NC Politics in the News

Agriculture

THE CENTER SQUARE: Late bill passed by General Assembly could keep hemp and CBD legal in North Carolina
North Carolina hemp farmers and retailers are breathing a sigh of relief after lawmakers approved legislation to keep the plant legal just one day before it was set to revert to illegal status. "I don't appreciate the drama of taking it to the last moment but the fact that hemp is now legalized, there is no expiration, hemp is here to stay in North Carolina in perpetuity, I am a happy man, and we should have hundreds of thousands of happy customers across the state," Eric Stahl, owner of Raleigh hemp retailer Modern Apotheca, told Carolina Journal.

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Economic Development

TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: Homebuilding company eyes Fayetteville for 200-job facility
The Fayetteville City Council and Cumberland County Board of Commissioners recently approved incentive packages to lure "one of the nation's leading homebuilders" to the area.

THE CENTER SQUARE: North Carolina's $27.9B budget includes $15M to help ACC move its headquarters to Charlotte
North Carolina lawmakers have unveiled budget adjustments for the coming year they plan to approve later this week before concluding the short legislative session on Friday. Republican legislative leaders outlined adjustments to the $27.9 billion state budget during a news conference, accounting for more than $6 billion in additional revenue for the two-year budget cycle.

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Education

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: Leandro plaintiffs ask N.C. Supreme Court to restore court-ordered money transfer
Plaintiffs in the long-running Leandro education funding lawsuit argue that a Superior Court judge was wrong to strike down his predecessor’s order transferring money out of the state treasury. A brief filed Friday asks the N.C. Supreme Court to strike down that portion of a $785 million order from Judge Michael Robinson.

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Environment

WBTW: Consent order filed requiring Colonial Pipeline to pay nearly $5M penalty for North Carolina’s ‘largest gasoline spill’
On Thursday, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality filed a proposed Consent Order to hold Colonial Pipeline accountable as the responsible party in the state’s largest gasoline spill. The Consent Order, if approved by the Mecklenburg County Superior Court, would require Colonial to take specific corrective actions and pay nearly $5 million related to the August 2020 fuel release in the Oehler Nature Preserve near Huntersville, North Carolina.

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Government

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: N.C. $27.9 billion budget receives final votes, now heads to the governor
North Carolina’s proposed $27.9 billion budget received final votes Friday and now heads to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s desk for a vote. The Senate voted 36-8 and the House 82-25. On Thursday, the House originally voted 84-28 but changed to 85-27, with a similar vote in the Senate, changing from 37-10 to 38-9. 

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Healthcare

TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: Raleigh drugmaker shifts focus after trial setback
After discontinuing a late-stage clinical trial for one of its drug candidates, a Raleigh company is advancing another asset in its pipeline and has secured debt financing to help.

THE CENTER SQUARE: North Carolina legislative leaders want state's abortion restrictions reinstated
North Carolina’s legislative leaders are calling on Attorney General Josh Stein to take legal action to reinstate the state’s abortion restrictions following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Senate President Philip Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Timothy Moore, R-Cleveland, penned a letter to Stein on June 24, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court returned authority over abortion to the states by overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

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Politics

THE CAROLINA JOURNAL: More than 40,000 N.C. voters have changed their political party this year
Data from the N.C. State Board of Elections show that 41,795 N.C. voters have changed their party affiliation since the beginning of 2022. More than half of those, 23,374, are now unaffiliated voters, instead of a Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian.

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Transportation

RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER: US 70 exit ramp closes south of Raleigh as massive new I-40 interchange takes shape
The construction of a big highway interchange south of Raleigh reaches a milestone Wednesday with the closure of a ramp that will send some drivers on a detour for more than a year. The looping ramp that carries traffic from westbound U.S. 70 to eastbound Interstate 40 will close permanently Wednesday morning, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.