"A lot of difficult issues arise during the course of a child’s life. Instead of passing bills that might endanger kids and limit their options for support, our legislature should be providing resources to make sure that children have the help they need. That’s why I sponsored Senate Bill 74, a Students’ Bill of Rights which would assure that students have the freedom to learn."
Read More »
House Bill 293, the Freedom to Vote Act, proposes changes to election administration in the state and provisions to increase voter turnout. N.C. Rep. Allen Buansi (D-Orange) is the face and primary sponsor of the bill, which was supported by every Democrat in the N.C. House of Representatives.
Read More »
Gov. Roy Cooper’s new behavioral health plan, released on March 8, aims to invest $1 billion to address North Carolina’s mental health and substance use crisis, according to a press release. The plan focuses on increasing the availability of behavioral health services, implementing systems to support people in crisis and using technology to enable better health access and outcomes.
Read More »
Duke Energy is developing a second carbon plan only two months after the release of the first, according to Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton. The company's original plan — the Carolinas Carbon Plan — detailed Duke Energy's planned methods for implementing North Carolina’s energy transition, which is mandated by House Bill 951.
Read More »
Introduced to the U.S. Senate in mid-February, the bill could give states the ability to exclude abortion providers from receiving state Medicaid funds unless an abortion is necessary due to rape, incest or a life-threatening situation.
Read More »
On Sunday, March 12, the League of Women Voters of Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties hosted a “changing of the guard” event between retired U.S. Rep. David Price and newly-elected U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-N.C. 4th) at the Chapel Hill Public Library.
Read More »
The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force released its annual report, highlighting the common causes of death in children ages 0 to 17 in the state. The task force is composed of three committees – Perinatal Health, Unintentional Death Prevention and Intentional Death Prevention – that compile data and create policy proposals for the N.C. General Assembly.
Read More »
On March 2, Senate Bill 196, the "Student Borrowers’ Bill of Rights", was filed in the N.C. Senate. If passed, the bill would create a license requirement process for lenders to help ensure fair treatment for student loan borrowers and their families.
Read More »
On March 1 at 4:20 p.m., the North Carolina Senate passed a bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medical needs. If passed in the House, the "N.C. Compassionate Care Act," would legalize the use of marijuana for patients with cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. According to the bill, those with qualifying conditions or a designated caregiver will be able to purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries with the use of an identification card. “I'm very optimistic about the conversations that are being had in Raleigh right now and about people's interest in this across the state,” N.C. Sen. Graig Meyer (D-Caswell, Orange, Person) said. “And I do think that we will likely see legislation moving ahead over the course of this year.”
Read More »
N.C. Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland, Rutherford), the speaker of the North Carolina House, and N.C. Sen. Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham), the president pro tem of the North Carolina Senate, announced that they had come to an agreement on Medicaid expansion on March 2.
Read More »
Gov. Roy Cooper addressed the N.C. General Assembly and other state leaders tonight in his fourth State of the State address. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson provided the GOP’s response immediately afterward in a pre-recorded speech.
Read More »
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday, March 1 that Medicaid users across the state may lose their healthcare coverage or see a reduction in benefits.The recertification process, or "Medicaid continuous coverage unwinding", will begin on April 1 due to changes at the federal level.
Read More »
The N.C. House of Representatives' permanent rules package for the 2023-2024 session, passed in the House on Feb. 15, includes a change to overriding the governor's veto. The rule will allow overriding votes to occur on any legislative day without prior notice to representatives, a change from the current 24- to 72-hour notice.
Read More »
N.C. House Bill 94 was filed on Feb. 13 to reintroduce happy hour, which has been outlawed since 1985 over concerns of drunk driving. The bill has strong bipartisan support – the primary sponsors of the bill are N.C. Reps. Jason Saine (R-Lincoln), Allison Dahle (D-Wake), David Willis (R-Union) and Zack Hawkins (D-Durham).
Read More »
While most bills in the N.C. General Assembly are written to address a specific issue, state senators occasionally file blank bills during legislative sessions. These allow senators to work around local bill filing deadlines as the bills can be amended pending committee approval.
Read More »
On Feb. 16, N.C. House Democrats introduced House Bill 141 that would provide paid parental leave for state employees. If passed, the bill would provide up to eight weeks of paid parental leave for full-time state employees and up to four weeks for part-time state employees, in addition to any paid leave already available.
Read More »
On Feb. 16, House Bill 76 passed the N.C. House with large bipartisan support. If it passes the state Senate, adult North Carolinians living below or close to the poverty line could gain access to insurance through Medicaid.
Read More »
Turkish-American communities across the Triangle area are working to support those affected by the recent earthquakes that occurred in Türkiye and Syria, the first of which occurred two weeks ago. Another 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey on Monday, causing further damage.
Read More »
North Carolina state legislators have announced a bipartisan historically Black universities and colleges caucus, focusing on meeting the needs of historically Black higher education, making it the first state-level caucus of its kind in the country.
Read More »
After commending former Congressman David Price for his service to District 4, the Chapel Hill Town Council discussed the annual budget and potential updates to the Administering Concept Plan and conditional zoning applications at its Feb. 15 meeting.
Read More »
