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Railroads ticketed for aid in House Helene bill

Deep in the fine print of the House’s latest hurricane-recovery aid package, there are two proposed appropriations that would help a pair of western North Carolina short-line railroads. House Bill 1012’s proposed allocations include a $9 million grant to the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad and $1 million for the Great Smoky Mountains...

By Ray Gronberg

May 23, 2025

The Dems who supported a toll-road ban

To tie up a loose end from Wednesday, I checked the vote lineup on the House’s decision to add a ban on tolling U.S. 1 in Wake County to its draft of the budget. The 71-37 vote came at the behest of Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, who represents Wake Forest and other parts...

By Ray Gronberg

May 23, 2025

Berger may tie hurricane aid to budget talks as House pushes for separate vote

Senate leader Phil Berger appears willing to use the House’s new $464.8 million hurricane-aid bill as leverage to get his chamber’s way in upcoming House-Senate budget negotiations. Berger was non-committal on Thursday when asked whether the Senate will take up the aid package, House Bill 1012, as a standalone piece of...

By Ray Gronberg

May 23, 2025

House budget forbids tolling of U.S. 1

The House budget bill will ban the N.C. Department of Transportation from spending state money to make any part of the Wake County portion of U.S. 1 a toll road. Members amended the bill at the behest of Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, whose Wake Forest-area district in northern Wake straddles U.S. 1,...

By Ray Gronberg

May 22, 2025

Buncombe jail in arrears to former inmates

Buncombe County jail inmates haven’t always gotten back from the county Sheriff’s Office the money they arrived with, or the money friends and relatives provided for them to use while they were in custody. A probe by State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office found that the jail hadn’t returned, all told, $19,272 to...

By Ray Gronberg

May 22, 2025

NC House unveils $60M Hurricane Helene business relief plan

House leaders’ latest Hurricane Helene relief bill includes a $60 million set-aside to establish and fund a “business recovery” grant program within the state’s Department of Commerce. If approved, the program would offer one-time grants to businesses that suffered economic losses of $25,000 or more because of Helene and that have been...

By Ray Gronberg

May 22, 2025

Boliek: I’m going to investigate Charlotte

State Auditor Dave Boliek has notified Charlotte officials that his office is going to investigate its rumored “settlement” with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings. “The Office of the State Auditor will be asking how much money has reportedly been paid, whether a payment exists, where did money for a payment...

By Ray Gronberg

May 21, 2025

UNC and ECU discord threatens NC Care

Back in 2023, legislative leaders touted their desire to use part of the state’s Medicaid-expansion bonus to fund a new healthcare collaboration between UNC Health and ECU Health. That year’s budget bill authorized spending up to $420 million on the so-called NC Care initiative, and actually appropriated the bulk of...

By Ray Gronberg

May 21, 2025

House Republicans question $2B children’s hospital subsidy

House Republicans aren’t exactly sold on the idea of massively subsidizing UNC Health and Duke Health’s plan to build a new children’s hospital somewhere in the Triangle, two of their leaders say. “We have an information deficit,” said Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth. “Our caucus is saying, ‘With tight economic times, can...

By Ray Gronberg

May 21, 2025

The House budget, now fully rolled out

The full House budget emerged Monday afternoon, and with it the full scope of the chamber GOP caucus’ disagreements with the Senate’s first draft of the spending plan for the 2025-27 biennium. These start with across-the-board salary increases for most state employees of 2.5% in fiscal 2025-26, versus the Senate’s 1.25%. In...

By Ray Gronberg

May 20, 2025

Stein’s Helene request

Gov. Josh Stein has asked legislators to allot $845.2 million more to Hurricane Helene recovery, and to re-channel $45.6 million in spending previously earmarked to the effort. Other than setting aside money to match federal aid, the biggest line item in Stein’s request calls for sending $70 million to the Office of...

By Ray Gronberg

May 20, 2025

Duke’s ties with China questioned

The leaders of two U.S. House committees have urged Duke University to terminate its relationship with a partner campus in China. Duke’s joint venture with Wuhan University, Duke Kunshan University, has been up and running since 2018 but by facilitating technology transfer is a threat to U.S. national security, the...

By Ray Gronberg

May 19, 2025

Berger optimistic about Charlotte transit bill

Neither the Senate nor the House has taken up their almost-parallel bills that would authorize another transit-tax referendum in Mecklenburg County, but that doesn’t mean the bills are dead, Senate leader Phil Berger says. “It’s still something that folks are interested in getting across the finish line,” Berger said. “We’ve...

By Ray Gronberg

May 19, 2025

Bicameral disagreement

NCInnovation and the children’s hospital are not the only major budgetary and policy differences emerging between the Senate and House appropriators. The House plan, for example, agrees with the Senate’s that the governor’s choice to serve as adjutant general of the N.C. National Guard should receive legislative confirmation. But the...

By Ray Gronberg

May 19, 2025

House, Senate split over NCInnovation funding and children’s hospital investment

It appears the Senate and the House have very different ideas about how to wind down the state’s involvement with NCInnovation — and about how to spin up its involvement in a new children’s hospital. The first pieces of the House’s budget counterproposal for the 2025-27 biennium emerged in appropriations subcommittees on...

By Ray Gronberg

May 19, 2025