Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 12/13/21

Governance

• Citing the need for “accountability and transparency from all public officials,” Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law a bill that will make it a felony to misuse local office for financial gain. The new statute will also give the state’s Local Government Commission more power to enforce the law requiring that towns and cities conduct annual audits.

Fair Representation

• On Wednesday, the NC Supreme Court ordered that the 2022 primary elections, originally set for March 8, be rescheduled to May 17 and suspended the candidate filing period for all offices. The high court granted the injunction in response to lawsuits brought by both the League of Conservation Voters and the National Redistricting Foundation challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new GOP-drawn congressional and legislative district maps. The order requires that the lawsuits be decided in trial court by January 11 to allow for expedited appeals if needed. Dates for a new filing period haven't been set.

Voting Rights

• Governor Cooper vetoed a bill that would have prohibited county election boards and officials from accepting private donations to help offset the cost of running elections. In his veto statement, Cooper said, “Elections are fundamental to our democracy and in 2020, grants from nonpartisan nonprofits were needed for necessities such as masks, single-use pens and other protective equipment so voters stayed safe during the pandemic. The legislature should start properly funding elections boards to ensure accessible, safe, and secure elections every time, which would end the need for grants.” Republican legislators passed SB 725 without any support from Democrats, and it is unlikely they will have the votes to override the Governor’s veto.
  

Environmental Policy

• Governor Cooper vetoed HB 220, a bill that would have prevented local governments from banning energy sources such as natural gas in new construction. Cooper opposed the legislation, saying, "This legislation undermines North Carolina's transition to a clean-energy economy that is already bringing in thousands of good-paying jobs. It also wrongly strips local authority and hampers public access to information about critical infrastructure that impacts the health and well-being of North Carolinians."

Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 12/6/21

Governance

• Last Monday the NCGA passed a bill targeting the misuse of local office for financial gain. The bill would make such misuse a felony and would require local governments to recover funds lost through such misuse by garnishing the official’s wages. Lawmakers drafted the bill following an audit of the city of Rocky Mount.

Fair Representation

• On Friday a three-judge Superior Court panel denied requests to delay candidate filing for state legislative and congressional district races. In the first of three court cases seeking to stop newly drawn maps from taking effect, the NAACP and other groups sought to delay North Carolina’s primaries from March to May (and likewise delay candidate filing), arguing the maps represent an unconstitutional gerrymander. Filing is set to begin Monday for the new districts, which heavily favor Republicans. Groups challenging the maps are likely to appeal. FLASH UPDATE: “Court ruling stops 2022 candidate filing in disputed NC districts”

Voting Rights

• On Thursday Governor Cooper vetoed a bill that would prohibit the counting of absentee ballots received after polls close on Election Day. SB 326, a Republican-supported bill, would have stopped the receipt of absentee ballots at 7:30 PM on Election Day, which could have led to thousands of valid votes being discarded. North Carolina has allowed a 3-day grace period for receipt of mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day since 2009.

• Last Monday the NCGA passed a bill that would prohibit the use of private donations to cover elections costs. SB 725 passed along party lines, with Democrats objecting that the bill is a way for Republicans to cast doubt on elections. In the 2020 election cycle, private donations supplemented limited state elections funding to allow for the purchase of sufficient basic supplies like pens and for improved COVID safety measures.

Education Policy

• On Tuesday an NC Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that Superior Court Judge David Lee did not have the authority to require that the state spend $1.7 billion to fully fund the Leandro school improvement plan. The judges’ decision described Lee’s order as “constitutionally impermissible and beyond the power of the trial court.” Because the recent state budget did not fully fund the Leandro plan, it is unclear how the plan will be fully funded given this decision.

Environmental Policy

• Last Monday the NCGA passed a bill that would prohibit local governments from banning energy sources such as natural gas in new construction. HB 220 is one of many similar bills across the country that have been pushed by the American Gas Association, a natural gas lobbying group. Environmental advocates urged Governor Cooper to veto the bill.

Criminal Justice

• The new state budget includes a provision that would bar public access to records of law enforcement “critical incidents,” i.e., when police injure or kill someone. A bill passed earlier this year mandated the creation of a database tracking such incidents, but the budget provision will prohibit that database from being accessible to the public. Records of revocations and suspensions of officer certification will be public.

Neighbors on Call's Weekly Policy Update for 11/22/21

The State Budget

On Thursday Governor Cooper signed the delayed North Carolina state budget into law. The $25.9 billion budget passed the NC House earlier that day with a 101-10 vote and the NC Senate on Wednesday with a 41-7 vote. Key elements of the approved budget include the following:

• Education Policy

  • 5% (over two years) raises for teachers, UNC system faculty and staff, and state employees, along with a tiered bonus of $1500 for many state employees and up to $2800 for teachers

  • Phasing out of the state’s Innovative School District, a statewide experimental program created by Republican lawmakers that allowed outside operators to take over a low-performing public school for 5 years

  • Insufficient funds to fully cover the costs mandated in the Leandro court order charging the state to ensure a sound basic education for all

  • Increased investment in the Opportunity Scholarships private-school voucher program, including increased scholarship amounts, a raised eligibility income cap, and a mandated $15 million per year to the program (up from $10 million) regardless of demand

  • Expansion of NC Promise program, which guarantees $500 in-state tuition to certain UNC system schools

• Economic and Housing Policy

  • The largest tax cut in state history, with the personal income tax rate cut to 4.99% next year and the corporate income tax phased out entirely by 2030

• Health Care Policy

  • No Medicaid expansion but extends Medicaid eligibility to pregnant women (for up to 12 months postpartum) whose incomes are lower than or equal to 196% of the federal poverty line

  • Full funding of the state health plan

• Environment

  • $265 million for land conservation and flood prevention and resilience

• Criminal Justice

  • $25 million for sexual assault services and $10 million to address the state’s rape kit processing backlog

• Governance

  • Limits on executive branch power previously vetoed by Governor Cooper as separate laws, including limiting the governor’s emergency powers and shifting the power to settle lawsuits from the attorney general’s office to the legislature

• Other

  • Allocation of $2.8 million in federal election security funds that had been left out of previous budget drafts

  • $1 billion for broadband expansion

  • Funding for nearly 700 local projects

Voting Rights

• On Thursday Republicans in the NCGA passed two elections-focused laws with no Democratic support. SB 326 would prohibit the counting of absentee ballots received after election night, while SB 725 would ban private donations for elections administration. The bills now go to Governor Cooper, who is expected to veto them.