House Rejects Senate Budget Bill, Setting Up Negotiations
Negotiations should begin in earnest now that the state House has formally rejected the Senate's proposal to adjust the North Carolina government budget for next year.
The House voted unanimously Wednesday not to support the $22.2 billion spending plan the Senate approved last week. This action will create a conference committee to work out differences between what the Senate passed and the House approved last month.
Pay raises for teachers and state employees and the timeline for carrying out an income tax cut are among the biggest differences. The future of Senate provisions to lower tuition on University of North Carolina campuses and rewrite some water quality rules will have to be worked out.
Annual Regulatory Overhaul Happening At General Assembly
The annual effort to tweak or scale back regulations on North Carolina businesses or state government itself is progressing through the General Assembly in competing House and Senate bills.
The Senate scheduled floor debate Thursday on its proposed "Regulatory Reduction Act of 2016." The measure would repeal the state's electronics recycling program, halt annual motor vehicle emissions testing in eight counties and eliminate or consolidate environmental reports. A provision that would have allowed North Carolina distilleries to sell more liquor to people touring their operations was removed by a committee Wednesday.
The House began discussing its annual regulatory recommendations this week. The House bill would clarify how online databases provided by government agencies satisfy public records requirements and would amend the definition of an antique automobile for tax purposes.
Proposal Would Bar Police From Accepting Nonprofit ID Cards
Some North Carolina lawmakers are trying to remove an exemption in an immigration law last year that allows law enforcement to use identification cards from local government or nonprofit organizations to determine a person's ID or residency.
The House Regulatory Reform Committee sent the bill to the Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.
A law passed last September prohibited the use of the cards in most cases, but local nonprofits have continued hosting ID drives encouraging people to obtain them.
The bill's sponsors say the cards carry no validity and what was meant to be a narrow exemption expanded their use.
McCrory Talks Infrastructure, Mental Health With Mayors
Gov. Pat McCrory says mental illness and the increased incidence of heroin addiction are among the top issues facing North Carolina, and he wants municipal leaders and local police to work with him on addressing them.
McCrory discussed these and other issues with 200 town and city mayors and other officials Wednesday during a panel discussion at the North Carolina League of Municipalities annual "Town Hall Day" in Raleigh.
The governor says his priorities for this year's General Assembly session include funding for mental health services and more efficient use of state buildings.
Families To Talk To Hospital After Volunteer's Tirade
An attorney for one of two families targeted by a North Carolina hospital volunteer in an expletive-laced, racially tinged tirade says he's negotiating with the hospital to ensure such incidents aren't repeated.
The families held a news conference Wednesday in Winston-Salem, almost two months after the volunteer's rant was captured on a cellphone and posted to YouTube.
Justin Bamberg, a South Carolina-based attorney representing the family of Isaiah Baskins, says the volunteer directed a racial slur against his client and also invoked the name of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Bamberg says no lawsuit has been filed thus far. He says the families are grateful that the hospital apologized and that the volunteer was fired, but noted the incident shouldn't have occurred in the first place.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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