NC Senate chamber (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
NC House Republicans advance a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit non-citizen voting
The North Carolina Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
By Lynn Bonner
Republicans in the state House are moving to put a question on the November ballot that would write a prohibition on non-citizen voting into the state constitution, even though non-citizen voting is already illegal.
Asking voters to add another prohibition to non-citizen voting to the constitution could help boost turnout from voters who have illegal voting as a top concern and help Republican candidates highlight southern border crossings. [Read more...]
Surprise GOP campaign finance law proposal prompts walkout by Democratic senators
State Senate Democratic Whip Jay Chaudhuri of Wake County addresses the news media along with several Democratic colleagues in front of the state Legislative Building after they staged a walkout in response to a surprise GOP campaign finance law proposal. (Photo: Ahmed Jallow)
By Rob Schofield and Ahmed Jallow
In a surprise move that caught most Legislative Building watchers off-guard, Republican lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday that would make significant changes to state campaign finance law. The sudden move prompted all 20 Senate Democrats to walk out of the chamber in protest when the bill was quickly brought to a vote. It was approved 28-0 by the Republicans who remained on the Senate floor. The House is expected to take up the measure next week.
The proposed law changes, which were appended to a conference committee report on a controversial and much-debated bill dealing with punishment for unlawful protests and the wearing of masks (see the box below), would make it easier for big dollar donors to funnel large sums of cash in relative anonymity to support North Carolina political candidates.[Read more…]
For a two-month delay in delivering driver’s licenses, the DMV and its contractor blame each other
DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin and Idemia executive testify at a House Committee hearing Thursday (Photo: NCGA Screenshot)
By Lynn Bonner
Two adversaries sat side-by-side at a North Carolina hearing Thursday as House members tried to find the cause of a driver’s license backlog that delayed delivery of permanent IDs to hundreds of thousands of residents.
DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said that what started as a problem with 2,150 licenses ballooned to a 354,697 backlog, where customers had to wait up to eight weeks for permanent licenses. He blamed the state’s longtime contractor, Idemia, for the backlog and a lack of communication about the growing problem. An Idemia vice president said DMV should have gone along with the company’s recommendations for a quicker resolution. [Read more...]
Legislation to clarify NC school suspensions finds initial bipartisan support
Leah McGhee tells state senators that her son was wrongfully suspended for mentioning ‘illegal aliens’ in a class. (Photo: NCGA video stream)
Tens of thousands of students are suspended each year; bill would expand due process rights
Leah McGhee said when her son was suspended from Central Davidson High School, she could not appeal the punishment because it was less than 10 days.
According to McGhee, her 16-year-old son was only seeking clarification when his teacher used the word aliens in class, and he asked whether that reference was to “space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards.”
The student received a three day out-of-school suspension for what was deemed a racially motivated comment which disrupted the class.[Read more…]
A push to keep NC autopsy reports secret ends — for now
Sen. Danny Britt said the provision to keep autopsy reports secret had been removed from House Bill 250, but it might come back up again. (File photo)
Republican senators have dropped immediate plans to prevent the public and family members from seeing autopsy reports that are connected to criminal cases.
Last month, Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, presented a proposal to keep secret from the public autopsy reports in criminal cases until those cases were resolved. [Read more…]
After federal court hearing, use of toxic algaecide at Lake Mattamuskeet on hold
Lake Mattamuskeet (Photo: Lisa Sorg)
By Lisa Sorg
Young Kang, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, had not even finished announcing his last name when Judge Terence Boyle cut him off.
“Why are you doing this?” Boyle, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Reagan in 1984, barked at Kang. “This is a drastic approach.” [Read more...]
Advocates for people experiencing homelessness anxiously await U.S. Supreme Court decision
Homeless rights activists hold a rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 22, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson and Smith v. Spizzirri, a dispute over the constitutionality of ordinances that bar people who are homeless from camping on city streets. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Latonya Agard, executive director of NC Coalition to End Homelessness, is anxiously awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, an Oregon case testing a city ordinance that prohibits people experiencing homelessness from sleeping in public.
An unfavorable ruling in the case, which is expected to be decided by the end of the month, could have severe consequences for the nearly 10,000 people in North Carolina who are experiencing homelessness, Agard said this week during a statewide conference where advocates gathered to discuss topics impacting people experiencing homelessness. [Read more.…]
Bonus read: Veteran journalist and housing advocate: We must change the narrative about homelessness
North Carolina abortion pill restrictions struck down by federal judge
Abortion-rights supporters rallied outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in March as justices heard arguments about abortion medication. North Carolina regulations that made doctors dispense mifepristone in-person and required patients to go to follow-up appointments overstep the federal government’s authority, a judge ruled Monday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
By Elisha Brown
A federal judge on Monday blocked parts of North Carolina’s law on medication abortions.
Under the ruling by U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles any health care provider — not just physicians — and pharmacists who are certified can prescribe abortion pills, patients can take mifepristone at home and they no longer have to make three-in person visits to a doctor.[Read more...]
North Carolina’s rapidly snowballing gambling mess (commentary)
The author says North Carolina’s foray into sports gambling has led to predictably bad results. (Photo: Getty Images/bluecinema)
The physical therapy facility was a beehive of activity at 8:00 a.m. on a Tuesday. In a big and well-lit room, dozens of patients – most of them aging and trying their best to stave off various ravages of time – stretched awkwardly on tables or did their best to make use of exercise machines and various props, as busy therapists and assistants offered encouragement, and pecked away at laptops.
It was a mostly friendly and positive environment in which privacy was relatively minimal and conversations sometimes overlapped. [Read more…]
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