Democracy
Last week, Republican House and Senate leaders in the NC General Assembly announced their proposed total spending figure for the state budget, which consists of spending $25.7 billion in 2021-2022 and $26.7 billion in 2022-2023. Details of the budget have not been finalized, yet the state legislature has already contemplated cutting taxes for corporations and…
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Across the country, passing restrictive election laws has been one of the top priorities for Republican state legislators this year. In a coordinated effort, Republicans, including legislators in North Carolina, are working from similar playbooks to restrict old policies, create voting barriers for Black and Brown communities — with some states pushing for measures that…
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Donald Trump returned to the stage on Saturday night, delivering a speech at the North Carolina Republican Party State Convention in Greenville, furthering his long exhausted list of false claims about the 2020 election and divisive rhetoric that was echoed by other NC Republicans. Trump, who was twice-impeached and incited a violent insurrection at the…
Read MoreLast week, Senate Republicans blocked the creation of a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate what happened leading up to and during the deadly Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. The commission, which is modeled after the one that was formed to investigate the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, would have been evenly divided…
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On Wednesday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper unveiled a list of proposals for North Carolina’s $5.7 billion share from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed by federal lawmakers in March. Calling it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to make transformational changes, Gov. Cooper proposed widespread investments to expand high-speed internet access across the state, give checks…
Read MoreYesterday, the N.C. House of Representatives passed House Bill 805, a bill that would stifle free speech and discourage protests by imposing extremely harsh criminal penalties on people charged with “rioting”. If enacted, the bill would not only discourage North Carolinians from exercising their constitutional right to peaceably assemble, but would disproportionately impact Black and…
Read MoreLast week marked the state legislature’s “crossover”, a self-imposed deadline in which bills must pass at least one chamber, either the state House or Senate, in order to have a chance of becoming law this session. In total, 336 House bills and 156 Senate bills cleared the crossover deadline. Among the flurry of bill filing,…
Read MoreOver the last year, more than 90 anti-protest bills have been introduced in at least 36 states, including in North Carolina. The wave of bills aimed at criminalizing our constitutional right to peaceably assemble, comes after a historic summer in which millions of us joined together to condemn the killing of Black people by the…
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Over the latest legislative session, North Carolinians have seen an increasing number of bills that aim to suppress or create obstacles for voters. Jim Crow-era voter suppression laws like Senate Bills 326 and 377 have come in full force as legislators push harmful legislation that not only seeks to make the process of voting more…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s State of the State address laid out the vision the governor has for moving the state forward. From the COVID-19 pandemic to fighting racial injustice, Gov. Cooper’s main message to North Carolinians was one of resilience, hope and unity. Cooper called for more bipartisan support in hopes of passing common…
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