July 30, 2025 • 32 mins
The Trump administration has frozen $108 million in federal funds for Duke Health, citing allegations of systemic racial discrimination. In Raleigh, lawmakers voted to override multiple vetoes from Governor Stein—including on high-profile energy and regulatory bills—while Rep. Jeff Jackson dropped out of the U.S. Senate race and endorsed Roy Cooper. Stein responded by urging the legislature to focus on passing a state budget instead.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
It's five oh five and welcome into a Wednesday edition
of The Carolina Journal News Hour Newstalk eleven ten ninety
nine three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
The Trump Administration is frozen more than one hundred and
eight million dollars in federal funding for Duke Health, according
to senior administration officials. This comes one day after an
(00:31):
letter was sent to the university that both DHS Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Junior and the Secretary of Education Linda
McMahon are investigating systematic racial discrimination within the university's healthcare system.
That federal funding encompasses Duke University's School of Medicine and
overall health research and healthcare system at Duke. The freeze,
(00:56):
which is being exclusively reported by Fox News, comes again
one day after that letter was sent to top Duke officials
expressing concerns about racial preferences in hiring, student admissions, governance,
patient care, and other operations. The letter states that the
administration has been made aware of allegations that Duke University
(01:18):
and Duke Health are not in compliance with the Civil
Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race and nationality
in programs receiving a federal funding. It calls for Duke
Health to review all policies and practices for illegal use
of racial preferences. In the letter from Secretary McMahon and
(01:41):
Secretary Kennedy, it talks about giving Duke a six month
period of time to make whatever changes are necessary internally
to get in compliance with some of those of federal
regulations and federal laws, noting that at any point, if
either of the secretaries feel that Duke is not working
on this process and not moving forward in a positive direction,
(02:04):
that they will continue with their They will continue scrutiny
of the university and look at potential funding cuts that
one point eight million dollars, according to one official telling
Fox News, could be permanent if Duke does not comply
and is found to be in violation of the Civil
(02:24):
Rights Act. This is a an update on a story
we covered yesterday morning. Kind of a sparse details this morning,
but did want to provide you that update as we
get into some of the details here this morning. Again,
that letter sent from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Will continue to track
(02:47):
the details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour
and of course on our website, Carolina Journal dot com,
where it's now five oh eight News Talk eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. It was an incredibly busy
Tuesday in the North Carolina General Assembly as lawmakers, coming
out of their few week fourth of July recess, made
their way back to the state Capitol to did with
(03:09):
fourteen veto overrides, pieces of legislation that both chambers had passed,
that Governor Josh Stein had vetoed earlier in the month
of June and in July. It was a busy one
to walk us through some of those details. The editor
in chief of Carolina Journal dot Com, Donna King, joins
us on the News Hour. Donna, before we get into
any of the details of these bills, this is one
of the busiest days that I've seen in the General
(03:31):
Assembly in quite some time. Oh for sure.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
I mean, I think what that showed us is that
they can get things done in quick order when they
really want to, and they have everybody aligned. So I
think it really shows us that the last month or
so since they left, they've been working hard to make
sure they can coalesce the votes to get these overrides done.
But it also really sounds it's a show of force,
I think, when they're really going head to head against
(03:56):
Governor Stein compared to Governor Cooper.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, and you know that for the longest time, at
least in the first couple of months of both the
new governor being in the office and the new lawmakers
being in Raley, it seemed like it was a pretty
good relationship. I think after the eight veto overrides on
Tuesday down, it's probably accurate to say it's a little
bit fractured as of right now. Let's start off in
the North Carolina Senate. One of the pieces of legislation
(04:22):
that a lot of folks across the state were following,
Senate Bill fifty. This is also known as constitutional carry.
What happened with that bill on Tuesday?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Sure? Sure, so that has been overridden by the Senate
at this point. It would have allowed permitless concealed carry
of handguns for adults over the age of eighteen, has
not been taken up by the House.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And so with that we'll continue to watch. It did
not fail a vote in the House, it just was
not put on the calendar. So I guess it does
potentially leave the door open for a potential VETO override.
Could be later this week, could be sometime in the
next couple of months, as lawmakers are in and out
of Raleigh. Another piece of ledgelegislation that also did not
receive a vote in the House, Senate Bill one fifty three.
(05:04):
What's that legislation? Why is it relevant?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Sure? And that one actually surprised me. I thought we
would see it pop up here in the House for
a vote. It mandates coordination or cooperation with federal immigration
enforcement authorities, and it also allows residents of North Carolina's
communities to sue local governments if they have a sanctuary policies.
So I would be surprised made that one might pop
(05:28):
back up in the House. But it has been overridden
by the Senate.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
And that's of course a relevant piece of legislation. Over
the last probably year and a half or so, the
General assemblies passed multiple bills dealing with ice and cooperation.
This continues to be a pretty big story across North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
It really does, and we're seeing it actually nationwide, and
I think we're going to see some real foundational arguments
when you go into the twenty twenty six midterms about
this very issue. So I think that North Carolina lawmakers
would probably like to see it pass, and I think
we're going to see this brought up over the course
of the next say eighteen months or so in the
(06:08):
Senate race, in particular with Governor Cooper.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
There's two d There was a two DEI bills that
the North Carolina House and Senate had dealt with earlier
this year, Senate Bill two twenty seven and Senate Bill
five point fifty eight. One deals with K twelve. The
other deals with higher ed, the UNC system and community colleges.
DEI is a big ticket issue nationally right now, Donna.
We've seen the push from President Trump and folks all
(06:32):
across the country. What happened with those two bills?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Sure, now both of these have all the veto has
been overridden by the Senate. Now, you got to remember,
the Senate has a veto proof majority, so that's something
the House is one vote shy of being able to do.
So they have a little bit more work to do
to get that veto proof majority. So they both the
Senate was able to override the veto in both of
those DEI bills.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
We will of course keep an eye on these open
bills now that the House has not necessarily moved forward
with as we continue with that process. Let's look at
a couple of other things that did actually get overridden
by both chambers on Tuesday. Charter school changes that Senate
Bill two fifty four. This is a big one as
the school choice movement continues across North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
This really is a big one. It empowers the charter
school's review Board, which gives some charter schools more autonomy.
And this is you know, the Board of Education, the
State Board of Education has opposed this, and this charter
school review board really allows them to be sort of self,
you know. It allows charter schools to have that review
board in place. And that's SB two fifty four overridden
(07:42):
by both chambers, so it will now go into law.
The other one is the Power Bill Reduction Act. That's
something that we've been watching closely at the John Locke Foundation.
What that does is it repeals the interim twenty thirty
target for carbon reduction mandates. It still keeps in place
what we see going in for two fifty, but it
repeals that interim one and it you know, could potentially
(08:04):
really bring down power bills for North Carolinians. That has
been overridden by both chambers and becomes law. And then
the Personal Privacy Protection Act, that's one that we're also
following a Carolina journal in the John Locke Foundation. What
that does is it prevents a state, you know, a
state employee from compelling a nonprofit to release its data
(08:27):
or its list of donors. So, for example, if I
donated to a cause or a charity that I felt
strongly about, that charity couldn't be compelled to release my
name to a government employee or a government official. This
really goes back all the way to the Civil Rights Act,
when there were government officials trying to compel the the
(08:48):
the NAACP to release its list of donors, and it
really became a free speech issue. It's already been heard
by the US Supreme Court. So this is something we've
been pursuing for a while in the interest of of
privacy and free speech and something that Democrats have opposed,
saying it would allow dark money. Now it's important to
note that this bill does not impact campaign finance.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Reporting laws, and those campaign finance reports have to be
filed depending on the election cycle either four times or
twice a year. All of that information is publicly available
on the North Carolina State Board of Election website and
Donna on this donor privacy, the state of California back
a couple of years ago tried passing a legislation dealing
with this, and it was actually struck down by the
(09:33):
United States Supreme Court. I heard a couple of Republican
members bring that up during the debate in the General
Assembly on Tuesday, So they feel that as of just
back a couple of years ago, the United States Supreme
Court rather has already opined on this issue.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
For certainly we heard that on the floor of the
General Assembly on Tuesday. That's a case that was with
the Americans for Prosperity and at the time the governors
of the Attorney General of California was Kamala Harris, and
she tried to compel nonprofits to release their donor list,
and so it did. It went all the way to
(10:09):
the US Supreme Court. It was found to be a
freedom of speech issue, allowing donors to have those free
speech rights by association by donating to the cause of
their choice without fear of a government bureaucrat coming in
and using it for political purposes. And you're right, you know,
political campaign reporting is still the law, and that will
(10:31):
still be trackable. It is all this we're talking about
nonprofit organizations.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
We'll continue on what was a busy day in the
North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday with Donna King from
Carolina Journal dot com coming up after this. You're listening
to the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's by twenty one.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour news stock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBTT. You don't forget. If you
(10:59):
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(11:21):
News Hour podcast. Download and subscribe. Now, continuing our discussion
this morning with Donna King, the editor in chief of
Carolina Journal dot com, about lawmakers making their way back
to Raleigh on Tuesday to deal with fourteen veto overrides.
Let's turn our attention over to the North Carolina House.
The math is a little bit different in the House
compared to the Senate. Super majority for Republicans in the
(11:44):
Senate one vote shy. In the House, however, there are
multiple Democrats that did agree on some of these original
bills before they were vetoed by Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
Let's start off with the House Bill one ninety three.
What's that legislation?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Sure, so this is a firearms ball revision. This was
overridden by both chambers, and there's a list of them
actually that Republicans in the House did get some Democrats
support to override a Stein veto. What that tells me,
because you know, we're looking at a list of you know,
probably six or seven at least that we're able to
be overridden. I'm not positive that would have happened under
(12:21):
a Cooper administration because he really kept a tight rein
on the votes in the General Assembly among Democrats. This
time around, there really have been some Democrats willing to
cross the aisle and vote with Republicans. Another one is
HB eight oh five, which is prevents sexual exploitation of
women and minors. What this does is it bars K
(12:43):
twelve schools from plating male and female students in the
same sleeping quarters, say if they were on a field
tip for example. It also keeps state funds from being
spent on gender transition procedures and prisons, and increases the
statute of limitations on patient's ability to sue doctors who
(13:03):
participate in those gender reassignment surgeries or treatments. That now
that statutal limitations is now ten years for patients who
undergo those kind of procedures. So both chambers over the
veto on HB eighth five, so it becomes law.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah. And one of the other big things in that
as well as it defines state law based on biological attributes.
That's been a big discussion we've seen men and women's
sports has been a big national issue and here in
North Carolina. So that is now said and done. One
of the other big things that we've talked about a
lot on the Carolina Journal News Hour since the beginning
of the year, what was the Rains Act now limit
(13:39):
rules with substantial financial costs. Housepel four two don has
a major implication for North Carolina families it really does.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
And this is an interesting one because it's kind of
in the policy weeds, but it's also a trend that
we're seeing nationwide in states across the country. And what
it does is it puts some guard rails on the
regular tory authority of those who are work for state agencies. So,
for example, in this bill, if a regulation that's established
(14:09):
by an agency doesn't go through the General Assembly, but
an agency establishes a regulation that has an economic impact
that is I think where it's as high, it's as
high as like five million dollars, it has that level
of economic impact on businesses, on families, it actually has
to be referred back to the leed state legislature to
(14:30):
really put that economic impact decision making at the area,
at the level closest to the voters, at their representatives
in the state legislature, rather than with just officials who
are unelected and working for a state agency.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Democrats argued against this, making the point that, oh, well,
these boards are never going to be able to unanimously
decide on anything. Therefore, the General Assembly is going to
be responsible for agreeing or not with all of these
various regulations. But down I know at the national level
and and even here across North Carolina, there's a lot
of discussion of the bureaucracy, right, we'll put that in
(15:05):
air quotes. It seems like that's where a lot of
this stuff starts, is unregulated and unelected agencies that create
rules that do cost North Carolina families could be a
significant amount of money each year.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Well, I mean, it's kind of becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.
You hire bureaucrats to make rules and regulations, they're going
to do it to justify their continued employment. That's kind
of what's what has happened at the national level and
at the state level. In this case, these rules, there
is a limit. If the rule sits with the lawmakers
for a certain amount of time and isn't addressed, it
(15:40):
can go into effect. That said, I don't think it's
a bad thing to make it harder to pass regulations
on businesses and families and property owners and everyone else
impacted by state government. So I think that this is
a trend we're seeing. It's a frustration with the size
of government, the scope of government, the authority of unelected
officials in government, and we're seeing it out right here.
(16:00):
In the North Carolina General Assembly.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Let's touch on one final bill. This is House Bill
three eighteen, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement accinditize in with
another piece of legislation we were talking about. Representative Carla
Cunningham out of Mecklenburg County not only spoke in favor
of this legislation back a couple of months ago when
it was originally passed, but she stood up in the
chamber on Tuesday don and spoke against her fellow Democrat
(16:26):
colleagues on this legislation. Very interesting stuff unfolding, it is, and.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
That takes some real courage. You have to admire a
representative who will stand up in front of their entire caucus,
in front of cameras and reporters and everyone else, and
frankly from heckling protesters in the gallery, and say, look,
I represent the people of my community, and this is
what they want me to do, to follow my conscience
and keep them safe and do all of these things.
(16:52):
And she spoke for this bill, and it's not easy
to do it. Certainly is not a rewarding, a financially
rewarding position to be in the General Assembly. And it's tough.
It's tough to take that hard position and she have
the courage to do it. On Tuesday, so.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
We had eight veto overrides succeed successful from the North
Carolina General Assembly. Six more stillwithstanding as we continue to
track those details. Donna, this is something we're going to
be keeping an eye on.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Absolutely, We're gonna be covering it at Carolina Journal dot
Com throughout. We're gonna be watching any mini budgets that
they come up with to really show some of the
economic priorities that they're making and perhaps more overrides.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
It's obviously going to be a busy couple of weeks
here in North Carolina. Will keep you up to date.
The editor in chief of Carolina Journal dot Com, Donna King,
joins us on the Carolina Journal News Out. It's five
thirty seven. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Our
good Wednesday morning to you new Stock eleven, ten ninety
(17:54):
nine to three WBT. Checking out some other statewide news
this morning. For Congressman Wylie Nickel has officially dropped out
of the US Senate race and has endorsed former Democrat
Governor Roy Cooper. This comes one day after the governor
announced that he was running former governor, I should say,
announced that he was running for the Democratic nomination. The
(18:17):
former congressman in Nickel announced his intentions to run for
that Senate seat in April of this year. He was
elected to the United States House of Representatives thirteenth congressional
district back in twenty twenty two. However, he decided not
to seek reelection last year. Republican Brad Not now represents
that district. Before that, Nicol served two terms as a
(18:40):
state senator in North Carolina's sixteenth Senate district. He put
this post out on his ex profile yesterday, saying, quote,
today I am spent suspending my campaign for US Senate
and proudly endorsing Roy Cooper. It was an honor to
work alongside Governor Cooper in the state Senate and in Congress.
I've seen firsthand his steady bipartisan leadership. He listens, he
(19:04):
shows up, and he gets things done, from making North
Carolina the top state for business to guiding our communities
through natural disasters. His leadership has made a real difference,
and for so many of us, including me, he's been
an inspiration to step up and serve. I proudly endorse
Governor Cooper for US Senate and look forward to doing
(19:26):
everything that I can to help him win and flip
this Senate seat from red to blue. I've still got
a lot of work left to do. That part hasn't changed.
Public service is part of who I am, and you'll
hear more from me soon. Keeping the door open there,
obviously for some later political aspirations or office runs in
North Carolina. Reports say he is now considering running for
(19:49):
the Democrat nomination for Wake County District Attorney. Current District
Attorney Lauren Freeman, a Democrat, announced in May that she
will not run for reelection coming up next year in
twenty twenty six. And as we look at Governor Roy Cooper,
a Democrat who served two terms as governor from twenty
seventeen to twenty twenty five, is aiming to succeed Republican
(20:12):
Senator Tom Tillis, who announced in the latter parts of
June that he would not run for reelection. In his
launch video, Cooper emphasized his record on education, healthcare, and
economic development. However, with that, with that coming out, with
that announcement taking place, you are seeing that clearing of
(20:34):
the Democrat primary field. Also yesterday we learned that the
former governor raised more than three point four million dollars
within the first twenty four hours of his announcement, a
record breaking amount for a state Democrat candidate. More than
two point six million dollars was raised directly by Governor
Roy Cooper's campaign account, with ninety five percent of those
(20:57):
donations totaling one hundred dollars or less. According to Politico.
He also raised another nine hundred thousand dollars through joint
fundraising committees with the North Carolina and National Democrat parties,
which allows for bigger contributions. We have been covering a
lot of this Senate race over the last couple of weeks.
(21:17):
The other on the other side of the aisle. Rumor
still has it that current RNC Chairman Michael Wattley is
set to make his announcement, could be coming up later
this week or sometime early next week. We are a
completely laser focused in on this Senate election. Continued coverage
to continues this morning over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com, turning our attention back to the North Carolina
(21:40):
General Assembly this morning. While it was a very busy
day in Raleigh for Republican lawmakers successfully overriding eight of
the fourteen recent vetos from Democrat Governor Josh Stein. The
Governor Well yesterday held a press conference saying that the
legislature should be more focused on passing a budget and
(22:01):
not on veto overrides, which he said, quote is a
distraction that divides us. He told reporters yesterday morning, the
General Assembly by focusing on divisive bills that do not
move the state forward and in some instances make our
state lefts less safe, like allowing teenagers to carry concealed
(22:22):
weapons without any training whatsoever, that is the wrong priority.
He called out lawmakers for failing to pass a budget
by the start of the new fiscal year, which was
July the first, the last budget ending on June thirtieth,
while emphasizing that North Carolinians, including teachers, law enforcement, and
people who used the Division of Motor Vehicles DMV, as
(22:45):
well as Medicaid expansion recipients, are all counting on a
budget being passed. The governor stressed that his proposed budget
would have been the best solution, as he did so
earlier this year when he first proposed it. The governor
also said that his budget proposes raises and salaries for
all state law enforcement agencies which are currently facing shortages
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and recruitment issues, noting that it particularly focuses on correctional
officers and youth counselors who have above average vacancies, and
offer signing bonuses to basic law enforcement training graduates, as
well as to out of state transfers hired by the state.
It is important to note that while the governor does
(23:28):
have the ability to propose a budget, lawmakers in the
General Assembly are not obligated to do anything that the
governor wants as it relates to the budget. It is
solely their prerogative to pass a budget in the House
and or Senate come to some sort of agreement on
what that budget looks like, then they do in fact
send it to the governor for a signature, but they
(23:48):
are not obligated or required to take any of the
governor's suggestions. Most of the time, as we've seen over
the last couple of years, with split power in North Carolin,
one of government typically a Democrat in the governor's mansion,
Republicans either with a super majority or a regular majority
in the General Assembly, they tend to brush off the
(24:10):
vast majority of the recommendations by the governor. However, Governor
jostin trying to capitalize on some of the attention in
Raleigh yesterday, and with that, Republican lawmakers have reached a
deal on some state budget issues, the announcement coming out
yesterday afternoon, shortly after some of these veto overrides took place.
(24:31):
The so called mini budget is intended to fund more
basic functions of state government that are needed since the
new fiscal year began July the first without a new budget.
Public schools, colleges, and universities are funded largely based on
their enrollment numbers, and addressing that was one of the
main reasons behind the new mini budget deal. According to
(24:53):
state lawmakers, without its updated numbers, any growing school would
be forced to kick off the new school year with
last year's smaller, outdated budget, while the state would likewise
find itself sending too much money to schools that are
maybe not growing in enrollment. This budget was brought forth,
(25:14):
or this mini budget, i should say, was brought forth
yesterday by the North Carolina Senate. It passed in a
very bipartisan manner, forty seven to two, with a little
debate on the bill, and lawmakers are expected, at least
on the House side, to be back in Raleigh this
morning to potentially agree with that. It would then be
(25:35):
sent to Governor Josh Stein's desk for his decision of
either signing the mini budget into law vetoing it, which
is one of the main stories we were tracking this morning,
or allowing it to become law after fourteen days of
no action by the governor. It's important to note that
this mini budget does not contain most of the large
(25:57):
projects proposed in either the House or Senate versions of
budget proposals that pass their respective chambers earlier this year,
nor does it contain tax cuts or raises for teachers
and other state workers. Those have deeply divided the two
chambers in the General Assembly. The Senate wants to give
smaller raises in order to offer larger tax cuts for
(26:20):
North Carolinians, while the House wants to go with bigger
raises for state employees and not cut taxes as much
for the citizens of the state. We will attract that
progress in the General Assembly throughout your Wednesday. You can
keep up to date with that breaking news over on
our website, Carolina Journal dot com, and of course we'll
(26:41):
have the latest coming up for you tomorrow morning right
here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Good morning again,
it's five point fifty two. Welcome back to the Carolina
Journal News Hour, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to
three WBT, as we continue covering what was a very
(27:01):
busy morning in Raleigh yesterday as members of the North
Carolina General Assembly made their way to the state Capitol
to deal with fourteen veto overrides. Republicans were successful, with
help of some Democrats in the House, to override eight
of the fourteen vetos recently signed by Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
(27:22):
Looking at some of more of those bills that were
overridden yesterday, Senate Bill two sixty six, that legislation repeals
and is now law, repeals North Carolina's interim twenty thirty
carbon reduction mandate, which is projected to save customers and
more than fifteen billion dollars over the next couple of
decades by eliminating costly compliance measures. The Senate voted in
(27:46):
the override thirty to eighteen. The House voted seventy four
to forty six, with two Democrats voting in favor of
the override, Senator Timothy moffat the Republican from Henderson set
on the Senate floor yesterday. What this bill does is
it addresses thoughtful, thoughtfully, the change in energy demand from
a baseload energy production standpoint as we wrestle with the
(28:10):
changing climate in our state. Environmentalist groups opposed the bill.
Drew Ball, who's the Southeast campaign director for the National
Resource Defense Council, said quote, Senate Bill two sixty six
is a handout to corporate monopolies disguised as reform, and
North Carolinians will foot the bill. Duke energy profits and
(28:32):
residents pay the price through higher bills, lost jobs, and
missed investments in better alternatives. Instead of building affordable, reliable,
clean energy, this bill pushes outdated, expensive gas plants that
deepen our dependency on dirty and fragile fuel supplies. According
to a press release from the John Locke Foundation, the
(28:54):
Power Bill Reduction Act mandates that the North Carolina Utilities
Commission evaluate energy plans under House Build nine point fifty one,
which passed back in twenty twenty one, based on affordability, reliability,
and technological feasibility. The Act strengthens transparency requirements and enforces
(29:15):
comprehensive cost benefit analysis for proposed energy transition strategies. Donald Bryson,
the President and CEO of the John Locke Foundation, set
in a news release, by overriding this veto, the General
Assembly is standing up for energy affordability and sound economic policies.
North Carolinians deserve an energy strategy that prioritizes cost, reliability,
(29:40):
and transparency, not one driven by expensive, arbitrary mandates. So again,
the estimates they are saving ratepayers in North Carolina some
fifteen billion dollars. Will will continue to watch how that
moves forward, as it has now beneficially overridden, and that
bill now became comes law out of the North Carolina
(30:02):
General Assembly. One of the other pieces of legislation that
we've been talking about throughout the year is the Rains Act.
Its new name is Limit Rules with Substantial Financial Costs.
House Bill four h two would require greater legislative scrutiny
for rules that impose high financial costs on state businesses
and residents. The House voted to override that bill by
(30:26):
a vote of seventy three to forty seven. Representative Bell
out of Wayne County introduced the bill and asked for
bipartisan support, by saying, this is just giving people what
they'd expect from their government, which is accountability and a
voice at the table when we're debating rules that are
going to impact their everyday lives. However, not all members
(30:50):
of the General Assembly were in favor of that. Democrat.
Representative Pricey Harrison out of Guildford County opposed the override
and spoke against it, saying to her ladies and gentlemen
of the House, I know you are sick of hearing
me talk about this bill. This is a really critical
limitation on our state's agency's abilities to protect public health, safety,
(31:12):
and welfare. It's going to make it very difficult to
pass any rules stricter than what the federal government has
in place. She concluded her remarks by saying that the
bill raises constitutional concerns, saying I do want you to
understand that this bill has a significant impact and we
shouldn't take this so we shouldn't take this forward. I
(31:35):
urge you to vote no on this bill. Donald Bryce,
and the CEO of the John Locke Foundation, celebrated the
override in a press release, saying, with this override, North
Carolina takes a bold step towards restoring balance and accountability
in state government. The Rains Act is a national trend.
More than twenty five states have already moved forward with
(31:56):
an equivalent to the Rains Act. You can add now
North Carolina two to that growing list of states. Continued
coverage of these veto overrides and another busy Wednesday expected
in the General Assembly over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it for a Wednesday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. We're back with
you tomorrow morning, five to six right here on News
(32:17):
Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine three WBT
It's five oh five and welcome into a Wednesday edition
of The Carolina Journal News Hour Newstalk eleven ten ninety
nine three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
The Trump Administration is frozen more than one hundred and
eight million dollars in federal funding for Duke Health, according
to senior administration officials. This comes one day after an
(00:31):
letter was sent to the university that both DHS Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Junior and the Secretary of Education Linda
McMahon are investigating systematic racial discrimination within the university's healthcare system.
That federal funding encompasses Duke University's School of Medicine and
overall health research and healthcare system at Duke. The freeze,
(00:56):
which is being exclusively reported by Fox News, comes again
one day after that letter was sent to top Duke officials
expressing concerns about racial preferences in hiring, student admissions, governance,
patient care, and other operations. The letter states that the
administration has been made aware of allegations that Duke University
(01:18):
and Duke Health are not in compliance with the Civil
Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race and nationality
in programs receiving a federal funding. It calls for Duke
Health to review all policies and practices for illegal use
of racial preferences. In the letter from Secretary McMahon and
(01:41):
Secretary Kennedy, it talks about giving Duke a six month
period of time to make whatever changes are necessary internally
to get in compliance with some of those of federal
regulations and federal laws, noting that at any point, if
either of the secretaries feel that Duke is not working
on this process and not moving forward in a positive direction,
(02:04):
that they will continue with their They will continue scrutiny
of the university and look at potential funding cuts that
one point eight million dollars, according to one official telling
Fox News, could be permanent if Duke does not comply
and is found to be in violation of the Civil
(02:24):
Rights Act. This is a an update on a story
we covered yesterday morning. Kind of a sparse details this morning,
but did want to provide you that update as we
get into some of the details here this morning. Again,
that letter sent from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Will continue to track
(02:47):
the details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour
and of course on our website, Carolina Journal dot com,
where it's now five oh eight News Talk eleven, ten
ninety nine to three WBT. It was an incredibly busy
Tuesday in the North Carolina General Assembly as lawmakers, coming
out of their few week fourth of July recess, made
their way back to the state Capitol to did with
(03:09):
fourteen veto overrides, pieces of legislation that both chambers had passed,
that Governor Josh Stein had vetoed earlier in the month
of June and in July. It was a busy one
to walk us through some of those details. The editor
in chief of Carolina Journal dot Com, Donna King, joins
us on the News Hour. Donna, before we get into
any of the details of these bills, this is one
of the busiest days that I've seen in the General
(03:31):
Assembly in quite some time. Oh for sure.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
I mean, I think what that showed us is that
they can get things done in quick order when they
really want to, and they have everybody aligned. So I
think it really shows us that the last month or
so since they left, they've been working hard to make
sure they can coalesce the votes to get these overrides done.
But it also really sounds it's a show of force,
I think, when they're really going head to head against
(03:56):
Governor Stein compared to Governor Cooper.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, and you know that for the longest time, at
least in the first couple of months of both the
new governor being in the office and the new lawmakers
being in Raley, it seemed like it was a pretty
good relationship. I think after the eight veto overrides on
Tuesday down, it's probably accurate to say it's a little
bit fractured as of right now. Let's start off in
the North Carolina Senate. One of the pieces of legislation
(04:22):
that a lot of folks across the state were following,
Senate Bill fifty. This is also known as constitutional carry.
What happened with that bill on Tuesday?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Sure? Sure, so that has been overridden by the Senate
at this point. It would have allowed permitless concealed carry
of handguns for adults over the age of eighteen, has
not been taken up by the House.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
And so with that we'll continue to watch. It did
not fail a vote in the House, it just was
not put on the calendar. So I guess it does
potentially leave the door open for a potential VETO override.
Could be later this week, could be sometime in the
next couple of months, as lawmakers are in and out
of Raleigh. Another piece of ledgelegislation that also did not
receive a vote in the House, Senate Bill one fifty three.
(05:04):
What's that legislation? Why is it relevant?
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Sure? And that one actually surprised me. I thought we
would see it pop up here in the House for
a vote. It mandates coordination or cooperation with federal immigration
enforcement authorities, and it also allows residents of North Carolina's
communities to sue local governments if they have a sanctuary policies.
So I would be surprised made that one might pop
(05:28):
back up in the House. But it has been overridden
by the Senate.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
And that's of course a relevant piece of legislation. Over
the last probably year and a half or so, the
General assemblies passed multiple bills dealing with ice and cooperation.
This continues to be a pretty big story across North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
It really does, and we're seeing it actually nationwide, and
I think we're going to see some real foundational arguments
when you go into the twenty twenty six midterms about
this very issue. So I think that North Carolina lawmakers
would probably like to see it pass, and I think
we're going to see this brought up over the course
of the next say eighteen months or so in the
(06:08):
Senate race, in particular with Governor Cooper.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
There's two d There was a two DEI bills that
the North Carolina House and Senate had dealt with earlier
this year, Senate Bill two twenty seven and Senate Bill
five point fifty eight. One deals with K twelve. The
other deals with higher ed, the UNC system and community colleges.
DEI is a big ticket issue nationally right now, Donna.
We've seen the push from President Trump and folks all
(06:32):
across the country. What happened with those two bills?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Sure, now both of these have all the veto has
been overridden by the Senate. Now, you got to remember,
the Senate has a veto proof majority, so that's something
the House is one vote shy of being able to do.
So they have a little bit more work to do
to get that veto proof majority. So they both the
Senate was able to override the veto in both of
those DEI bills.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
We will of course keep an eye on these open
bills now that the House has not necessarily moved forward
with as we continue with that process. Let's look at
a couple of other things that did actually get overridden
by both chambers on Tuesday. Charter school changes that Senate
Bill two fifty four. This is a big one as
the school choice movement continues across North Carolina.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
This really is a big one. It empowers the charter
school's review Board, which gives some charter schools more autonomy.
And this is you know, the Board of Education, the
State Board of Education has opposed this, and this charter
school review board really allows them to be sort of self,
you know. It allows charter schools to have that review
board in place. And that's SB two fifty four overridden
(07:42):
by both chambers, so it will now go into law.
The other one is the Power Bill Reduction Act. That's
something that we've been watching closely at the John Locke Foundation.
What that does is it repeals the interim twenty thirty
target for carbon reduction mandates. It still keeps in place
what we see going in for two fifty, but it
repeals that interim one and it you know, could potentially
(08:04):
really bring down power bills for North Carolinians. That has
been overridden by both chambers and becomes law. And then
the Personal Privacy Protection Act, that's one that we're also
following a Carolina journal in the John Locke Foundation. What
that does is it prevents a state, you know, a
state employee from compelling a nonprofit to release its data
(08:27):
or its list of donors. So, for example, if I
donated to a cause or a charity that I felt
strongly about, that charity couldn't be compelled to release my
name to a government employee or a government official. This
really goes back all the way to the Civil Rights Act,
when there were government officials trying to compel the the
(08:48):
the NAACP to release its list of donors, and it
really became a free speech issue. It's already been heard
by the US Supreme Court. So this is something we've
been pursuing for a while in the interest of of
privacy and free speech and something that Democrats have opposed,
saying it would allow dark money. Now it's important to
note that this bill does not impact campaign finance.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Reporting laws, and those campaign finance reports have to be
filed depending on the election cycle either four times or
twice a year. All of that information is publicly available
on the North Carolina State Board of Election website and
Donna on this donor privacy, the state of California back
a couple of years ago tried passing a legislation dealing
with this, and it was actually struck down by the
(09:33):
United States Supreme Court. I heard a couple of Republican
members bring that up during the debate in the General
Assembly on Tuesday, So they feel that as of just
back a couple of years ago, the United States Supreme
Court rather has already opined on this issue.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
For certainly we heard that on the floor of the
General Assembly on Tuesday. That's a case that was with
the Americans for Prosperity and at the time the governors
of the Attorney General of California was Kamala Harris, and
she tried to compel nonprofits to release their donor list,
and so it did. It went all the way to
(10:09):
the US Supreme Court. It was found to be a
freedom of speech issue, allowing donors to have those free
speech rights by association by donating to the cause of
their choice without fear of a government bureaucrat coming in
and using it for political purposes. And you're right, you know,
political campaign reporting is still the law, and that will
(10:31):
still be trackable. It is all this we're talking about
nonprofit organizations.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
We'll continue on what was a busy day in the
North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday with Donna King from
Carolina Journal dot com coming up after this. You're listening
to the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's by twenty one.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour news stock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBTT. You don't forget. If you
(10:59):
miss any porsche of the Carolina Journal weekday mornings, you
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(11:21):
News Hour podcast. Download and subscribe. Now, continuing our discussion
this morning with Donna King, the editor in chief of
Carolina Journal dot com, about lawmakers making their way back
to Raleigh on Tuesday to deal with fourteen veto overrides.
Let's turn our attention over to the North Carolina House.
The math is a little bit different in the House
compared to the Senate. Super majority for Republicans in the
(11:44):
Senate one vote shy. In the House, however, there are
multiple Democrats that did agree on some of these original
bills before they were vetoed by Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
Let's start off with the House Bill one ninety three.
What's that legislation?
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Sure, so this is a firearms ball revision. This was
overridden by both chambers, and there's a list of them
actually that Republicans in the House did get some Democrats
support to override a Stein veto. What that tells me,
because you know, we're looking at a list of you know,
probably six or seven at least that we're able to
be overridden. I'm not positive that would have happened under
(12:21):
a Cooper administration because he really kept a tight rein
on the votes in the General Assembly among Democrats. This
time around, there really have been some Democrats willing to
cross the aisle and vote with Republicans. Another one is
HB eight oh five, which is prevents sexual exploitation of
women and minors. What this does is it bars K
(12:43):
twelve schools from plating male and female students in the
same sleeping quarters, say if they were on a field
tip for example. It also keeps state funds from being
spent on gender transition procedures and prisons, and increases the
statute of limitations on patient's ability to sue doctors who
(13:03):
participate in those gender reassignment surgeries or treatments. That now
that statutal limitations is now ten years for patients who
undergo those kind of procedures. So both chambers over the
veto on HB eighth five, so it becomes law.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah. And one of the other big things in that
as well as it defines state law based on biological attributes.
That's been a big discussion we've seen men and women's
sports has been a big national issue and here in
North Carolina. So that is now said and done. One
of the other big things that we've talked about a
lot on the Carolina Journal News Hour since the beginning
of the year, what was the Rains Act now limit
(13:39):
rules with substantial financial costs. Housepel four two don has
a major implication for North Carolina families it really does.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
And this is an interesting one because it's kind of
in the policy weeds, but it's also a trend that
we're seeing nationwide in states across the country. And what
it does is it puts some guard rails on the
regular tory authority of those who are work for state agencies. So,
for example, in this bill, if a regulation that's established
(14:09):
by an agency doesn't go through the General Assembly, but
an agency establishes a regulation that has an economic impact
that is I think where it's as high, it's as
high as like five million dollars, it has that level
of economic impact on businesses, on families, it actually has
to be referred back to the leed state legislature to
(14:30):
really put that economic impact decision making at the area,
at the level closest to the voters, at their representatives
in the state legislature, rather than with just officials who
are unelected and working for a state agency.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Democrats argued against this, making the point that, oh, well,
these boards are never going to be able to unanimously
decide on anything. Therefore, the General Assembly is going to
be responsible for agreeing or not with all of these
various regulations. But down I know at the national level
and and even here across North Carolina, there's a lot
of discussion of the bureaucracy, right, we'll put that in
(15:05):
air quotes. It seems like that's where a lot of
this stuff starts, is unregulated and unelected agencies that create
rules that do cost North Carolina families could be a
significant amount of money each year.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
Well, I mean, it's kind of becoming a self fulfilling prophecy.
You hire bureaucrats to make rules and regulations, they're going
to do it to justify their continued employment. That's kind
of what's what has happened at the national level and
at the state level. In this case, these rules, there
is a limit. If the rule sits with the lawmakers
for a certain amount of time and isn't addressed, it
(15:40):
can go into effect. That said, I don't think it's
a bad thing to make it harder to pass regulations
on businesses and families and property owners and everyone else
impacted by state government. So I think that this is
a trend we're seeing. It's a frustration with the size
of government, the scope of government, the authority of unelected
officials in government, and we're seeing it out right here.
(16:00):
In the North Carolina General Assembly.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Let's touch on one final bill. This is House Bill
three eighteen, the Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement accinditize in with
another piece of legislation we were talking about. Representative Carla
Cunningham out of Mecklenburg County not only spoke in favor
of this legislation back a couple of months ago when
it was originally passed, but she stood up in the
chamber on Tuesday don and spoke against her fellow Democrat
(16:26):
colleagues on this legislation. Very interesting stuff unfolding, it is, and.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
That takes some real courage. You have to admire a
representative who will stand up in front of their entire caucus,
in front of cameras and reporters and everyone else, and
frankly from heckling protesters in the gallery, and say, look,
I represent the people of my community, and this is
what they want me to do, to follow my conscience
and keep them safe and do all of these things.
(16:52):
And she spoke for this bill, and it's not easy
to do it. Certainly is not a rewarding, a financially
rewarding position to be in the General Assembly. And it's tough.
It's tough to take that hard position and she have
the courage to do it. On Tuesday, so.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
We had eight veto overrides succeed successful from the North
Carolina General Assembly. Six more stillwithstanding as we continue to
track those details. Donna, this is something we're going to
be keeping an eye on.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Absolutely, We're gonna be covering it at Carolina Journal dot
Com throughout. We're gonna be watching any mini budgets that
they come up with to really show some of the
economic priorities that they're making and perhaps more overrides.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
It's obviously going to be a busy couple of weeks
here in North Carolina. Will keep you up to date.
The editor in chief of Carolina Journal dot Com, Donna King,
joins us on the Carolina Journal News Out. It's five
thirty seven. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Our
good Wednesday morning to you new Stock eleven, ten ninety
(17:54):
nine to three WBT. Checking out some other statewide news
this morning. For Congressman Wylie Nickel has officially dropped out
of the US Senate race and has endorsed former Democrat
Governor Roy Cooper. This comes one day after the governor
announced that he was running former governor, I should say,
announced that he was running for the Democratic nomination. The
(18:17):
former congressman in Nickel announced his intentions to run for
that Senate seat in April of this year. He was
elected to the United States House of Representatives thirteenth congressional
district back in twenty twenty two. However, he decided not
to seek reelection last year. Republican Brad Not now represents
that district. Before that, Nicol served two terms as a
(18:40):
state senator in North Carolina's sixteenth Senate district. He put
this post out on his ex profile yesterday, saying, quote,
today I am spent suspending my campaign for US Senate
and proudly endorsing Roy Cooper. It was an honor to
work alongside Governor Cooper in the state Senate and in Congress.
I've seen firsthand his steady bipartisan leadership. He listens, he
(19:04):
shows up, and he gets things done, from making North
Carolina the top state for business to guiding our communities
through natural disasters. His leadership has made a real difference,
and for so many of us, including me, he's been
an inspiration to step up and serve. I proudly endorse
Governor Cooper for US Senate and look forward to doing
(19:26):
everything that I can to help him win and flip
this Senate seat from red to blue. I've still got
a lot of work left to do. That part hasn't changed.
Public service is part of who I am, and you'll
hear more from me soon. Keeping the door open there,
obviously for some later political aspirations or office runs in
North Carolina. Reports say he is now considering running for
(19:49):
the Democrat nomination for Wake County District Attorney. Current District
Attorney Lauren Freeman, a Democrat, announced in May that she
will not run for reelection coming up next year in
twenty twenty six. And as we look at Governor Roy Cooper,
a Democrat who served two terms as governor from twenty
seventeen to twenty twenty five, is aiming to succeed Republican
(20:12):
Senator Tom Tillis, who announced in the latter parts of
June that he would not run for reelection. In his
launch video, Cooper emphasized his record on education, healthcare, and
economic development. However, with that, with that coming out, with
that announcement taking place, you are seeing that clearing of
(20:34):
the Democrat primary field. Also yesterday we learned that the
former governor raised more than three point four million dollars
within the first twenty four hours of his announcement, a
record breaking amount for a state Democrat candidate. More than
two point six million dollars was raised directly by Governor
Roy Cooper's campaign account, with ninety five percent of those
(20:57):
donations totaling one hundred dollars or less. According to Politico.
He also raised another nine hundred thousand dollars through joint
fundraising committees with the North Carolina and National Democrat parties,
which allows for bigger contributions. We have been covering a
lot of this Senate race over the last couple of weeks.
(21:17):
The other on the other side of the aisle. Rumor
still has it that current RNC Chairman Michael Wattley is
set to make his announcement, could be coming up later
this week or sometime early next week. We are a
completely laser focused in on this Senate election. Continued coverage
to continues this morning over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com, turning our attention back to the North Carolina
(21:40):
General Assembly this morning. While it was a very busy
day in Raleigh for Republican lawmakers successfully overriding eight of
the fourteen recent vetos from Democrat Governor Josh Stein. The
Governor Well yesterday held a press conference saying that the
legislature should be more focused on passing a budget and
(22:01):
not on veto overrides, which he said, quote is a
distraction that divides us. He told reporters yesterday morning, the
General Assembly by focusing on divisive bills that do not
move the state forward and in some instances make our
state lefts less safe, like allowing teenagers to carry concealed
(22:22):
weapons without any training whatsoever, that is the wrong priority.
He called out lawmakers for failing to pass a budget
by the start of the new fiscal year, which was
July the first, the last budget ending on June thirtieth,
while emphasizing that North Carolinians, including teachers, law enforcement, and
people who used the Division of Motor Vehicles DMV, as
(22:45):
well as Medicaid expansion recipients, are all counting on a
budget being passed. The governor stressed that his proposed budget
would have been the best solution, as he did so
earlier this year when he first proposed it. The governor
also said that his budget proposes raises and salaries for
all state law enforcement agencies which are currently facing shortages
(23:08):
and recruitment issues, noting that it particularly focuses on correctional
officers and youth counselors who have above average vacancies, and
offer signing bonuses to basic law enforcement training graduates, as
well as to out of state transfers hired by the state.
It is important to note that while the governor does
(23:28):
have the ability to propose a budget, lawmakers in the
General Assembly are not obligated to do anything that the
governor wants as it relates to the budget. It is
solely their prerogative to pass a budget in the House
and or Senate come to some sort of agreement on
what that budget looks like, then they do in fact
send it to the governor for a signature, but they
(23:48):
are not obligated or required to take any of the
governor's suggestions. Most of the time, as we've seen over
the last couple of years, with split power in North Carolin,
one of government typically a Democrat in the governor's mansion,
Republicans either with a super majority or a regular majority
in the General Assembly, they tend to brush off the
(24:10):
vast majority of the recommendations by the governor. However, Governor
jostin trying to capitalize on some of the attention in
Raleigh yesterday, and with that, Republican lawmakers have reached a
deal on some state budget issues, the announcement coming out
yesterday afternoon, shortly after some of these veto overrides took place.
(24:31):
The so called mini budget is intended to fund more
basic functions of state government that are needed since the
new fiscal year began July the first without a new budget.
Public schools, colleges, and universities are funded largely based on
their enrollment numbers, and addressing that was one of the
main reasons behind the new mini budget deal. According to
(24:53):
state lawmakers, without its updated numbers, any growing school would
be forced to kick off the new school year with
last year's smaller, outdated budget, while the state would likewise
find itself sending too much money to schools that are
maybe not growing in enrollment. This budget was brought forth,
(25:14):
or this mini budget, i should say, was brought forth
yesterday by the North Carolina Senate. It passed in a
very bipartisan manner, forty seven to two, with a little
debate on the bill, and lawmakers are expected, at least
on the House side, to be back in Raleigh this
morning to potentially agree with that. It would then be
(25:35):
sent to Governor Josh Stein's desk for his decision of
either signing the mini budget into law vetoing it, which
is one of the main stories we were tracking this morning,
or allowing it to become law after fourteen days of
no action by the governor. It's important to note that
this mini budget does not contain most of the large
(25:57):
projects proposed in either the House or Senate versions of
budget proposals that pass their respective chambers earlier this year,
nor does it contain tax cuts or raises for teachers
and other state workers. Those have deeply divided the two
chambers in the General Assembly. The Senate wants to give
smaller raises in order to offer larger tax cuts for
(26:20):
North Carolinians, while the House wants to go with bigger
raises for state employees and not cut taxes as much
for the citizens of the state. We will attract that
progress in the General Assembly throughout your Wednesday. You can
keep up to date with that breaking news over on
our website, Carolina Journal dot com, and of course we'll
(26:41):
have the latest coming up for you tomorrow morning right
here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Good morning again,
it's five point fifty two. Welcome back to the Carolina
Journal News Hour, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine to
three WBT, as we continue covering what was a very
(27:01):
busy morning in Raleigh yesterday as members of the North
Carolina General Assembly made their way to the state Capitol
to deal with fourteen veto overrides. Republicans were successful, with
help of some Democrats in the House, to override eight
of the fourteen vetos recently signed by Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
(27:22):
Looking at some of more of those bills that were
overridden yesterday, Senate Bill two sixty six, that legislation repeals
and is now law, repeals North Carolina's interim twenty thirty
carbon reduction mandate, which is projected to save customers and
more than fifteen billion dollars over the next couple of
decades by eliminating costly compliance measures. The Senate voted in
(27:46):
the override thirty to eighteen. The House voted seventy four
to forty six, with two Democrats voting in favor of
the override, Senator Timothy moffat the Republican from Henderson set
on the Senate floor yesterday. What this bill does is
it addresses thoughtful, thoughtfully, the change in energy demand from
a baseload energy production standpoint as we wrestle with the
(28:10):
changing climate in our state. Environmentalist groups opposed the bill.
Drew Ball, who's the Southeast campaign director for the National
Resource Defense Council, said quote, Senate Bill two sixty six
is a handout to corporate monopolies disguised as reform, and
North Carolinians will foot the bill. Duke energy profits and
(28:32):
residents pay the price through higher bills, lost jobs, and
missed investments in better alternatives. Instead of building affordable, reliable,
clean energy, this bill pushes outdated, expensive gas plants that
deepen our dependency on dirty and fragile fuel supplies. According
to a press release from the John Locke Foundation, the
(28:54):
Power Bill Reduction Act mandates that the North Carolina Utilities
Commission evaluate energy plans under House Build nine point fifty one,
which passed back in twenty twenty one, based on affordability, reliability,
and technological feasibility. The Act strengthens transparency requirements and enforces
(29:15):
comprehensive cost benefit analysis for proposed energy transition strategies. Donald Bryson,
the President and CEO of the John Locke Foundation, set
in a news release, by overriding this veto, the General
Assembly is standing up for energy affordability and sound economic policies.
North Carolinians deserve an energy strategy that prioritizes cost, reliability,
(29:40):
and transparency, not one driven by expensive, arbitrary mandates. So again,
the estimates they are saving ratepayers in North Carolina some
fifteen billion dollars. Will will continue to watch how that
moves forward, as it has now beneficially overridden, and that
bill now became comes law out of the North Carolina
(30:02):
General Assembly. One of the other pieces of legislation that
we've been talking about throughout the year is the Rains Act.
Its new name is Limit Rules with Substantial Financial Costs.
House Bill four h two would require greater legislative scrutiny
for rules that impose high financial costs on state businesses
and residents. The House voted to override that bill by
(30:26):
a vote of seventy three to forty seven. Representative Bell
out of Wayne County introduced the bill and asked for
bipartisan support, by saying, this is just giving people what
they'd expect from their government, which is accountability and a
voice at the table when we're debating rules that are
going to impact their everyday lives. However, not all members
(30:50):
of the General Assembly were in favor of that. Democrat.
Representative Pricey Harrison out of Guildford County opposed the override
and spoke against it, saying to her ladies and gentlemen
of the House, I know you are sick of hearing
me talk about this bill. This is a really critical
limitation on our state's agency's abilities to protect public health, safety,
(31:12):
and welfare. It's going to make it very difficult to
pass any rules stricter than what the federal government has
in place. She concluded her remarks by saying that the
bill raises constitutional concerns, saying I do want you to
understand that this bill has a significant impact and we
shouldn't take this so we shouldn't take this forward. I
(31:35):
urge you to vote no on this bill. Donald Bryce,
and the CEO of the John Locke Foundation, celebrated the
override in a press release, saying, with this override, North
Carolina takes a bold step towards restoring balance and accountability
in state government. The Rains Act is a national trend.
More than twenty five states have already moved forward with
(31:56):
an equivalent to the Rains Act. You can add now
North Carolina two to that growing list of states. Continued
coverage of these veto overrides and another busy Wednesday expected
in the General Assembly over on our website, Carolina Journal
dot com. That's going to do it for a Wednesday
edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. We're back with
you tomorrow morning, five to six right here on News
(32:17):
Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine three WBT
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