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Taking the politics out of local land-use battles?

Lewisville Republican Rep. Jeff Zenger and nearly two dozen of his colleagues want local officials to face civil-court liability, for actual and punitive damages, if they treat land-use permit decisions as political matters. House Bill 765 would give “any person with standing” a green light to go after city council...

By Ray Gronberg

April 11, 2025

Solar-farm limits debated

Advocates for the solar-power industry are deploying property-rights arguments to oppose a bill pending in the House Agriculture and Environment committee that would put some regulatory roadblocks in the way of new solar farms. House Bill 729 would forbid the N.C. Utilities Commission from certifying a solar project capable of...

By Ray Gronberg

April 10, 2025

Flood plains

A mountain-county senator says if state officials want to exempt the reconstruction of Helene-damaged buildings from flood-protection rules, they also need to pursue parallel changes to the National Flood Insurance Program. Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, says he will not seek the enactment of Senate Bill 266 unless he and other...

By Ray Gronberg

April 10, 2025

Sen. Measmer, arriving soon

Cabarrus County Commissioners Chairman Chris Measmer will take former Sen. Paul Newton’s seat, once Gov. Josh Stein formalizes the choice made by the county GOP. Word of the party executive committee’s choice comes from both the Concord Independent Tribune and the North State Journal. Measmer emerged as the pick from...

By Ray Gronberg

April 9, 2025

More Selectsites on tap?

Tuesday’s Senate Commerce hearing on Senate Bill 664 also saw members agree to use the bill as a vehicle to make some changes to North Carolina’s Selectsite Readiness Program. These, you’ll remember, are a group of 15 prospective industrial sites around the state that are short of the 1,000-acre minimum...

By Ray Gronberg

April 9, 2025

JMACs and tire makers

The Senate’s Commerce and Insurance committee has endorsed a bill that’s designed to give a couple of tire manufacturers a bit of flexibility in meeting the terms of their state business incentive deals. Senate Bill 664 would change the existing law that governs the state’s Job Maintenance and Capital Development...

By Ray Gronberg

April 9, 2025

Friendship with trade-war targets?

Just in time for a global trade war, House members have proposed a pair of resolutions that profess the state’s undying friendship with the United Kingdom and France. House Resolution 777 deals with France, noting that it “provided decisive support” for U.S. independence during the American Revolution. More to the...

By Ray Gronberg

April 8, 2025

“Paper towns”

The “paper towns” debate has reared its head again, thanks to a development-related quarrel in Alexander County. Some residents of the Bethlehem area in the county’s southwest corner want to incorporate a town government to take control of land-use decisions there away from the Alexander County commissioners. The trigger for...

By Ray Gronberg

April 8, 2025

Power lines

The Southeast’s major utilities are lagging when it comes to planning regional transmission lines and connections that could improve the efficiency and reliability of the power grid, a new report argues. A contributing factor to the problem, it says, is that the Southeastern Regional Transmission Planning process does little more...

By Ray Gronberg

April 7, 2025

Dems weigh in on the DAVE Act

Both sides had a bit more to say Thursday about Senate Bill 474, the so-called DAVE Act that would create a new division in State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office to report to legislators about potential efficiency moves. The bill’s lead sponsor, Senate leader Phil Berger, confirmed that the proposal’s going...

By Ray Gronberg

April 4, 2025

Harrigan targets GNC

One of North Carolina’s congressmen wants to ban GNC from operating stores on the country’s military bases. U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-10th, this week filed what he’s calling the “Military Installation Retail Security Act.” It would bar the Pentagon from giving retailers an on-base concession if they’re controlled by adversary...

By Ray Gronberg

April 4, 2025

Tariff talk

Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle agree on thing about the tariff package President Trump announced on Wednesday: Business faces a whole new source of uncertainty. “It has scared the living … fill in the blank … from every business owner I have talked to from last night...

By Ray Gronberg

April 4, 2025

NYC group donates land to the Lumbee

The New York City-based Open Space Institute says it’s acquired a 1,392-acre chunk of Robeson County and donated it to North Carolina’s Lumbee Indians. The transfer of the Camp Island property “represents the first opportunity to establish a large, protected natural area under the stewardship of the” Lumbee, the Open...

By Ray Gronberg

April 3, 2025

Bilfinger and Cargill, in court

A divided state Court of Appeals panel has declined to force a global construction and engineering company into arbitration with Cargill Inc. over a project gone bad in Charlotte. Judges Toby Hampson and Julee Flood sided with Bilfinger Inc., finding that conflicting language in a set of contracts left the...

By Ray Gronberg

April 3, 2025

House votes to ease bidder minimums

House members want to relax the traditional requirement that cities, counties and other arms of the state obtain at least three competing bids for construction contracts worth more than $500,000. Their 115-0 vote went along with Wake County Republican Rep. Erin Paré’s proposal to lower that to a minimum of...

By Ray Gronberg

April 3, 2025