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Voting Rights
On Tuesday the NC State Board of Elections again voted to wait to certify Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s We the People Party and Cornel West’s Justice for All Party, pending investigations about how signature gathering was conducted and whether signees knew the purposes of registering these parties. The board certified the Constitution Party, another third party for which it had previously delayed certification. Republican-led congressional committees have requested information from State Board of Elections director Karen Brinson Bell about the delays, suggesting that the board is being pressured by Democrats to keep these candidates off the ballot.
Education Policy
On Monday Governor Cooper signed multiple bills into law, including emergency stopgap funding for childcare centers and a planned pay raise for teachers and state employees. SB 357 provides $67.5 million to child care centers to cover losses from the expiration of federal funding, though this only represents a small portion of what was provided federally. SB 332 gives a planned 3% pay raise to teachers and state employees that was approved in last year’s budget.
Economic Policy
This week Governor Cooper signed into law the ABC Omnibus bill, which includes a provision to make the to-go sale of cocktails permanently legal, after they were initially allowed during Covid. To-go alcoholic drinks must be sealed, sold with food, and no larger than 24 oz, and ID must be checked by the business or delivery driver. The bill also allows ABC stores to open on major holidays and sell gift cards.
Governor Cooper vetoed a bill on Monday that he said would make eviction orders ambiguous, and he declined to sign another bill that he said gave unconstitutional power over the North Carolina Railroad to the state legislature. SB 445 changes certain provisions pertaining to small claims courts and property crimes, potentially making it more difficult for low-income tenants to appeal evictions. SB 607 is a regulatory reform bill that makes several changes Cooper supports, but he disapproved of the change to the way the North Carolina Railroad’s board of directors is appointed.
Environmental Policy
On Wednesday Republicans on the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission voted to delay the process of setting standards for PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in ground and surface water. These rules would limit what companies can dump into the water supply, but Republicans on the commission are delaying setting necessary rules. Utilities will soon need to comply with federal PFAS limits in drinking water, and if limits are not set on PFAS at the source, the burden will fall on the water companies to clean up the water, likely raising consumer water bills.
Justice
On Monday Governor Cooper signed into law a bill that makes changes to the statute governing automatic expungement of criminal records but does not repeal automatic expungement (as an earlier version of the bill did). The automatic expungement of charges that result in acquittals or dismissals was paused in August 2022 due to a backlog in the courts system, and the resumption of automatic expungement was delayed twice before being set to take effect again July 1. In negotiations over the bill, some legislators tried to include repeal of automatic expungement, but advocates successfully pushed against the repeal.
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