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Cooper Makes Soft Sell For Education, Medicaid, Storm Aid
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is pressing for lawmakers to expand Medicaid, increase public education funding and help rural North Carolina with more aid following Hurricane Florence.
Cooper made a soft sell for his favored initiatives to a joint session of the General Assembly on Monday night during his second State of the State address.
The legislature is still in Republican hands, but Democrats took away the GOP's veto-proof control from both chambers with legislative victories in November.
The governor says the two parties may disagree on things but got big applause when he said all can agree education will succeed with a good teacher in every classroom and a good principal in every school.
North Carolina Republicans Appeal Order Voiding Amendments
Republican legislative leaders have appealed a court ruling striking down new North Carolina constitutional amendments mandating photo identification to vote and lower caps on income tax rates.
The notice filed on Monday with the Court of Appeals challenges Friday's decision by a Wake County judge voiding legislative directives to put the amendments on the ballot and voter approval of them in November.
Judge Bryan Collins ruled the 2017-18 General Assembly that approved the amendment referendums last year were illegally established because federal courts had declared legislative district boundaries illegal gerrymanders.
The ruling doesn't specifically cancel a December law implementing the voter ID mandates, but the decision calls into question whether it will stand.
NC's Tillis Is 2nd GOP Senator To Oppose Trump Emergency
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis says he'll vote to block President Donald Trump's emergency declaration at the border with Mexico, becoming the second Senate Republican to do so.
In an opinion column posted late Monday by The Washington Post, Tills says he agrees with Trump that there is a crisis at the border. But he says that as a senator, he has "grave concerns" about letting a president weaken Congress' power of the purse.
The declaration would give Trump access to billions of dollars more than Congress approved to build his proposed wall.
The Democratic-controlled House is set to approve the measure Tuesday.
Judge Finalizes Plan For Chemical Firm's Penalty, Clean-Up
North Carolina's environmental agency says a finalized settlement agreement allows it to make sure a Fortune 500 chemical company follows through on promises to clean up industrial chemicals in the water or face legal penalties.
A state judge on Monday finalized a revised agreement between the state, environmentalists and The Chemours Co. that was unveiled last week.
The settlement was updated after public input commits the company to speeding up plans to reduce chemicals reaching downstream public water utilities on top of paying $13 million in penalties and costs. The deal doesn't affect lawsuits by residents and Wilmington's water utility 100 miles downstream against Chemours or DuPont, the company which spun off Chemours in 2015.
Former North Carolina Rep. Frank Ballance Dies At 77
Services are this week for North Carolina Democratic politician Frank Ballance, who served briefly in Congress and later went to federal prison for activities related to a charitable organization.
Family spokesman Carlton Pressley confirmed on Monday that Ballance died Friday at a Raleigh hospital, saying he didn't survive after undergoing a procedure there. He was 77.
Ballance served over two decades in the state House and Senate. He was elected to Congress in 2002, but resigned in 2004, citing ill health. Ballance pleaded guilty that year to conspiring to divert taxpayer money to his family and others through a foundation he helped start while at the General Assembly. He left prison in 2009.
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