare
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER:Medical Examiners Get Boost in McCrory’s Budget Proposal
Gov. Pat McCrory’s new budget proposal seeks nearly $4 million in new funds to fix North Carolina’s troubled medical examiner system. Under the proposal,rolled out last week, the state’s 350 medical examiners would get training and higher pay for each case they handle, and the state would hire more than adozen professional investigators over the next two years.
In The Courts
NEWS & OBSERVER:NC Legislatures Appointment Power Argued in Landmark Case
The hearing, which took place in a courtroom at Campbell University’s School of Law, sounded at times like a law school symposium as attorneys arguedarcane points of constitutional law. At issue is whether the legislature has the power to appoint members of certain commissions or whether the governorhas the sole authority.
Transportation
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Vote Likely Ends I-485 Carpool Lane
A transportation committee voted unanimously Thursday against creating a carpool lane on Interstate 485 in south Charlotte, a decision that likely endsdiscussion about using the extra asphalt on the highway. The debate focused on an extra-wide shoulder on I-485 between Interstate 77 and Johnston Road. TheN.C. Department of Transportation widened the highway in December, and the project greatly improved traffic flow.
CONTACT US
HarryKaplan
Senior Vice President
hkaplan@mwcllc.com
JeffBarnhart
Senior Vice President
jbarnhart@mwcllc.com
Franklin Freeman
Senior Vice President
ffreeman@mwcllc.com
Bo Heath
Senior Vice President
dbheath@mwcllc.com
John Merritt
Senior Vice President
jmerritt@mwcllc.com
JohnnyTillett
Senior Vice President
jtillett@mwcllc.com
Kerri Burke
Vice President
kburke@mwcllc.com
JillianTotman
Assistant Vice President
jtotman@mwcllc.com
Sarah Wolfe
Assistant Vice President
swolfe@mwcllc.com
Philip Barefoot
Research Assistant
pbarefoot@mwcllc.com