August 6, 2025 • 32 mins
Lawmakers are reviewing a new elections bill that would impose firm deadlines and tougher audit standards. Governor Stein says he will sign a “Band-Aid” mini-budget but continues to press for a full state budget. He also plans to request another FEMA disaster declaration in response to Tropical Storm Chantal. Senator Budd is calling on the U.S. Department of Labor to reverse Biden-era agriculture regulations. The August Council of State meeting wrapped up with updates across key agencies.
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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 Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
As state lawmakers last week worked to override vetos and
pass a mini budget, North Carolina lawmakers also introduced a
wide ranging overhaul of the state's election law, presented in
(00:33):
a proposed Committee substitute also known as a PCs version
of House Built nine point fifty eight. The changes were
debated by the House Judiciary Committee last week. The updated
legislation comes ahead of the twenty twenty sixth election cycle
and was presented to the committee the same week that
leading candidates for North Carolina's US Senate seat made their
(00:56):
official announcements. The bill includes changes to ballot counting timelines,
absentee voting procedures, campaign finance thresholds, and authority of the
North Carolina State Board of Elections. It replaces an earlier
version of the bill, expanding and clarifying key procedures. A
(01:17):
couple of different changes in this legislation that will walk
through this morning. The first is the window that is
allowed for state and local election leaders to count ballots.
The updated version creates a standardized window for accounting early
and absentee ballots that is between nine am and five
(01:38):
pm on election day at a location and time established
by the county election board at least two weeks prior.
Under the bill, election officials may begin counting ballots early
in the day, but results still may not be revealed
until all polls in the county close. Doctor Andy Jackson,
(01:58):
the director of the Senate for Public Integrity at the
John Locke Foundation, says House Built nine fifty eight would
help make North Carolina elections more secure and better administered.
The General Assembly passed a bill, Senate Bill seven forty
seven that included the provision requiring that early voting of
(02:19):
ballots be counted after polls closed on election day. The
goal of that provision was to prevent early voting totals
from leaking before polls closed, which could potentially affect people's votes.
Jackson added that while that is a good goal, it
made the release of election results data on election night
(02:39):
in twenty twenty four chaotic and proved to be burdensome
for election officials. House Built nine fifty eight will allow
county election officials to count early ballots during the day
on election day, again, but with provisions to ensure that
the counting is secure and that members of the public
can witness the procedure but not the actual count itself,
(03:03):
So that's one of the major provisions. They are the other.
The legislation also extends the deadline for finalizing absentee and
provisional ballot tallies from a third to a fifth business
day after the election. This shift gives county boards more
time to verify eligibility complete counts, particularly for ballots flagged
(03:27):
with issues. Under the proposed committee substitute, voters who submit
absentee ballots that are missing signatures or photo ID copies
will have until noon on the fifth business day after
the election to correct those issues. This change aligns absentee
procedures with other extended post election deadlines. Public transparency is
(03:52):
emphasized through the bill. All counting processes must be conducted
in public view, and bipartisan election officials are required to
be present during all stages of the count Observers are
prohibited from interfering, but must allow but must be allowed,
to witness the proceedings themselves. Rank choice voting that has
(04:16):
been an interesting discussion across the United States. In this provision,
this bill would also ban rank choice voting in all
North Carolina elections. The legislation defines ranked choices any method
that allows voters to rank candidates in order or preference,
and prohibits its use in both partisan and nonpartisan races.
(04:40):
Doctor Andy Jackson said rank choice voting is confusing for voters,
and the longer ballots would cause longer lines, especially in
early voting. It is best that North Carolina avoids it.
The bill also grants county election boards the ability to
chuck to challenge ballots cast during early voting or by
(05:01):
mail if an audit reveals potential ineligibility, such as a
non resident or death before election day. Challenged ballots must
be reviewed and ruled on before the canvassing a deadline.
One specific provision ensures that ballots cast by voters who
died before six thirty am on election day will not
(05:24):
be counted, tightening an area of law that previously allowed
some more discretion. This proposed legislation also expands the power
of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. It allows
the board to retain private legal counsel without the approval
of the Attorney General or the General Assembly and designate
(05:46):
up to five exempt staff positions outside of state HR rules.
According to doctor Andy Jackson, he says, quote, I expect
that the State Board of Elections and county boards will
still use attorneys from the Attorney General of North Carolina
and the Justice Department in most cases. However, there may
(06:06):
be situations where election officials believe that they would be
better represented by an attorney of their choice, especially if
they believe that the Attorney General is sympathetic to those
who are suing the State Board of Elections on voter
On the voter registration front, this bill mandates that all
new voter registration forms include the applicant's full nine digit
(06:30):
social security number beginning in January first, twenty twenty seven.
Until then, forms without full social security numbers still may
be accepted. In campaign finance law, the reporting exemption threshold
for candidates in local elections is raised from one thousand
dollars to three thousand dollars for total contributions, loans, or expenditures.
(06:55):
The bill also makes it a misdemeanor to pay petition
circulars peron signature collected if you are trying to gain
valid access in a local or statewide race. Finally, the
bill clarifies that a temporary extended classy driver's license, such
as those affected by the recent state level moratoriums that
(07:17):
allows individuals to drive with an expired license for two years,
those will also be considered valid voter IDs through December
thirty first, twenty twenty seven. So that is coming into
line there with some of those changes at the General Assembly. That,
of course, is due to backlogs from DMV. This version
(07:40):
of House Built nine p. Fifty eight is aimed at
ensuring uniform implementation across North Carolina's all one hundred counties.
I'll remind you this morning that in the state, every
election is run by the County Board of Elections in
all one hundred counties through North Carolina. This done by
explicitly spelling out when, where and when and where and
(08:04):
how ballots can be counted, such as the nine am
to five pm window in deadlines for absentee and provisional
ballot processing. The bill would also limit the discretion of
local officials and courts, potentially warding off post election litigation,
especially in close contests where ambiguous procedures can often be challenged.
(08:28):
This push for procedural clarity also reflects a broader shift
in election oversight following the recent realignment of the North
Carolina State Board of Elections under GOP control. After the
legislature transformed appointments from the Democratic governor to the Republican
state Auditor. The auditor moved swiftly and pretty quickly by
(08:52):
adding Republican Francis to Luca and Bob Rucho to the board,
flipping its majority from a Democrat body to a Republican body,
and that new majority immediately replaced longtime director Karen Brinson Bell.
Lawmakers appear eager to lock in these detailed standards, especially
(09:12):
around ballot counting and audits, to align administrative practices with
legislative intent and bolster up public confidence in the process.
Most provisions would take effect on January the first, twenty
twenty six, with a few phased in later dates. The
bill could also be considered when the state legislature comes
(09:33):
back in either August or September. That was outlined in
last week's adjournment resolution. Election law and election challenges, of course,
have been a pretty interesting topic across North Carolina, with
a six month battle over the Jefferson Griffin race, a
voter ID potential non residents voting in elections. It has
(09:54):
caused some big time issues in the state as lawmakers
continue to try and lock all of those processes is
down so that they do not have those ballot challenges
in these six to seven eight month election challenges that
we have recently seen here in the state of North Carolina.
We'll continue to track the details right here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website Carolina
(10:17):
Journal dot com. It's twenty two minutes past the hour.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Don't forget if you miss
any portion of our show live weekday mornings five to
six right here on WBT that you can check out
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(10:41):
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Last week, the Republic can lead to General Assembly dealt
(11:01):
with some veto overrides. Towards the end of the week,
they also passed what is called a mini budget. This
is after a month's long debate between Republicans and both
the North Carolina House and Senate and their inability to
come together on a full budget proposal. The question continues
to be will that be signed by Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
To get some more details on that, this morning, Teresa Peka,
(11:24):
Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the News Hour. Teresa,
the governor made some comments at Tuesday's Council of State meeting.
What's the latest that you're following?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Sure, Good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me so. Yeah.
He made the comment about the mini budget the General
Assembly passed last week. He basically called it a band
aid budget. He said it allows the state to keep
the lights on. That fails all of North Carolina. He's
like you said, we've got teachers, student and students, not
(11:55):
sure students, but his teachers counting on the real raises.
We've got lawn enforcement in need of real raises so
they can address vacancies. It needs to reward people going
through basic law enforcement training to get more cops on
the beat and the mini budget also fails medicaid beneficiaries.
He said, while it did help fund part of the
(12:16):
rebase the mini budget, it doesn't fully fund it. And
he said there's going to be a real consequences to
human life because of that failure. So he also said
it failed state employees because there are no raises in
this mini budget when taking inflation into account.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You know, it is an interesting comment there that the
governor says, yeh, it keeps the lights on. I think
it's important to know to our audience this morning that
regardless of whether the governor signs this into law or
if the General Assembly even moved forward with it, Teresa,
last year's budget would have continued in perpetuity until they
pass another one. So there was no immediate need or
immediate risk of the government shutting down and not being
(12:54):
able to operate. But definitely some of those raises and
things going forward have not happened to this point.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Correct, Correct, Like what North Carolina has as a buy
any budget, you know, for two years or so, and
I think they believe they signed legislation some years back,
or like you say, if they don't come to an
agreement by June thirtieth, that they can go ahead, and
he was the previous terms budget, so things would be
would be fine. I mean, you're just not getting anything
(13:23):
new that's needed, but the state would not shut down.
So yeah, and as you mentioned, Governor Stein said he
would sign the mini budget. He said he would.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Sign it soon.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Didn't get an exact time frame for it, but he
said he would. He said again mentioning it's just a
band aid, but it's you know, something that needs to
be passed because there is a lot in there, including
funding the State Health Plan, which I know that treasure
Or brab Reiner mentioned also at the meeting that that
final law, their final State Health Plan meeting is coming
(13:58):
up on August fifteenth for their going to give more
information about you know, how much premiums are going to
go up and thinks of that nature.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Looking at some of the other details in this mini
budget that was passed by the General Assembly will be
signed by Governor Josh Stein in the next couple of days.
It does deal with some issues that the state is
dealing with, including allocating one point two million dollars to
the Division of Motor Vehicle for the DMV. That's also
been a big story that we've talked about this week
(14:27):
Teresa as well.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, right right, as you mentioned about that, the one
point two million it's going to create the forty new
full time driver license examiner's positions, and an additional three
million as well for twenty one more positions the following
fiscal year twenty twenty six to twenty twenty seven. Again,
that is a band aid because as we've been talking about,
(14:50):
and it's been the long awaited audit we've all been
waiting for six months in the making, which we had
auditor Dave Bollick release it on Monday, the four hundred
and thirty five page audit. He said, there's many, many
more positions that are needed. The legislature needs to appropriate
much more funding because there's just such short staffed when
(15:13):
it comes to people around the DMB offices, including the
one in Lillington Harnett County for fifty six thousand residents,
there's just one driver's license examiner. That's just an amazing,
amazing figure. So yeah, they definitely need to get more funding.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Yeah, and as we look forward to the rest of
the year, the General Assembly does have a couple of
more dates where they can be back in Raleigh if
there are votes to be dealt with. So I guess, Teresa,
it's possible that there could be another mini budget or two.
But from all of the experts that we've spoken to
over at the John Locke Foundation, it seems like a
full scale budget like Governor Josh Stein is pushing for,
(15:54):
is probably not going to happen. As we head into
the latter parts of this year.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Right, that's not looking likely. As you mentioned, they've got
a couple other dates on their calendar. They might pass
another mini budget or two with a couple of things
in it, but it does not look like there's going
to be a full budget that Governor Stein is calling for,
and so we'll just have to see what will be
in the rest of those appropriations when they do have
(16:20):
some more meetups in Raleigh.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
We do have some additional details from that Council of
State meeting, some other comments from the governor, including a
veto overrides in some tropical storms earlier this year. Where
can folks get those details?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Sure, they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
It's a great update this morning. Teresa Opeka joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five point thirty
five Welcome Back to The Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Yesterday, North Carolina Governor Josh
Stein said that he he's asking the Federal Emergency Management
(17:02):
Agency for additional public assistance disaster declarations to increase the
federal relief dollars available to local governments that were affected
by tropical Storm chan Tal in the month of July.
The governor said that local governments are facing tens of
millions of dollars in damage from the storm, which killed
(17:22):
at least six people in central North Carolina last month.
Stein previously declared a state of emergency for thirteen counties
grappling with the remnants of the storm. The governor said
on Tuesday that he would declare a Type one disaster
in North Carolina, which allows affected people to apply for aid,
(17:43):
with the governor saying whether it's that they don't have
insurance and they lost all of their life's possessions, they
can get some money to help them get on with
their lives. Last month, the Small Business Administration, or the SBA,
approved a disaster declaration for eight and North Carolina County
is affected by the storm. That declaration allows business owners
(18:05):
and homeowners to apply for low interest loans. The governor
told the Council of State, quote, we have more work
to do in helping the people of central North Carolina recover,
just as we continue to be focused on doing everything
we can to help western North Carolina get back on
its feet. We will track this progress and this process
(18:28):
as the governor now is declaring this type one disaster
in North Carolina. We've got details and we'll continue the
coverage this morning over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com,
and of course right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour,
where it's now five thirty seven, News Talk eleven ten
ninety nine to three WBT. Farming and agriculture are big
(18:50):
business across the state of North Carolina. This morning, we've
got a new letter from US Senator Ted Budd sent
to the Department of Labor on some ongoing front frustrations
and costs for farmers across the state of North Carolina
and the rest of the United States. To walk us
through some of those details, Katie's under Carolina Journal dot
com joins us on the News Hour. Katie, I'm remembering
(19:12):
back a story from a couple of months ago we
talked about, farming continues to be the number one business
in North Carolina. So things regulations, laws, and things that
affect farming has a huge and immediate impact across the
Tarhell State.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Right, That's exactly right, nixt So, agriculture has been the
number one industry in North Carolina for quite some time.
It garnishes about one hundred and eleven point one billion
with a B dollars annually, so it is the top
industry here in North Carolina. Very important here. But yeah,
So on August first, just last Friday, Senator Ted Budd
joined some of his congressional colleagues, including Senator Tim Scott
(19:49):
from South Carolina and Representatives Ralph Norman also from South Carolina,
and sending this letter to Secretary of the Department of
Labor Lori Chavez de Raymer. Basically, what this letter does
is urges the Department of Labor to roll back some
regulations that were put in place during the Biden administration
that have to do with the H two A Visa
Worker program. And these regulations that were put in place
(20:12):
during the Biden administration really kind of jack up the
costs of this program and really make it really difficult
on farmers across the nation. Some of the most notable
North Carolina names that are on this letter, aside from
Senator Ted Budd, include Representative Richard Hudson out of the
eighth district, Representative Virginia Fox out of the fifth district,
and even Representative Don Davis, a Democrat, out of the
(20:34):
first district. So those are some of the most notable names,
especially here in North Carolina, that have signed their names
to this letter.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Yeah, not necessarily surprising about Don Davis, he is, in
fact a Democrat, but a lot of farming going on
in the first Congressional District all the way up to
the Virginia border. So you talk about this this h
two A program and some of these changes under the
Biden administration. Can you give us some more detail on that, Katie.
What were these changes and what kind of impact does
it actually have for both small, medium, and large farms
(21:03):
across North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Right, So, according to the press release from Bud's office,
the regulations have increased the cost for farmers and they
have made the hue of visa program more complex in
deepening the financial losses for farmers. They create new hurdles
for producers that are trying to participate in the program.
And so the letter reads, while consistent access to agriculture
labor has always been difficult, the Biden administration further complicated
(21:28):
this issue by applying a series of rules that fundamentally
altered the implementation of the visa program and the methodology
used to determine the adverse effect wage rate or the AEWR.
And so these changes really kind of increase the cost
of the wages for H two way workers. And that's
really what I'm hearing from, you know, farmers in here
(21:50):
in North Carolina, as I've talked to them over the
last couple of months. But Senator Ted Budd said in
a statement to The Carolina Journal, he said biden Era
decisions on every from everything from the H two A
visa program to the adverse effect wage rates are disconnected
from reality and have placed unsustainable burdens on American farmers.
On top of rising production costs, expenses, growing trade deficit,
(22:14):
and ongoing disaster impacts, producers are now facing increased slaver costs,
jeopardizing the viability of farms here in North Carolina and
across the country. And then he goes on So that's
what specifically Bud had to say, you know, when we
reached out to his office for comment further in a
little bit more detail on this and this letter and
why they sent it and why they feel this is
(22:34):
important issue.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
So we mentioned and we talk about the fact that agriculture,
specifically you know, looking at farming here in North Carolina,
is the number one industry in the state. It provides
a lot of money to the state of North Carolina. Macadia.
May be important to note for our audience that this morning,
especially for those small and medium sized farms, their margins
from all of your reporting and our discussions in the past,
(22:57):
continue to be incredibly small. Even though it is a
big business, there may not be all that much money
to be made, especially for those smaller groups.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Right, That's exactly right, Nick. So you know, the profit
margin for farmers, even some of the larger farmers. You know,
obviously the larger farms have a much larger profit margin,
but even they don't have the largest profit margin. Especially
the smaller to medium size like the family farms, they
have a very small profit margin. And you know, over
the last several months, I've been talking to a lot
of farmers in different you know areas and industries of agriculture,
(23:29):
you know, sweep tatus, Christmas trees, cotton, all these different areas,
and they're all telling me the same thing that the
you know, costs of the H two A visa program
have gone up exorbitantly and they pay for all this
So it's not just the wage increase. They have to
pay to house them, they have to pay you know,
to transport them there. They have to pay for all
of these things. And also a couple of months ago
(23:49):
at the John Locke Foundation, there was a report that
came out called Harvest on Hold, and it's really about
a labor shortage in the agricultural industry and part of
that is, you know, has to do with you know,
the H two A visa program and the exorbitant costs
of it. And so rolling back some of these regulations
that were implemented by the Biden administration is really going
(24:09):
to you know, take some of the burden off farmers.
It's going to make it a lot easier for them
to hire these H two A visa workers. And you
know a lot of people say, well, you know, these
visa workers are taking you know, jobs away from Americans.
These are jobs that Americans are not going to do.
Americans are not going to go out there and pick tobacco.
They're not going to go out there and you know,
pick cotton. They're not going to They're not going to
do these jobs. They just aren't. But these H two
(24:31):
A VISA workers are willing to do it. And so
if we can roll back some of these regulations, then
we can fill this labor shortage and fill this gap
in the labor industry, and we can also make it
easier and these farmers and kind of lift some of
the burden off of these farmers so they can have
a larger profit margin to you know, kind of turn
back into their business.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah, and then you know, we talk about this is
obviously a big issue, but Katie, farmers are kind of
taking it from all directions right now. You've been covering
the impacts on tariffs in various industries that that's having
on North Carol. Of course, natural disasters Helene striking the West.
We're in the midst of the Atlantic hurricane season right now.
A lot of uncertainty in agriculture and farming. That's got
to be a tough pill to swallow for a lot
(25:11):
of those folks.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
That's exactly right, Nick, And you know, agriculture and farming
it's never going to be an easy industry. These farmers
know that getting into it. But you're right like they
really have kind of taken the brunt of it lately,
you know, with Hurricane Helene and tariffs and you know,
H two A worker programs and all of these kind
of things just kind of piling on at once, and
you know, whether it's something you not really can control,
(25:34):
so you're always going to have, you know, the kind
of wild card of weather and oh what's the weather
going to do? And then we've got Hurricane Helena. When
these natural disasters happen, But if we can just you know,
kind of ease the burden on these farmers a little bit,
that's going to take a huge burden off of them,
which we're going to see. If we take that burden
off the farmers, we're going to see that when prices
come down the grocery store. So it's that trickle down effect.
(25:55):
So if we can you know, kind of erg take
some of the burden off of these farmers, take some
of the financial burdens off of them, we're going to
see the benefit of that trickle down.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
To us, no question about that. It's a great update
this morning. We appreciate the details. Katie's Ender from Carolina
Journal dot com joins us Sun the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's by fifty one. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. Yesterday,
(26:28):
the North Carolina Council of State met for their monthly
meeting that includes ten members of the Council of State,
including Democrat Governor Josh Stein. He told members yesterday at
their meeting that he will be signing the General Assembly's
mini budget, but not before he had monished legislators for
not passing a full budget. He called House Bill one
(26:50):
twenty five, which is called Continuing Budget Operations, a quote
band aid budget that allows the state to keep the
lights on, but fails all of North Carolina, with the
governor saying, quote We've got teachers and students counting on
real raises. We've got law enforcement in need of real
raises so that we can address the vacancies that exist
(27:12):
throughout state government and in local government. We need to
be rewarding people going through basic law enforcement training so
we can get more cops on the beat. It fails
our medicaid beneficiaries. It helps fun part of a rebase,
but it does not fully fund it, and there are
going to be real consequences to human life because of
(27:33):
this failure. He also said it failed state employees because
there are no raises in this budget when talking when
taking inflation into account. So the governor wrapped up his
comments by saying, quote, so this is a band aid budget.
It does keep the lights on. Therefore I will sign it.
But the legislature needs to get to work to take
(27:53):
care of investing in the people of the state and
investing in the future of North Carolina. So the governor,
I guess, regardless of his stance on it, is going
to sign it. I will note that he doesn't mention
that it keeps the lights on. The State of North
Carolina does not have a shutdown provision like the federal
government does, so if nothing is passed, which it has
(28:14):
not been to this point as it relates to the budget,
the state government continues to operate under lad the last
fiscal year spending plan, so there is no risk of
the lights being shut off if this was vetoed or
not passed. By the General Assembly. The mini budget allocates
one point two million dollars in recurring funding to create
(28:34):
forty new full time driver license examiner's position for the
twenty five twenty six biennium, and an additional three million
dollars for twenty one more examiners in the fiscal year
twenty six twenty seven. But this is also a band
aid of sorts when it comes to additional positions that
are leaded at that are needed rather at the North
(28:55):
Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, as was evident by this
week's early four hundred and thirty five page audit conducted
by State Auditor Dave Bollick. Stein thanked Bullock for the
audit and agreed that more personnel, policy changes and a
long term strategic plan are needed, which he said is underway.
(29:16):
The governor commented on the audit saying, quote, It's going
to take a while to get this ship straight, but
we commit to doing everything in our power in doing
just that, and I'm grateful for the legislator's legislature's partnership.
That was one of the best parts of the mini budget.
The governor, like Department of Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins and
(29:38):
DMV Commissioner Paul Tyne, however, is not in favor of
making the DMV an independent agency removing it under the
umbrella of DOT, but he said it's clear that a
full government approach and commitment to fixing the DMV are needed,
with Stein noting the auditor identified some solutions, and we've
(29:59):
already been implemented many of those on our own. We
need a long term strategic plan so that we can
get this agency to the level of service that the
people of North Carolina deserve. We all know it's not
there now, and we're going it to and we're going
to do the long, hard work of getting it to
where it needs to be. Stein said a big part
(30:21):
of the DMV's problem has been increased population, stating that
North Carolina is the third fastest growing state in the nation, saying, quote,
we have tons of people moving in on a daily basis,
and there has been an increase in DMV for a
long time. So we all just need to come together
and fix this problem. The governor made those comments just
(30:46):
one day after State Auditor Dave Bollock released this very
very involved, and very extensive four hundred and thirty five
page audit of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicle
showing a serious peai dural issues within the DMV. As
was noted by State Auditor Bullock, this is not a
new problem in the state of North Carolina. This has
(31:08):
been going on for quite some time under the leadership
of former Democrat Governor now Senate candidate Roy Cooper, with
failures of metrics, lacking the required staffing positions, just a
general mismanagement of the agency. The state auditor campaigned on this.
He told North Carolina voters before the November election last
(31:32):
year that he was going to conduct an audit of
the DMV, and after just seven months in office, he
has followed through on that promise. We have a full
analysis of the state Auditor's report over on our website
this morning, Carolina Journal dot com. The headline on that
DMV audit reveals systematic problems, recommends separation from NCDOT. We
(31:55):
will watch the continued fallout from that and comments from
government officials and leaders like Democrat Governor Josh Stein and
others across the state. Well, that's going to do it.
For a Wednesday edition of The Carolina Journal News Hour,
WBT News is next, followed by good morning BT. We're
back with you tomorrow morning, five to six, right here
(32:15):
on News 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 Newstock eleven, ten ninety
nine to three WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
As state lawmakers last week worked to override vetos and
pass a mini budget, North Carolina lawmakers also introduced a
wide ranging overhaul of the state's election law, presented in
(00:33):
a proposed Committee substitute also known as a PCs version
of House Built nine point fifty eight. The changes were
debated by the House Judiciary Committee last week. The updated
legislation comes ahead of the twenty twenty sixth election cycle
and was presented to the committee the same week that
leading candidates for North Carolina's US Senate seat made their
(00:56):
official announcements. The bill includes changes to ballot counting timelines,
absentee voting procedures, campaign finance thresholds, and authority of the
North Carolina State Board of Elections. It replaces an earlier
version of the bill, expanding and clarifying key procedures. A
(01:17):
couple of different changes in this legislation that will walk
through this morning. The first is the window that is
allowed for state and local election leaders to count ballots.
The updated version creates a standardized window for accounting early
and absentee ballots that is between nine am and five
(01:38):
pm on election day at a location and time established
by the county election board at least two weeks prior.
Under the bill, election officials may begin counting ballots early
in the day, but results still may not be revealed
until all polls in the county close. Doctor Andy Jackson,
(01:58):
the director of the Senate for Public Integrity at the
John Locke Foundation, says House Built nine fifty eight would
help make North Carolina elections more secure and better administered.
The General Assembly passed a bill, Senate Bill seven forty
seven that included the provision requiring that early voting of
(02:19):
ballots be counted after polls closed on election day. The
goal of that provision was to prevent early voting totals
from leaking before polls closed, which could potentially affect people's votes.
Jackson added that while that is a good goal, it
made the release of election results data on election night
(02:39):
in twenty twenty four chaotic and proved to be burdensome
for election officials. House Built nine fifty eight will allow
county election officials to count early ballots during the day
on election day, again, but with provisions to ensure that
the counting is secure and that members of the public
can witness the procedure but not the actual count itself,
(03:03):
So that's one of the major provisions. They are the other.
The legislation also extends the deadline for finalizing absentee and
provisional ballot tallies from a third to a fifth business
day after the election. This shift gives county boards more
time to verify eligibility complete counts, particularly for ballots flagged
(03:27):
with issues. Under the proposed committee substitute, voters who submit
absentee ballots that are missing signatures or photo ID copies
will have until noon on the fifth business day after
the election to correct those issues. This change aligns absentee
procedures with other extended post election deadlines. Public transparency is
(03:52):
emphasized through the bill. All counting processes must be conducted
in public view, and bipartisan election officials are required to
be present during all stages of the count Observers are
prohibited from interfering, but must allow but must be allowed,
to witness the proceedings themselves. Rank choice voting that has
(04:16):
been an interesting discussion across the United States. In this provision,
this bill would also ban rank choice voting in all
North Carolina elections. The legislation defines ranked choices any method
that allows voters to rank candidates in order or preference,
and prohibits its use in both partisan and nonpartisan races.
(04:40):
Doctor Andy Jackson said rank choice voting is confusing for voters,
and the longer ballots would cause longer lines, especially in
early voting. It is best that North Carolina avoids it.
The bill also grants county election boards the ability to
chuck to challenge ballots cast during early voting or by
(05:01):
mail if an audit reveals potential ineligibility, such as a
non resident or death before election day. Challenged ballots must
be reviewed and ruled on before the canvassing a deadline.
One specific provision ensures that ballots cast by voters who
died before six thirty am on election day will not
(05:24):
be counted, tightening an area of law that previously allowed
some more discretion. This proposed legislation also expands the power
of the North Carolina State Board of Elections. It allows
the board to retain private legal counsel without the approval
of the Attorney General or the General Assembly and designate
(05:46):
up to five exempt staff positions outside of state HR rules.
According to doctor Andy Jackson, he says, quote, I expect
that the State Board of Elections and county boards will
still use attorneys from the Attorney General of North Carolina
and the Justice Department in most cases. However, there may
(06:06):
be situations where election officials believe that they would be
better represented by an attorney of their choice, especially if
they believe that the Attorney General is sympathetic to those
who are suing the State Board of Elections on voter
On the voter registration front, this bill mandates that all
new voter registration forms include the applicant's full nine digit
(06:30):
social security number beginning in January first, twenty twenty seven.
Until then, forms without full social security numbers still may
be accepted. In campaign finance law, the reporting exemption threshold
for candidates in local elections is raised from one thousand
dollars to three thousand dollars for total contributions, loans, or expenditures.
(06:55):
The bill also makes it a misdemeanor to pay petition
circulars peron signature collected if you are trying to gain
valid access in a local or statewide race. Finally, the
bill clarifies that a temporary extended classy driver's license, such
as those affected by the recent state level moratoriums that
(07:17):
allows individuals to drive with an expired license for two years,
those will also be considered valid voter IDs through December
thirty first, twenty twenty seven. So that is coming into
line there with some of those changes at the General Assembly. That,
of course, is due to backlogs from DMV. This version
(07:40):
of House Built nine p. Fifty eight is aimed at
ensuring uniform implementation across North Carolina's all one hundred counties.
I'll remind you this morning that in the state, every
election is run by the County Board of Elections in
all one hundred counties through North Carolina. This done by
explicitly spelling out when, where and when and where and
(08:04):
how ballots can be counted, such as the nine am
to five pm window in deadlines for absentee and provisional
ballot processing. The bill would also limit the discretion of
local officials and courts, potentially warding off post election litigation,
especially in close contests where ambiguous procedures can often be challenged.
(08:28):
This push for procedural clarity also reflects a broader shift
in election oversight following the recent realignment of the North
Carolina State Board of Elections under GOP control. After the
legislature transformed appointments from the Democratic governor to the Republican
state Auditor. The auditor moved swiftly and pretty quickly by
(08:52):
adding Republican Francis to Luca and Bob Rucho to the board,
flipping its majority from a Democrat body to a Republican body,
and that new majority immediately replaced longtime director Karen Brinson Bell.
Lawmakers appear eager to lock in these detailed standards, especially
(09:12):
around ballot counting and audits, to align administrative practices with
legislative intent and bolster up public confidence in the process.
Most provisions would take effect on January the first, twenty
twenty six, with a few phased in later dates. The
bill could also be considered when the state legislature comes
(09:33):
back in either August or September. That was outlined in
last week's adjournment resolution. Election law and election challenges, of course,
have been a pretty interesting topic across North Carolina, with
a six month battle over the Jefferson Griffin race, a
voter ID potential non residents voting in elections. It has
(09:54):
caused some big time issues in the state as lawmakers
continue to try and lock all of those processes is
down so that they do not have those ballot challenges
in these six to seven eight month election challenges that
we have recently seen here in the state of North Carolina.
We'll continue to track the details right here on the
Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website Carolina
(10:17):
Journal dot com. It's twenty two minutes past the hour.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour News Talk eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Don't forget if you miss
any portion of our show live weekday mornings five to
six right here on WBT that you can check out
our Carolina Journal News Hour podcast. It's available in Google Play,
(10:41):
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, anywhere you get your shows. Search for
the Carolina Journal News Hour, tap that subscribe or follow
button and you'll get a new program delivered each and
every weekday morning. The show also streams live and is
available after the fact on our Carolina Journal YouTube channel.
Last week, the Republic can lead to General Assembly dealt
(11:01):
with some veto overrides. Towards the end of the week,
they also passed what is called a mini budget. This
is after a month's long debate between Republicans and both
the North Carolina House and Senate and their inability to
come together on a full budget proposal. The question continues
to be will that be signed by Democrat Governor Josh Stein.
To get some more details on that, this morning, Teresa Peka,
(11:24):
Carolina Journal dot Com joins us on the News Hour. Teresa,
the governor made some comments at Tuesday's Council of State meeting.
What's the latest that you're following?
Speaker 2 (11:34):
Sure, Good morning, Nick, Thanks for having me so. Yeah.
He made the comment about the mini budget the General
Assembly passed last week. He basically called it a band
aid budget. He said it allows the state to keep
the lights on. That fails all of North Carolina. He's
like you said, we've got teachers, student and students, not
(11:55):
sure students, but his teachers counting on the real raises.
We've got lawn enforcement in need of real raises so
they can address vacancies. It needs to reward people going
through basic law enforcement training to get more cops on
the beat and the mini budget also fails medicaid beneficiaries.
He said, while it did help fund part of the
(12:16):
rebase the mini budget, it doesn't fully fund it. And
he said there's going to be a real consequences to
human life because of that failure. So he also said
it failed state employees because there are no raises in
this mini budget when taking inflation into account.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
You know, it is an interesting comment there that the
governor says, yeh, it keeps the lights on. I think
it's important to know to our audience this morning that
regardless of whether the governor signs this into law or
if the General Assembly even moved forward with it, Teresa,
last year's budget would have continued in perpetuity until they
pass another one. So there was no immediate need or
immediate risk of the government shutting down and not being
(12:54):
able to operate. But definitely some of those raises and
things going forward have not happened to this point.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Correct, Correct, Like what North Carolina has as a buy
any budget, you know, for two years or so, and
I think they believe they signed legislation some years back,
or like you say, if they don't come to an
agreement by June thirtieth, that they can go ahead, and
he was the previous terms budget, so things would be
would be fine. I mean, you're just not getting anything
(13:23):
new that's needed, but the state would not shut down.
So yeah, and as you mentioned, Governor Stein said he
would sign the mini budget. He said he would.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Sign it soon.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Didn't get an exact time frame for it, but he
said he would. He said again mentioning it's just a
band aid, but it's you know, something that needs to
be passed because there is a lot in there, including
funding the State Health Plan, which I know that treasure
Or brab Reiner mentioned also at the meeting that that
final law, their final State Health Plan meeting is coming
(13:58):
up on August fifteenth for their going to give more
information about you know, how much premiums are going to
go up and thinks of that nature.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Looking at some of the other details in this mini
budget that was passed by the General Assembly will be
signed by Governor Josh Stein in the next couple of days.
It does deal with some issues that the state is
dealing with, including allocating one point two million dollars to
the Division of Motor Vehicle for the DMV. That's also
been a big story that we've talked about this week
(14:27):
Teresa as well.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, right right, as you mentioned about that, the one
point two million it's going to create the forty new
full time driver license examiner's positions, and an additional three
million as well for twenty one more positions the following
fiscal year twenty twenty six to twenty twenty seven. Again,
that is a band aid because as we've been talking about,
(14:50):
and it's been the long awaited audit we've all been
waiting for six months in the making, which we had
auditor Dave Bollick release it on Monday, the four hundred
and thirty five page audit. He said, there's many, many
more positions that are needed. The legislature needs to appropriate
much more funding because there's just such short staffed when
(15:13):
it comes to people around the DMB offices, including the
one in Lillington Harnett County for fifty six thousand residents,
there's just one driver's license examiner. That's just an amazing,
amazing figure. So yeah, they definitely need to get more funding.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Yeah, and as we look forward to the rest of
the year, the General Assembly does have a couple of
more dates where they can be back in Raleigh if
there are votes to be dealt with. So I guess, Teresa,
it's possible that there could be another mini budget or two.
But from all of the experts that we've spoken to
over at the John Locke Foundation, it seems like a
full scale budget like Governor Josh Stein is pushing for,
(15:54):
is probably not going to happen. As we head into
the latter parts of this year.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Right, that's not looking likely. As you mentioned, they've got
a couple other dates on their calendar. They might pass
another mini budget or two with a couple of things
in it, but it does not look like there's going
to be a full budget that Governor Stein is calling for,
and so we'll just have to see what will be
in the rest of those appropriations when they do have
(16:20):
some more meetups in Raleigh.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
We do have some additional details from that Council of
State meeting, some other comments from the governor, including a
veto overrides in some tropical storms earlier this year. Where
can folks get those details?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Sure, they can head on over to Carolina Journal dot com.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
It's a great update this morning. Teresa Opeka joins us
on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's five point thirty
five Welcome Back to The Carolina Journal News Hour, Newstock eleven,
ten ninety nine three WBT. Yesterday, North Carolina Governor Josh
Stein said that he he's asking the Federal Emergency Management
(17:02):
Agency for additional public assistance disaster declarations to increase the
federal relief dollars available to local governments that were affected
by tropical Storm chan Tal in the month of July.
The governor said that local governments are facing tens of
millions of dollars in damage from the storm, which killed
(17:22):
at least six people in central North Carolina last month.
Stein previously declared a state of emergency for thirteen counties
grappling with the remnants of the storm. The governor said
on Tuesday that he would declare a Type one disaster
in North Carolina, which allows affected people to apply for aid,
(17:43):
with the governor saying whether it's that they don't have
insurance and they lost all of their life's possessions, they
can get some money to help them get on with
their lives. Last month, the Small Business Administration, or the SBA,
approved a disaster declaration for eight and North Carolina County
is affected by the storm. That declaration allows business owners
(18:05):
and homeowners to apply for low interest loans. The governor
told the Council of State, quote, we have more work
to do in helping the people of central North Carolina recover,
just as we continue to be focused on doing everything
we can to help western North Carolina get back on
its feet. We will track this progress and this process
(18:28):
as the governor now is declaring this type one disaster
in North Carolina. We've got details and we'll continue the
coverage this morning over on our website, Carolina Journal dot com,
and of course right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour,
where it's now five thirty seven, News Talk eleven ten
ninety nine to three WBT. Farming and agriculture are big
(18:50):
business across the state of North Carolina. This morning, we've
got a new letter from US Senator Ted Budd sent
to the Department of Labor on some ongoing front frustrations
and costs for farmers across the state of North Carolina
and the rest of the United States. To walk us
through some of those details, Katie's under Carolina Journal dot
com joins us on the News Hour. Katie, I'm remembering
(19:12):
back a story from a couple of months ago we
talked about, farming continues to be the number one business
in North Carolina. So things regulations, laws, and things that
affect farming has a huge and immediate impact across the
Tarhell State.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Right, That's exactly right, nixt So, agriculture has been the
number one industry in North Carolina for quite some time.
It garnishes about one hundred and eleven point one billion
with a B dollars annually, so it is the top
industry here in North Carolina. Very important here. But yeah,
So on August first, just last Friday, Senator Ted Budd
joined some of his congressional colleagues, including Senator Tim Scott
(19:49):
from South Carolina and Representatives Ralph Norman also from South Carolina,
and sending this letter to Secretary of the Department of
Labor Lori Chavez de Raymer. Basically, what this letter does
is urges the Department of Labor to roll back some
regulations that were put in place during the Biden administration
that have to do with the H two A Visa
Worker program. And these regulations that were put in place
(20:12):
during the Biden administration really kind of jack up the
costs of this program and really make it really difficult
on farmers across the nation. Some of the most notable
North Carolina names that are on this letter, aside from
Senator Ted Budd, include Representative Richard Hudson out of the
eighth district, Representative Virginia Fox out of the fifth district,
and even Representative Don Davis, a Democrat, out of the
(20:34):
first district. So those are some of the most notable names,
especially here in North Carolina, that have signed their names
to this letter.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Yeah, not necessarily surprising about Don Davis, he is, in
fact a Democrat, but a lot of farming going on
in the first Congressional District all the way up to
the Virginia border. So you talk about this this h
two A program and some of these changes under the
Biden administration. Can you give us some more detail on that, Katie.
What were these changes and what kind of impact does
it actually have for both small, medium, and large farms
(21:03):
across North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Right, So, according to the press release from Bud's office,
the regulations have increased the cost for farmers and they
have made the hue of visa program more complex in
deepening the financial losses for farmers. They create new hurdles
for producers that are trying to participate in the program.
And so the letter reads, while consistent access to agriculture
labor has always been difficult, the Biden administration further complicated
(21:28):
this issue by applying a series of rules that fundamentally
altered the implementation of the visa program and the methodology
used to determine the adverse effect wage rate or the AEWR.
And so these changes really kind of increase the cost
of the wages for H two way workers. And that's
really what I'm hearing from, you know, farmers in here
(21:50):
in North Carolina, as I've talked to them over the
last couple of months. But Senator Ted Budd said in
a statement to The Carolina Journal, he said biden Era
decisions on every from everything from the H two A
visa program to the adverse effect wage rates are disconnected
from reality and have placed unsustainable burdens on American farmers.
On top of rising production costs, expenses, growing trade deficit,
(22:14):
and ongoing disaster impacts, producers are now facing increased slaver costs,
jeopardizing the viability of farms here in North Carolina and
across the country. And then he goes on So that's
what specifically Bud had to say, you know, when we
reached out to his office for comment further in a
little bit more detail on this and this letter and
why they sent it and why they feel this is
(22:34):
important issue.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
So we mentioned and we talk about the fact that agriculture,
specifically you know, looking at farming here in North Carolina,
is the number one industry in the state. It provides
a lot of money to the state of North Carolina. Macadia.
May be important to note for our audience that this morning,
especially for those small and medium sized farms, their margins
from all of your reporting and our discussions in the past,
(22:57):
continue to be incredibly small. Even though it is a
big business, there may not be all that much money
to be made, especially for those smaller groups.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
Right, That's exactly right, Nick. So you know, the profit
margin for farmers, even some of the larger farmers. You know,
obviously the larger farms have a much larger profit margin,
but even they don't have the largest profit margin. Especially
the smaller to medium size like the family farms, they
have a very small profit margin. And you know, over
the last several months, I've been talking to a lot
of farmers in different you know areas and industries of agriculture,
(23:29):
you know, sweep tatus, Christmas trees, cotton, all these different areas,
and they're all telling me the same thing that the
you know, costs of the H two A visa program
have gone up exorbitantly and they pay for all this
So it's not just the wage increase. They have to
pay to house them, they have to pay you know,
to transport them there. They have to pay for all
of these things. And also a couple of months ago
(23:49):
at the John Locke Foundation, there was a report that
came out called Harvest on Hold, and it's really about
a labor shortage in the agricultural industry and part of
that is, you know, has to do with you know,
the H two A visa program and the exorbitant costs
of it. And so rolling back some of these regulations
that were implemented by the Biden administration is really going
(24:09):
to you know, take some of the burden off farmers.
It's going to make it a lot easier for them
to hire these H two A visa workers. And you
know a lot of people say, well, you know, these
visa workers are taking you know, jobs away from Americans.
These are jobs that Americans are not going to do.
Americans are not going to go out there and pick tobacco.
They're not going to go out there and you know,
pick cotton. They're not going to They're not going to
do these jobs. They just aren't. But these H two
(24:31):
A VISA workers are willing to do it. And so
if we can roll back some of these regulations, then
we can fill this labor shortage and fill this gap
in the labor industry, and we can also make it
easier and these farmers and kind of lift some of
the burden off of these farmers so they can have
a larger profit margin to you know, kind of turn
back into their business.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Yeah, and then you know, we talk about this is
obviously a big issue, but Katie, farmers are kind of
taking it from all directions right now. You've been covering
the impacts on tariffs in various industries that that's having
on North Carol. Of course, natural disasters Helene striking the West.
We're in the midst of the Atlantic hurricane season right now.
A lot of uncertainty in agriculture and farming. That's got
to be a tough pill to swallow for a lot
(25:11):
of those folks.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
That's exactly right, Nick, And you know, agriculture and farming
it's never going to be an easy industry. These farmers
know that getting into it. But you're right like they
really have kind of taken the brunt of it lately,
you know, with Hurricane Helene and tariffs and you know,
H two A worker programs and all of these kind
of things just kind of piling on at once, and
you know, whether it's something you not really can control,
(25:34):
so you're always going to have, you know, the kind
of wild card of weather and oh what's the weather
going to do? And then we've got Hurricane Helena. When
these natural disasters happen, But if we can just you know,
kind of ease the burden on these farmers a little bit,
that's going to take a huge burden off of them,
which we're going to see. If we take that burden
off the farmers, we're going to see that when prices
come down the grocery store. So it's that trickle down effect.
(25:55):
So if we can you know, kind of erg take
some of the burden off of these farmers, take some
of the financial burdens off of them, we're going to
see the benefit of that trickle down.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
To us, no question about that. It's a great update
this morning. We appreciate the details. Katie's Ender from Carolina
Journal dot com joins us Sun the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's by fifty one. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal
News Hour, News Talk eleven, ten ninety nine three WBT. Yesterday,
(26:28):
the North Carolina Council of State met for their monthly
meeting that includes ten members of the Council of State,
including Democrat Governor Josh Stein. He told members yesterday at
their meeting that he will be signing the General Assembly's
mini budget, but not before he had monished legislators for
not passing a full budget. He called House Bill one
(26:50):
twenty five, which is called Continuing Budget Operations, a quote
band aid budget that allows the state to keep the
lights on, but fails all of North Carolina, with the
governor saying, quote We've got teachers and students counting on
real raises. We've got law enforcement in need of real
raises so that we can address the vacancies that exist
(27:12):
throughout state government and in local government. We need to
be rewarding people going through basic law enforcement training so
we can get more cops on the beat. It fails
our medicaid beneficiaries. It helps fun part of a rebase,
but it does not fully fund it, and there are
going to be real consequences to human life because of
(27:33):
this failure. He also said it failed state employees because
there are no raises in this budget when talking when
taking inflation into account. So the governor wrapped up his
comments by saying, quote, so this is a band aid budget.
It does keep the lights on. Therefore I will sign it.
But the legislature needs to get to work to take
(27:53):
care of investing in the people of the state and
investing in the future of North Carolina. So the governor,
I guess, regardless of his stance on it, is going
to sign it. I will note that he doesn't mention
that it keeps the lights on. The State of North
Carolina does not have a shutdown provision like the federal
government does, so if nothing is passed, which it has
(28:14):
not been to this point as it relates to the budget,
the state government continues to operate under lad the last
fiscal year spending plan, so there is no risk of
the lights being shut off if this was vetoed or
not passed. By the General Assembly. The mini budget allocates
one point two million dollars in recurring funding to create
(28:34):
forty new full time driver license examiner's position for the
twenty five twenty six biennium, and an additional three million
dollars for twenty one more examiners in the fiscal year
twenty six twenty seven. But this is also a band
aid of sorts when it comes to additional positions that
are leaded at that are needed rather at the North
(28:55):
Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, as was evident by this
week's early four hundred and thirty five page audit conducted
by State Auditor Dave Bollick. Stein thanked Bullock for the
audit and agreed that more personnel, policy changes and a
long term strategic plan are needed, which he said is underway.
(29:16):
The governor commented on the audit saying, quote, It's going
to take a while to get this ship straight, but
we commit to doing everything in our power in doing
just that, and I'm grateful for the legislator's legislature's partnership.
That was one of the best parts of the mini budget.
The governor, like Department of Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins and
(29:38):
DMV Commissioner Paul Tyne, however, is not in favor of
making the DMV an independent agency removing it under the
umbrella of DOT, but he said it's clear that a
full government approach and commitment to fixing the DMV are needed,
with Stein noting the auditor identified some solutions, and we've
(29:59):
already been implemented many of those on our own. We
need a long term strategic plan so that we can
get this agency to the level of service that the
people of North Carolina deserve. We all know it's not
there now, and we're going it to and we're going
to do the long, hard work of getting it to
where it needs to be. Stein said a big part
(30:21):
of the DMV's problem has been increased population, stating that
North Carolina is the third fastest growing state in the nation, saying, quote,
we have tons of people moving in on a daily basis,
and there has been an increase in DMV for a
long time. So we all just need to come together
and fix this problem. The governor made those comments just
(30:46):
one day after State Auditor Dave Bollock released this very
very involved, and very extensive four hundred and thirty five
page audit of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicle
showing a serious peai dural issues within the DMV. As
was noted by State Auditor Bullock, this is not a
new problem in the state of North Carolina. This has
(31:08):
been going on for quite some time under the leadership
of former Democrat Governor now Senate candidate Roy Cooper, with
failures of metrics, lacking the required staffing positions, just a
general mismanagement of the agency. The state auditor campaigned on this.
He told North Carolina voters before the November election last
(31:32):
year that he was going to conduct an audit of
the DMV, and after just seven months in office, he
has followed through on that promise. We have a full
analysis of the state Auditor's report over on our website
this morning, Carolina Journal dot com. The headline on that
DMV audit reveals systematic problems, recommends separation from NCDOT. We
(31:55):
will watch the continued fallout from that and comments from
government officials and leaders like Democrat Governor Josh Stein and
others across the state. Well, that's going to do it.
For a Wednesday edition of The Carolina Journal News Hour,
WBT News is next, followed by good morning BT. We're
back with you tomorrow morning, five to six, right here
(32:15):
on News Talk eleven, ten and ninety nine three WBT
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