Early In-Person Voting Starts Thursday For June 7 Primary
North Carolina registered voters can now cast ballots in person for next month's primary elections for Congress, a state Supreme Court seat and a few other local positions.
Early voting was slated to begin in all 100 counties today for the June 7 primary, scheduled after a court struck down some of North Carolina's congressional districts. Legislators redrew boundaries and set the date.
Primary elections are being held for 11 of the state's 13 congressional seats. Seventeen candidates are running in the 13th District GOP primary.
Early in-person voting ends June 4.
Senate GOP Talks Teacher Pay Plan Above House, McCrory
North Carolina Senate Republicans are proposing a teacher pay plan that promises to exceed what Gov. Pat McCrory and House members are offering. Details on how the Senate would pay for the plan are unclear.
Senate leader Phil Berger said Wednesday the chamber's budget adjustments unveiled next week will recommend salary increases that Berger says would raise the state average — including local supplements — above $51,000 for the next school year. Berger says the Senate would also push to get the average above $54,000 in the 2017-18 school year.
Coal Ash Commission, Drinking Water Bill Clears House
An effort to revive a North Carolina commission to help oversee the cleanup of coal ash pits maintained by Duke Energy and ensure nearby residents get piped drinking water has cleared the state House.
The chamber voted Wednesday for the measure to reconstitute the Coal Ash Management Commission. Gov. Pat McCrory shut down the original commission following a court ruling that found the legislature held too much control over a panel with executive branch duties.
McCrory told legislators he would veto the bill, calling it unnecessary. His lawyer said more litigation would occur if it became law.
Senate Committees Back Tuition Cuts For 5 UNC Campuses
A proposal to dramatically reduce tuition at five University of North Carolina system campuses is inching forward in the General Assembly.
The measure by Sen. Tom Apodaca passed through the Senate Education and Appropriations committees Wednesday.
The bill would lower tuition to $500 a semester for in-state students and $2,500 a semester for out-of-state students at three historically black universities, UNC-Pembroke and Western Carolina University.
Apodaca says the state would provide up to $70 million per year to continue financing services affected by tuition reductions.
US Sen. Richard Burr Mum After Saying LGBT Law Went Too Far
North Carolina's senior senator is staying mum about his comments that a new state law limiting some legal protections for LGBT people and directing which bathrooms transgender people could use "was far too expansive."
A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr on Wednesday declined to clarify the senator's statements to The Huffington Post. Burr spokeswoman Taylor Holgate said Burr was unavailable for an interview.
Burr said on Tuesday that "the legislature botched what they were trying to do," adding, "it was far too expansive."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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