NC Politics in the News

February 27, 2017

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.

Education

WFAE-NEWS: Governor Proposes Average 5 Percent Pay Increase ForTeachers For Next Two Years

Gov. Roy Cooper proposed average pay raises of 5 percent for teachers thisyear and next year in his upcoming budget.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: General Assembly sends UNC board reduction bill toCooper

The Republican-controlled General Assembly on Monday sent its first bill ofthe year to new Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper — legislation reducingmembership on the board overseeing the University of North Carolinasystem’s 17 campuses.

WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL: Bill would enhance school sports safetyawareness, protocols, data collection

A House bill would require the State Board of Education and local boards toput more focus on addressing and documenting serious sports injuries amongmiddle- and high-school students.

Elections

SHELBY STAR: GOP wants party labels on judges

The N.C. House voted 65-51 Wednesday to make elections for District Courtand Superior Court judges partisan.

HB 2

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Bipartisan HB2 repeal bill filed – but does it havethe votes to pass?

Two Republicans and two Democrats have teamed up on a new proposal torepeal House Bill 2 that also would prohibit cities and counties fromregulating bathroom access in private facilities.

In the Courts

WRAL-NEWS: Cooper, Stein move to end voting rights case

Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein have taken steps towithdraw North Carolina’s appeal of a controversial voting rights lawsuit,essentially ending the state’s defense of its voter ID law and relatedelection laws passed in 2013.

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER: Here’s where NC’s political clashes stand in court

A month into North Carolina’s General Assembly session, major battles arebeing waged not in the legislature but in courtrooms from Raleigh toWashington.

Justice & Public Safety

GREENSBORO NEWS & RECORD: NC bill would prohibit racial profilingby law enforcement officers

Four Democratic legislators filed a bill this past week in the N.C. Housethat would prohibit law enforcement officers from racially profiling peopleand would require law enforcement agencies to collect homicide statistics,including data about people killed by their officers.

Local Government

WITN-NEWS: NC bill to punish local governments for ‘sanctuary’ policiesheard

North Carolina lawmakers are again considering whether to punish localgovernments if they don’t comply with federal immigration law or havepolicies discouraging police from collecting information about theimmigration status of suspects and others.

State Government

WRAL-NEWS: North Carolina: Power struggle intensifies with governor

The tug of war over whether North Carolina’s GOP-led legislature cansubject the new Democratic governor’s Cabinet secretaries to confirmationintensified Thursday when senators agreed to subpoena a department head whorepeatedly failed to appear before a committee