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.
Leadership Announcements
House GOP Leadership Named:
Speaker: Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland)
Speaker Pro Tempore: Rep. John R. Bell (R-Craven, Greene, Lenoir, Wayne)
Deputy Majority Leader: Rep. Stephen Ross (R-Alamance)
Whip: Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford)
Conference Chair: Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland)
Freshman Leader: Rep-elect Destin Hall (R-Caldwell)
Freshman Whip: Rep-elect Brenden Jones (R-Bladen, Columbus, Robeson)
ABC-11 NEWS: Roy Cooper announces transition team despite disputed results
Democrat Roy Cooper announced members of his transition team for North Carolina governor Monday despite close election results that are being disputed by his Republican opponent, Gov. Pat McCrory.
2016 Elections
WRAL-NEWS: Could NC lawmakers choose the next governor?
It may be an outside possibility, but the ghosts of a contested election for school superintendent in 2004 could haunt this year’s gubernatorial race, allowing the Republican-led legislature to settle the contest between Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and Democrat Roy Cooper, the state’s attorney general.
ASHEVILLE CITIZEN TIMES: Democrat’s lead widens in NC governor’s race
Hardly anyone in North Carolina is willing to guess when the excruciatingly close governor’s race will be resolved.
BURLINGTON TIMES-NEWS: Governor’s race: State election board takes Bladen protest, declines others
North Carolina election officials declined Sunday to step in and resolve dozens of local voting complaints as Republican Gov. Pat McCrory’s campaign had requested, although they did take over one protest in Bladen County alleging absentee voter fraud.
THE ROBESONIAN: Ballot counting for govenor’s race spills into next week
All the counting was supposed to be all but over by Friday, but North Carolina’s too-close-to-call governor’s race remains nowhere near done, the State Board of Elections said Thursday.
WRAL-NEWS: Republican says he’ll seek vote recount in NC auditor race
North Carolina could see votes recounted in at least one election race as the Republican trailing in the contest for state auditor says he’ll demand a recount if the margin remains razor-thin.
NEWS & OBSERVER: McCrory campaign request on election complaint review rejected – for now
The State Board of Elections on Sunday rejected a request from Gov. Pat McCrory’s campaign to take over election protest reviews, instead setting a 10 a.m. Tuesday meeting to set guidelines for counties to address the complaints.
NEWS & OBSERVER: Do dead people’s votes count? Things to know about the GOP election complaints
The election complaints filed by Republicans with help from Gov. Pat McCrory’s campaign fall into several categories: Allegations of dead people voting, felons voting, people voting in multiple states and absentee ballot issues.
Education
Republican Mark Johnson comes to the job of the state’s education chief promising to shake off the status quo, and is himself a nontraditional choice for state superintendent of public instruction.
Healthcare
WRAL-NEWS: Report: NC spending more the halt Medicaid fraud than it recovers
A report released Tuesday by the legislature’s internal oversight agency recommends changes in how the state’s Medicaid program goes after fraud and waste.
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: NC Medicaid waiver remains on hold until Trump health policy is in place
The state’s request for a Medicaid reform waiver has been in the hands of federal health officials for more than five months.
In the Courts
GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD: Trial over HB 2 delayed until late next summer
A federal trial on the legality of a North Carolina law limiting which restrooms transgender people can use in schools and government buildings has been pushed back until at least late summer.
WRAL-NEWS: New rule to avoid Supreme Court deadlocks raises questions
The North Carolina Supreme Court would be able to call retired justices back to serve on a case-by-case basis in order to avoid potential deadlocks under a rule the court adopted on Nov. 8.
NEWS & OBSERVER: Same-sex couple persuades NC To change birth certificate policy
A same-sex couple who sued the state Department of Health and Human Service have settled the case after state officials agreed to have the birth certificates of their sons amended to include both women’s names.
WRAL-NEWS: Lawmakers say they have no plans to expand NC Supreme Court
Top North Carolina lawmakers insist they have no plans to expand the state’s Supreme Court by two seats in an effort to reclaim a majority for conservative justices, never mind a drumbeat of speculation around Raleigh and beyond.
Transportation
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: I-77 toll lane construction moving closer to uptown Charlotte
The controversial Interstate 77 toll lanes project is on schedule to open at the end of 2018, the lead contractor told Charlotte City Council Monday night.