Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 1/24/22

Fair Representation

• On Wednesday the NC General Assembly passed a bill to delay 2022 primaries to June 7. HB 605, which was introduced the same day and passed both chambers on a party-line vote, was drafted by Republicans to allow them more time to redraw legislative maps in the event current maps are struck down by the NC Supreme Court. Democrats objected to the bill as premature, especially given that the NC Supreme Court had already delayed primaries to May 17 to make time for the case. Gov. Cooper may veto the bill.

Education Policy

• On Tuesday Governor Cooper issued a proclamation declaring this week “North Carolina School Choice Week.” Given Cooper’s previous opposition to private school vouchers and concerns about charter school expansion, this proclamation was unexpected. A spokesperson for Cooper’s office indicated that the proclamation was issued in response to a request from the NC Association for Public Charter Schools, and that honoring educators for their work during the difficult conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic is a priority.

Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 1/17/22

Fair Representation

• On Tuesday, a bipartisan panel of three North Carolina Superior Court judges ruled unanimously that legislative and congressional maps drawn by Republicans as part of the decennial redistricting process can be used in elections for at least the next decade. Plaintiffs in the case had argued that the maps were drawn to guarantee Republican gains and to dilute the voting power of racial minorities. The justices found no evidence of racial discrimination. They did agree that the maps were drawn with partisan intent to favor Republicans but asserted that the inherently political nature of the redistricting process means partisanship is not barred under the North Carolina Constitution and the courts are therefore barred from interfering with the process: “Despite our disdain for having to deal with issues that potentially lead to results incompatible with democratic principles and subject our state to ridicule, the Court must remind itself that these maps are the result of a democratic process,” the judges wrote. Two of the plaintiffs, The Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Common Cause, immediately appealed the case. The state Supreme Court will hold a virtual hearing on Feb. 2.

A copy of the 260-page Superior Court’s ruling can be found here. In particular, the justices’ reasoning can be found on pages 222-257.

Education

• Gov. Cooper issued a directive that will allow state employees to use paid leave to help relieve COVID-related public school staffing shortages. Under the policy, effective from Jan. 12 to Feb. 15, a state employee may use up to 24 hours of paid community service leave to serve as a substitute teacher, bus driver or cafeteria worker and can also keep any compensation earned for this work.

Environmental Policy

• The federal Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to consider whether the NC Department of Environmental Quality violated federal civil rights law by granting waste treatment permits to several industrial hog farms in Duplin and Sampson counties. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the complaint with the federal EPA, alleging that the NC DEQ failed to protect surrounding communities from air and water pollution when it granted permits to the private companies to install systems that convert hog waste products into biogas for renewable energy. The EPA will now determine if the complaint has merit.

Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 1/10/22

Fair Representation

• Last week a panel of Wake County Superior Court judges heard arguments in a case contesting North Carolina's voting maps. Hearings began last Monday and ended Thursday, with a decision expected by Tuesday, January 11. Plaintiffs in the case, arguing that the maps violate the state constitution, brought in multiple expert witnesses who testified that the newly drawn congressional and state legislative maps were heavily skewed in favor of Republicans. In addition, testimony from House Rules Chairman Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) on Wednesday revealed that the map-drawing process may not have been as transparent as promised: Hall testified that he consulted private "concept maps," which have since been deleted, while using the public map-drawing terminal.

Voting Rights

• Two Republican state Supreme Court justices notified lawyers in a case challenging NC’s voter ID law that they do not plan to recuse themselves from the case. The justices, Tamara Barringer and Phil Berger Jr., both have potential conflicts of interest in the case, as Barringer voted for the laws at issue during her NC Senate tenure and Berger’s father is the NC Senate President Pro Tem. The NAACP (plaintiffs in the case) had initially requested that the two justices recuse themselves, and then when they did not, requested that the full Supreme Court force their recusal.The high court, however, chose to leave the decision to the individual justices.

Environmental Policy

• On Friday Governor Cooper signed an executive order setting more ambitious targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and emphasizing climate justice across the executive branch. The order calls for a 50% reduction of emissions compared to 2005 levels by 2030 and net-zero emissions by no later than 2050. It also mandates that each cabinet agency identify an environmental justice and equity lead to allow for cross-agency collaboration on environmental justice initiatives and sets additional deadlines for achieving environmental justice and equity goals within the agencies.