Governor Katie Hobbs Announces Arizona’s Credit Outlook Upgraded to ‘Positive’ By Major Rating Agency

Posted on by Arizona Legislative Report Staff
Phoenix, AZ – Yesterday, major credit-rating agency S&P Global Ratings released a report upgrading Arizona’s credit outlook from “stable” to “positive.” The report noted the state’s robust economic growth, low cost of living, increasing personal income, and gross state product surpassing the nation’s as factors for its upgrade. This upward revision is also a result of Governor Hobbs’ successful negotiation of  a bipartisan budget, overcoming the projected nearly $2 billion deficit previously forecasted. 

 

“This report reaffirms that Arizona’s economic position remains strong and our future remains bright,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “We are building an Arizona that lifts up the middle class, supports smart and sustainable business growth, and leverages the endless opportunities our state has to offer. The results are undeniable, and I will keep working every day to make sure all Arizonans continue to benefit from our booming economy.”

 

“The S&P upgrade to Arizona’s credit rating outlook is a testament to our state’s strong economic performance,” said Danny Seiden, President and CEO, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Arizona’s population and gross state product are growing, personal incomes are rising, and our reserves are solid. This announcement shows that policy matters and Arizona is on the right track. We’ll continue to work with the Governor and state Legislature to advance policies that promote a healthy and competitive business environment.”

 

The report also cited Arizona’s notable population growth, strong reserves, low debt burden, and responsible fiscal management as factors for the outlook upgrade. 

 

For more information, see here.

Braun rolls out property tax cut plan, without strategy for revenue replacement

Posted on by Tom Davies

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun released a property tax plan Friday that his campaign said would result in a 21% average cut in homeowners’ tax bills.

Braun said in a radio interview that his plan would return homestead tax bills to 2021 levels to wipe out increases that have largely come with jumps in property values over the past few years.

But Braun’s proposal immediately raised alarms among county, city and school leaders about the potential loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to support their functions.

The Braun campaign said it had not calculated how much his proposal would reduce property tax revenue.

Braun did not mention replacing that money for schools and local governments, which receive more than 90% of property tax revenue.

He said in an interview on WIBC-FM’s “Kendall and Casey” program that residential property taxes “got completely out of hand” in recent years.

“The No. 1 thing here is to take it back to 2021 levels,” Braun said. “No one was thinking [such a rollback] was going to happen. But that was a windfall, and if we don’t we’re just baselining Biden inflation into revenue generation.”

Impact on taxpayers, local government

Property tax bills for owner-occupied homes increased by statewide averages of 9% in 2021, 9.2% in 2022 and 16.7% in 2023, according to a Legislative Services Agency report. 

“Senator Braun hopes that this will start a conversation around delivering effective government services without allowing budget creep and overburdening homeowners,” Josh Kelley, Braun’s senior campaign adviser, said in an email to State Affairs. “He looks forward to having these conversations with the General Assembly and with local government and school stakeholders.”

Homeowner tax payments totaled about $2.9 billion in 2021 and $3.6 billion in 2023, for a potential reduction of some $700 million, according to the Legislative Services Agency report.

Such a revenue drop would be a “shock” to public schools and local governments, said Democratic Rep. Ed DeLaney, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

“The proposal that Mike Braun is suggesting puts every police department, fire department, city and county at risk of having a shortfall,” DeLaney told State Affairs.

DeLaney said Braun’s plan “means that he believes that the Republican supermajority has failed to protect taxpayers, at least for these last few years, and so he’s going to ask them to correct that mistake.”

Details from Braun’s proposal

Legislators have wrestled with various proposals in the past few years to stem property tax increases, but nothing has advanced that would have as far-reaching impact as Braun’s proposal.

Key parts of his plan call for:

  • Increasing homestead deductions by allowing properties with assessed value below $125,000 to be eligible for the current standard deduction of $48,000, plus 60% supplemental deduction. That 60% deduction would apply to owner-occupied homes with assessed value over $125,000. The Braun campaign said that would result in a 21% reduction in the average homeowner tax bill and 39% reduction in the average tax bill for homes worth $80,000. 
  • Imposing a cap on tax bill increases at 2% a year for senior citizens, low-income residents and families with children under the age of 18. All other homeowners would see a 3% annual cap. Braun proposed that any increase exceeding the caps first be approved by voters through a local ballot referendum.
  • Requiring that all property tax-related referendums take place during November general elections, eliminating the current option of those votes being held during primary or special elections. A similar proposal failed in the 2024 legislative session as opponents argued it went against the concept of local control and would give most school districts the opportunity to propose a referendum only every two years.
  • Requiring a referendum’s ballot language to include the total amount to be raised by the tax increase and data regarding the referendum’s impact on the median home’s property tax bill.

Braun repeatedly said during the radio interview that his proposal would reduce the tax bills for homeowners to the amount they paid in 2021. 

“This is going to take your tax bills back to that level,” Braun said.

However, the plan outline released by Braun’s campaign included no such statement.

Kelley said Braun’s aim was to “reset tax bills to 2021 levels.”

“As he studied the issue, it became clear that any attempt to roll back assessed value would face legal challenges and possibly cause market disruptions, but increasing the amount of homestead deduction was a clear and simple way to achieve the goal of resetting the average tax bill to 2021 levels,” Kelley said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick responded to Braun’s plan with a statement pointing out his vote as an Indiana House member in 2015 supporting a bill that would have allowed counties to impose property tax replacement fees for parcels with tax deductions or credits reducing liability below $200. That carried an estimated impact of up to $38.6 million a year in additional taxes.

“Hoosiers are sick and tired of politicians who will say anything to get elected,” McCormick said in a statement. “Mike Braun voted for higher Hoosier property taxes when he had the chance and is now only talking about a tax cut because he’s another politician Hoosiers are sick of.”

Prospects uncertain for Braun’s plan

Braun said the property tax issue would be “priority one” if he is elected governor and he had already discussed his plans with legislators, whom he did not identify.

House and Senate Republican leaders did not answer questions Friday from State Affairs about Braun’s proposal nor did any issue statements about the plan.

The Legislature’s State and Local Tax Review Task Force has topics assigned to it this year that include possibly capping the amount of operating referendum tax that school districts could levy, studying school districts’ use of debt and making more local government projects subject to petition remonstrances.

Task force Chairman Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, told State Affairs in May that local government officials are in control of property taxes.

“Yes, we’re talking about some reforms and what things we can do to put guardrails [around property taxes],” said Thompson, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. “But the ultimate responsibility lies with local government.”

Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.

4 things to know about Braun’s property tax proposal

Posted on by Rory Appleton

Sen. Mike Braun, the Republican candidate for Indiana’s governor, released a plan for overhauling property taxes Friday morning that would impact millions of Hoosiers, Indiana schools and local governments. 

“Nothing is more important than ensuring Hoosiers can afford to live in their homes without being overburdened by rising property taxes driven by rapid inflation in home values,” said Braun, who is seen as the favorite to win election in Republican-dominated Indiana. 

To accomplish his goal, Braun would have to work with legislative leaders, who have signaled their own intentions to look at reducing property taxes in the coming year. 

The plan touches on property tax limits, deductions, transparency measures and changes to how tax referendums are conducted. Here are four things to know about property taxes and Braun’s proposal. 

Continue reading “4 things to know about Braun’s property tax proposal”

Bureau of Motor Vehicles looks to add new rules to Indiana’s driving test

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles wants to amend Indiana’s driving skills test, putting “existing practice” into administrative rule.

Indiana already fails drivers who speed, disobey traffic signals and don’t wear a seatbelt, among other violations. Yet the BMV is looking to make the state’s driving skills test more stringent.

A proposed rule amendment looks to add two offenses that would automatically result in failing the test and a list of 22 instances that could do the same if committed enough times.

“The BMV determined that its current practices related to the administration of the driver’s skills exam should be codified,” Melissa Hook, the BMV’s communications and media relations director, told State Affairs in an email.

Under the proposed rule amendment, drivers who fail to stop completely at a stop sign or pass a school bus with its stop arm extended would automatically fail the test.

In addition, drivers would fail the test if on at least 11 occasions they do any of the following:

Continue reading “Bureau of Motor Vehicles looks to add new rules to Indiana’s driving test”

Court grants temporary restraining order in favor of Overland Park group in PAC case

Posted on by Brett Stover

An Overland Park advocacy group isn’t a PAC, at least not under a temporary restraining order granted by a Kansas federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Crabtree on Wednesday granted the order at the request of Fresh Vision OP, a nonprofit with a stated goal to “maintain the quality of life and unique character of Overland Park through thoughtful and fiscally responsible spending of our tax dollars.”

The order blocks the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission from enforcing a part of the state’s Campaign Finance Act that labeled and regulated the group as a political action committee.

Fresh Vision came under scrutiny from state regulators after beginning advocacy around local government races, including endorsing Overland Park City Councilman Faris Farassati’s mayoral campaign.

Founder James Muir told the Legislature in 2023 that the ethics commission labeled Fresh Vision a political committee following a complaint about the nonprofit’s political activities.

“We are a group of concerned neighbors who invested a little more than $3,000 to maintain our quality of life in South Overland Park,” Muir said in written testimony. “We are now the poster child of what needs to change with regards to the Kansas Ethics Commission.”

The Institute for Free Speech filed the lawsuit in June on behalf of the plaintiffs, arguing the act’s definition of “political committee” was overly broad and unconstitutional. The institute is best known for its work representing the plaintiffs in SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission, the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized independent expenditure-only committees, or super PACs.

The statute defines a political committee as a group where supporting or opposing a political candidate is a major purpose.

“But the First Amendment only allows the government to regulate groups with the major purpose of expressly advocating for candidates,” Fresh Vision’s attorneys argued in the lawsuit. They cited precedent from previous campaign finance cases, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1976 decision in Buckley v. Valeo.

Crabtree agreed that the plaintiffs’ arguments were likely to succeed. He granted a limited temporary injunction, pending a trial scheduled for Sept. 17.

“Instead, defendants [the ethics commission] may enforce the above enumerated statutes and regulation only based on a candidate-specific determination that express advocacy is the major purpose of Fresh Vision,” Crabtree wrote in the order.

The Institute for Free Speech said after the ruling that the temporary order will allow Fresh Vision to resume its activities without fear of being regulated as a PAC. Muir, who helped create Fresh Vision OP in 2021, could not be reached for comment through the group’s legal team.

“The court applied existing precedent that bars the imposition of burdensome political committee requirements on groups that only occasionally engage in express advocacy,” institute attorney Charles “Chip” Miller, a contributor to The Federalist Society, said in a statement. “Those requirements chill and potentially punish protected political speech. We look forward to expanding this ruling at the next hearing to protect all similar grassroots organizations in Kansas.”

Brett Stover is a Statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @BrettStoverKS.

Wake Up Call for Friday, July 26, 2024

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
2 men charged in LD14 GOP meeting altercation Arizona Capitol Times The Town of Gilbert filed charges against two family members of a Republican House candidate in Legislative District 14 for an alleged assault after an incumbent representative mentioned “attack pieces” against him and a rumor associating the candidate’s son to the Gilbert Goons. Court to hear arguments on abortion ballot wording Arizona Capitol Times Abortion access supporters and Republican lawmakers are sparring over whether  “unborn human being” is an impartial term that can be used in a description for a ballot measure that would legalize abortions up to fetal viability.  Toma, Petersen challenge transgender lawsuit ruling Capitol Media Services The state’s top two Republican lawmakers are asking a federal appeals court to protect them from having to explain their motives in promoting and voting to ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports. School vouchers were supposed to save taxpayer money. Instead they blew a massive hole in Arizona's budget 6 South Florida In 2022, Arizona pioneered the largest school voucher program in the history of education. Under a new law, any parent in the state, no matter how affluent, could get a taxpayer-funded voucher worth up to tens of thousands of dollars to spend on private school tuition, extracurricular programs or homeschooling supplies. Arizona senator, former astronaut and potential Harris VP pick? What to know about Mark Kelly USA Today After Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in as the Democratic frontrunner in the presidential election following President Joe Biden’s departure from the race, Democrats are racing to select Harris’ running mate as she prepares to face the Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump in November. Former Arizona congresswoman Giffords campaigns for Harris in Pennsylvania Arizona’s Family Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was grievously wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district, took to the campaign trail Thursday for Vice President Kamala Harris, as Harris’ nascent presidential campaign gets off the ground and a parallel campaign to be Harris’ running mate takes shape. Blake Masters: ‘Political leaders should have children’ Politico Most Republicans want nothing to do with Sen. JD Vance’s resurfaced attack on Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats as “childless cat ladies.” But it fits right into one House candidate’s playbook. Made in America should be mined in America Arizona Capitol Times Mineral supply chains are reshaping how we think about energy security. Supplies of lithium, graphite, copper, and rare earths — among many other essential metals — are already dictating the speed of energy technology deployment and creating new global centers of industrial strength.  Stolen valor is Arizona's latest (and most nauseating) primary election trend Arizona Republic Arizona has no shortage of strange and downright peculiar candidates seeking public office this year. You say political endorsements from celebrities don't matter. But they do Arizona Republic Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell posted a giddy announcement on X, formerly Twitter, featuring an endorsement from the great former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson.

Kansas Daily News Wire July 26, 2024

Posted on by Matt Resnick

Welcome to the Kansas Daily News Wire, your daily roundup of top state and political stories from newsrooms across Kansas. — Hawver’s Capitol Report/State Affairs

STATE

State Department offering $10M for info on North Korean hacker indicted in Kansas: The State Department is offering up to $10 million for information on a North Korean man indicted for conspiring to commit computer fraud against a Kansas hospital. (Stover, State Affairs)

Days before a Biden rule against anti-LGBTQ+ bias takes effect, judges are narrowing its reach: New federal court rulings are narrowing the Biden administration’s enforcement of a rule for protecting LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and allowing critics to limit it even further school by school. (Associated Press)

Kansas man barricaded in garage shot and killed by police; several others arrested: A 25-year-old Salina man wanted by law enforcement was shot and killed by police Wednesday at a home in Salina, officials say. Jesse D. Wray died at the scene, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Thursday. (The Wichita Eagle)

Hospitals give medical students a taste of rural Kansas hoping they’ll eventually work there: Western Kansas hospitals are often understaffed. But a Wichita medical school has teamed up with hospitals to give medical students the opportunity to experience health care in rural areas. (KMUW)

LOCAL

Topeka’s NiJaree Canady inks $1M deal in transfer to Texas Tech: NiJaree Canady, the nation’s best college softball pitcher and Topeka native, is on the move to a new school next year. (Topeka Capital-Journal) 

City annexes 80 acres for Salina Airport industrial park: More than 80 acres of land will be added to the city as the Salina Regional Airport looks to expand its industrial district. (Salina Journal)

Why is mail so bad in the Kansas City area? New report sheds light on USPS delays: An new audit of the postal service in the Kansas City region revealed late mail has been caused by staffing shortages and lack of management oversight. (The Kansas City Star)

Semitruck crashes between homes near KU football stadium in Lawrence: A driverless semi-truck crashed Thursday and ended up between two homes across the street from the KU football stadium in Lawrence. (The Lawrence Times)

Former Topeka official’s domestic battery case dismissed: The case has been dismissed for former City of Topeka Chief Financial Officer Freddy Mawyin, who was accused of domestic battery last year. (KSNT)

Howey Daily Wire July 26, 2024

Posted on by Howey Politics Indiana

Hello subscribers!

Brian Howey of State Affairs dives into the recent and unprecedented events in the presidential contest, and also takes a look at the latest news on state and national races, including speculation that Pete Buttigieg is among potential candidates to run as vice president on the Democratic ticket. In other news, the Indiana Department of Transportation will start its first use of cameras to enforce work-zone speed limits on Aug. 14 in an Interstate 70 work zone in Hancock County. Have a great weekend, Indiana! More news below. — Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs

The month that rocked the presidential race: Brian Howey of State Affairs explores the impact on Indiana politics arising from the tumultuous events in the presidential contest during the last 30 days.

Horse Race: Pete Buttigieg latest Hoosier in veepstakes — Richard Lugar, Dan Quayle, Evan Bayh and Mike Pence have played in the quadrennial presidential veepstakes, and now it’s former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s turn. (Howey, State Affairs)

STATE

3 county judges picked as finalists for Court of Appeals spot: The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission chose judges from Porter, Lake and St. Joseph counties as finalists to replace Judge Patricia Riley. (Davies, State Affairs)

Highway department starting 1st speed camera use next month: House Enrolled Act 1015, approved during the 2023 session, allows the state highway department to use speed cameras in up to four work zones in a calendar year under a pilot program.  (Davies, State Affairs)

Holcomb on hunting for Hoosier jobs in Australia and Singapore: Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb spoke with Dirk Rowley of WANE-TV from Australia, where he is on an economic development trip. The governor will also visit Singapore.

Anti-abortion group argues that Indiana health department’s abortion records must be public: In defense of its lawsuit against the state health department, a South Bend-based anti-abortion group doubled down in new court filings, claiming related medical records do not compromise patient privacy and should be made available to the public. (Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Yearlong positive streak ends for central Indiana homebuilders: After nearly a year of rising interest in new houses, the Indianapolis-area homebuilding industry saw demand shrink in June. (IBJ)

Public input sought on proposed deer hunting and otter trapping rule changes: Indiana’s Natural Resources Commission announced it has opened the final public comment period for proposed changes to Indiana’s deer hunting and river otter trapping rules before members vote on final adoption. Public comments may be submitted here. (Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs)

Independent review: Protest policy changes needed at IU — An independent, third-party investigation into the pro-Palestinian protests at Dunn Meadow on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University showed inconsistency in the school’s protest policies. (Burgess, WIBC-FM)

LOCAL

Documents reveal Noel spent fire department funds on flights, child support:  New court documents show how former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel was spending fire department funds and whom he was spending it on. (Skebba, WTHR-TV)

South Bend: Feds wrap housing authority fraud case with longest prison term — Albert Smith, the final person convicted in a years-long fraud scheme at the South Bend Housing Authority, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. (Parrott, WVPE-FM)

Columbus city offices experience data breach attack: Columbus officials acknowledged the city experienced a data breach and safeguards immediately took place to limit access to information. (The Republic)

Mooresville council requests Morgan County increase income taxes: Morgan County residents’ income taxes could be increased in 2025 if the request by the Mooresville Town Council comes to fruition. (Gideon, The Morgan County Correspondent)

Fort Wayne enacts stricter ‘chronic problem properties’ rules: The Fort Wayne City Council unanimously passed rules that if a commercial business property is the subject of five calls to law enforcement or emergency services in a 60-day period it will be labeled a chronic problem commercial property. (Sandleben, WBOI-FM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Indiana Senate Republicans offering paid spring internships: The Indiana Senate Republican Caucus announced it is offering paid spring-semester internships in its communications, information technology, legal, legislative, page and policy offices during the 2025 session, according to a news release. (Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs)

CONGRESS

Young statement on Netanyahu’s address to Congress: “It is really important for all of us — Republicans and Democrats, elected officials and rank-and-file Americans — to reaffirm our support for the state of Israel, their leaders, and their people,” U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind, said in a news release. (Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs)

Banks introduces legislation to deport noncitizens convicted of criminal protest: U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced legislation that would terminate any visa and require deportation within 60 days of any noncitizen convicted of a criminal offense during a protest, according to a news release. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, introduced companion legislation in the Senate. (Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs)

Banks: White House failed to impose Iran sanctions required by MAHSA Act — A news release from the office of Rep. Banks stated “President Biden missed the Iran sanctions assessment deadline required by Rep. Banks’ bill, the MAHSA Act, which directs the president to issue an assessment of potential sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran and other senior Iranian officials by July 23 and to then impose sanctions on those officials” (Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs)

Congressional schedule: The House and Senate are out.

CAMPAIGNS

Workers’ rights a major focus of Wells campaign: Workers’ rights are a major focus of Democrat Destiny Wells’ campaign for attorney general. (Smith, WFYI-FM)

PRESIDENTIAL 2024

Indiana Black Legislative Caucus endorses Harris, pledges future support: The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus unanimously voted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run and will look at ways to assist her candidacy, the caucus chair, state Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, told Rory Appleton of State Affairs.

In Indianapolis, Harris says she’s fighting for America’s future: Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told a gathering of women of color in Indianapolis that she is fighting for America’s future. (Meeks, State Affairs)

NATION

Automakers hit ‘significant storm’: Investors are punishing automakers’ stocks this week after second-quarter earnings reports exposed industrywide issues of slowing sales and high prices. (AP)

Economic growth quickens, rising at 2.8% rate: The U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter as consumers increased their spending, businesses invested more in equipment and stocked inventories and inflation cooled. (The Wall Street Journal)

Ethanol exports on record pace: Along with solid sales of U.S. corn and distillers grains, ethanol exports are on pace to break an all-time record. (Henry, AgriNews)

White House schedule: President Joe Biden will receive the Daily Brief at 11 a.m. and a briefing on artificial intelligence in the afternoon. In the evening he will travel to Camp David. Vice President Kamala Harris will receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff.

What to do about rural Indiana?

Posted on by Morton Marcus

INDIANAPOLIS — In April, the Indianapolis Business Journal asked the then six Republican candidates for governor: “What would you do to boost the economy of rural Indiana?”

They gave us all the answers: education, business investment, health care, child care, Main Streets, agricultural research, entrepreneurship and, my favorite, “maximize the expertise at Purdue.”

What do we see when we believe a place needs a “boost”? Is it a loss of population or just a slower rate of growth than other places? Is population the only factor? And given the answers above from the candidates, should our actions be different for urban versus rural areas?

Where is the need? Population offers an easy answer. In 2020, at the time of the last U.S. Census, 44 Hoosier counties had fewer people than their peak populations. Peaks were determined from a table of seven Census years (1900, 1920, 1940, 1960, 1980, 2000 and 2020).     

Lake County was the biggest numeric loser, down by 24,300 from its 1980 level of 523,000 people. But that was less than a 5% decline in 40 years, an average annual loss of 607 residents (0.12%). Is that a crisis?

Compare that to the biggest percentage decline of 44% (12,200 people) in Vermillion County. Here the population was 27,600 in 1920, over a hundred years ago. The annual loss was 122 people. Is Vermillion in crisis or has it adjusted to its reality?

To answer that question, dig down to the township level. In Lake County, only 3 of 11 townships lost population. Calumet Township dropped 118,900 (56%) of its residents, North Township lost 47,400 (23%) and Hobart Township was down 1,900 (4%). The other eight townships gained 209,400.

In Vermillion County, each of the five townships lost population from their respective peaks. Clinton and Vermillion townships each lost more than half their peak populations.

Lake County is an example of population shifts resulting from household income growth combined with racial/ethnic bias. Vermillion County is likely the poster child for the loss of an industrial base.

What should we do about the 642 Indiana townships (64% of our 1,008 townships) that together were 791,400 below their previous population peaks? Let it be and just recite the mantra of remedies offered by the GOP hopefuls?

What does each county or township have or lack to support economic advances for its citizens? Possibly improved transit and/or roads to jobs elsewhere might be the best route at this time. But any road improvement will be fought by property owners as a danger to children waiting for school buses and old folks picking up the mail.

In fact, anything that facilitates change will bring immediate opposition by those who decry decay yet oppose necessary progressive steps. Rural or urban restoration is an admirable goal but will be a political nightmare when actually attempted.

Morton J. Marcus is an economist. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him and John Guy on the “Who Gets What?” podcast, available at mortonjohn.libsyn.com.

Insider for July 26, 2024

Posted on by NC Insider

YOU DON’T SAY

“To say the job is difficult is to drastically understate the demands of the role.”

UNC Board of Governors Chair Wendy Murphy, on the nearly half million dollars in bonuses paid to System President Peter Hans this year. (The News & Observer, 7/24/24)

Robinson Probe

Laura Leslie and Will Doran, WRAL News, 7/25/24

The wife of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson owes the government thousands of dollars due to claims filed by her nonprofit organization that shouldn’t have been allowed, according to allegations outlined in documents released Thursday by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Yolanda Hill, the second lady of North Carolina, has 15 days to either pay back the money or appeal the department’s decision. A DHHS spokeswoman said her nonprofit owes $24,400.

It comes as her work managing the nonprofit has undergone increased scrutiny during Robinson’s run for governor. Some of his Republican opponents in the GOP primary this spring questioned the work Balanced Nutrition had done, and Hill has previously criticized the state’s investigation into her business as being politically motivated due to her husband’s prominence.

Hill owned and managed Balanced Nutrition, which helped child care facilities obtain federal grant funding for food, until shutting it down this year. The group was also allowed to use some of the funds towards its operations. State officials now say some of the money it received should never have been handed over in the first place. They’re charged with collecting the money on behalf of the federal government.

In some cases, according to the DHHS records, Balanced Nutrition filed claims for the same receipt multiple times, or it filed claims for more money than the receipts showed. In one case, records indicate, the group billed more than $10,000 on behalf of a child care center that hadn’t submitted any claims. DHHS says there’s no record of that money ever being paid to the center. Hill didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did her attorney or the lieutenant governor’s office. A spokeswoman for Robinson’s opponent in the governor’s race, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, declined to comment.

The newest allegations from DHHS come a day after the agency published a report alleging numerous violations made by Balanced Nutrition. That report on Wednesday outlined possible erroneous billing issues and possible record-keeping, bookkeeping and monitoring violations. It also alleges that Hill improperly hired a family member.

Hill and her lawyer also didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday on that report. Robinson’s chief of staff in the lieutenant governor’s office Brian LiVecchi declined to comment on Wednesday, saying the DHHS report “is unrelated to any official business of the Lieutenant Governor’s office.” [Source]

 

Perry Replacement

Holly Jackson, The Washington Daily News, 7/25/24

New Bern Board of Alderman and candidate for North Carolina Senate District 3, Robert “Bob” Brinson, Jr., was nominated to serve the remainder of Senator Jim Perry’s unexpired term.

The 2nd Senatorial District Committee met on July 23 to make the nomination.

“I am both humbled and honored that the 2nd Senatorial District Committee has selected me to fill the unexpired term of Senator Jim Perry. I have treated the position of New Bern Alderman as a neighbor serving neighbors. As the next North Carolina State Senator representing Craven, Beaufort, and Lenoir Counties, I will take this mentality and work ethic with me to continue to serve the people of Eastern North Carolina,” Brinson said in a press release.

The nomination was sent to Gov. Roy Cooper for approval. According to Perry, this is only a formality. If Cooper does not respond to the nomination within seven days, it still becomes law. North Carolina law states Brinson cannot serve two elected positions at the same time; therefore, he will step down as an Alderman.

Brinson will serve until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. When asked what action Brinson may be able to take in the next 100 days, Perry said, “It remains to be seen what, if anything, will be taken up the remainder of the year. While the chances are slim, it’s possible he could vote on legislation later this year.”

Perry continued to say Brinson will most likely spend the next 100 days learning how the Senate works. While in office, Brinson can learn how to communicate with constituents, and various entities in addition to learning about protocols and points of contact. The earlier Brinson can get to the North Carolina Legislative Building, the better, Perry said.

Brinson has served on New Bern’s Board of Alderman, representing the Sixth Ward, since May of 2022. He is a native of New Bern and graduated from New Bern Senior High School.

Per the City of New Bern’s website, “Alderman Brinson is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a Master of Public Administration. After his graduation from West Point, Bob was commissioned in the United States Army in the Aviation Branch. His military career took him all over the United States and around the world. When it came time to transition out of the military, Bob once again made New Bern his home.” [Source]

UNC Bonus

Emmy Martin, The News & Observer, 7/24/24

UNC System President Peter Hans is getting a hefty bonus this year — but it’s about $20,000 less than last year. That’s because his yearly incentive compensation is linked to institutional performance.

The UNC Board of Governors unanimously approved the one-time incentive of $453,720 paid to Hans’ retirement account on Wednesday, doubling his base salary for the year of $454,564. It’s the first time Hans’ bonus incentive amount decreased.

His first bonus, awarded to him in November 2021, was $300,000. In 2022, he received a $451,200 bonus. Last year, he received $475,200.

Compared to previous presidents Margaret Spellings and Bill Roper, Hans’ base salary is low. When he began the job, his salary was $400,000. Spellings and Roper had a $775,000 base salary with approximately $100,000 in annual bonuses.

Last year, his position’s annual base salary was $424,350, UNC System spokesperson Andy Wallace told The News & Observer.

In 2020, Hans asked for that amount paired with incentive increases of up to $600,000 tied to institutional performance. “I am bound by the metrics, appropriately so,” he told The N&O after the board meeting on Wednesday.

The presidential assessment committee conducts annual performance checks for the system president and plays a big part in deciding the size of Hans’ bonuses. The committee assessed the president’s performance and presented its report to the Board of Governors on Wednesday.

Hans’ performance for the year was measured through an incentive compensation program based on specific quantitative and qualitative performance goals set by the Board of Governors, board Chair Wendy Murphy said.

Quantitative performance metrics for Hans that the committee looked at included increasing on-time graduation for first-time and transfer undergraduate students, reducing education and related expenses per degree completed, and reducing the average student loan debt of bachelor’s degree recipients as a percentage of per-capita income. Qualitative metrics revolved around his leadership and management of UNC System operations.

Murphy praised Hans for his leadership, saying “to say the job is difficult is to drastically understate the demands of the role.” [Source]

Harris Event

Laura Leslie, WRAL News, 7/25/24

Gov. Roy Cooper spoke at an event for the Harris campaign Thursday, his first appearance since Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. This comes amid speculation that he might be chosen to join her on the ticket.

Cooper has served as a Biden campaign surrogate in North Carolina for some time, but it was a much more energized crowd Thursday at the Democratic campaign headquarters in downtown Raleigh, where Cooper got a rock star welcome from a faithful party.

On Thursday, Cooper gave a full endorsement of Harris’s presidential bid. He was once again asked about the national speculation that he may be chosen as her running mate; however, he was not forthcoming about his status in the vice president search. Cooper said he respects the process and declined to answer further questions about it, including what his family thinks about the prospect. He said there are several very strong contenders for vice president.

“There are a lot of people that she can choose,” Cooper said. “She’s going to make the right choice. I just want her to choose the person that gets the best chance to win.”

Cooper did have some thoughts about J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee he would go up against if he’s Harris’ pick. He called Vance Trump’s “mini-me” and said the Ohio senator’s support for a national abortion ban, with no exception for rape or incest, probably wouldn’t play well in North Carolina or a lot of other states. [Source]

Flag Ceremony

Clifton Dowell, State Affairs Pro, 7/25/24

Flags were exchanged amid military fanfare Thursday as Gov. Roy Cooper and leaders of the North Carolina National Guard welcomed delegations from the African nations of Malawi and Zambia, the state’s new partners in a program intended to foster international cooperation.

Administered by the federal National Guard Bureau, the State Partnership Program has been successfully building relations for more than 30 years and now includes 96 partnerships with 106 nations around the globe, according to information provided by the National Guard. Through SPP, the National Guard conducts military-to-military engagements in support of defense security goals but also leverages whole-of-society relationships.

Cooper said that the state has benefited from such partnerships since 1996 and that he is glad to add Malawi and Zambia. 

“We’ve already benefited immensely from an existing relationship with Moldova and Botswana through civilian and military engagement, reciprocal higher education, agriculture, economic development, medical sector collaboration and a whole lot more,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to work with both of these nations moving forward as we strive to build a stronger North Carolina.”

Pairing North Carolina with Malawi and Zambia was no accident, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Todd Hunt, adjutant general of North Carolina, said. 

“The North Carolina National Guard has a rich history in … the State Partnership Program,” he said. “However, this partnership we competed for. We wanted to be partners with Zambia. We were not told to be partners with Zambia and Malawi. We competed.”

Davis Vote

Danielle Battaglia, McClatchy, 7/25/24

A North Carolina Democrat joined House Republicans in a symbolic vote Thursday morning that targets Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris as she launches her presidential campaign.

The House voted 220 to 196 in favor of a resolution condemning Harris as a failed “border czar” for her work on immigration policy.

Rep. Don Davis of Snow Hill was among six Democrats who sided with Republicans Thursday. “After making three trips to the southern border, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of comprehensive immigration reform, including securing the border,” Davis said in a written statement to McClatchy. “As the Administration transitions, it’s essential to continue listening and stepping up efforts to address these significant concerns. Likewise, Congress must put politics aside and work together in a bipartisan manner to accomplish this.”

Immigration is becoming a key issue in the 2024 presidential campaign after President Joe Biden announced he would end his reelection bid and instead endorsed Harris to succeed him.

Republicans immediately began attacking Harris on her work at the country’s southern border. In early 2021, Biden chose Harris to lead an effort collaborating with Central American countries to address an increase in migration and find its root cause.

In Republicans’ resolution Thursday, they faulted Harris for waiting 93 days to visit the border, for her failure to meet with some immigration officials and for the number of people who’ve entered the country without permission.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference, wasted no time Monday filing the resolution, following Biden’s withdrawal from the race. Despite the bill passing in the House, it is highly unlikely that it would be taken up in the Senate, which is narrowly led by Democrats.

Davis was joined by Democratic Reps. Yardira Caraveo of Colorado; Henry Cuellar of Texas; Jared Golden of Maine; Mary Peltola of Alaska; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington in supporting the resolution’s passage.

All six have competitive campaigns this election cycle. Davis is running for reelection in North Carolina’s only true competitive district.

After North Carolina’s legislators redrew the congressional districts, Davis became the only congressman in a district whose voters are a toss-up on whether they’d select a Republican or a Democrat. Davis is known to be a moderate Democrat who doesn’t always vote with his party.

The Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy ranked Davis as the fifth most bipartisan representative in Congress and the most bipartisan freshman Democrat. He’s running against Republican Army veteran Laurie Buckhout. [Source]

 

Stein Ad

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer, 7/25/24

A new ad promoting North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s response to the fentanyl crisis will start running during the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

Stein is the Democratic nominee for governor and running against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. In the new television and digital ad airing first on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, a mother talks about her son who died from an accidental fentanyl overdose after taking cocaine laced with fentanyl. The ad features Debbie Dalton of Cornelius talking about her late son Hunter, who grew up on Lake Norman.

Hunter Dalton, 23, graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2016, moved to Raleigh and died that same year. His family and friends started The Hunter Dalton #HDLife Foundation in his memory. Dalton has spoken at news conferences with Stein in his role as attorney general.

In the ad, Dalton praises Stein for his work on the fentanyl crisis as attorney general, “Attorney General Josh Stein stood up for families like mine, worked with law enforcement, and worked across party lines to attack the fentanyl crisis.”

Dalton, who is registered in Mecklenburg County as a Democrat and voted Democratic in two primary elections, told The News & Observer in a phone interview that she registered that way for the primaries, but that she voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020.

She said she likes Stein for governor because she thinks “he’s a fighter, but what touched me so much about Josh Stein when I met him was, it was a very serendipitous meeting, and he was so compassionate, and I really felt like he cared.”

Dalton said fentanyl is “one of the most critical things, quite frankly, in our country right now” and she “fiercely” believes in Stein’s fight against it. “I have voted both parties, but I typically do vote Republican. I vote for the candidate, and Josh Stein has proven to me that he cares about this and that he is going to fight for us. And I personally, on a very personal level, don’t want anyone to go through what our family has gone through. And I feel like he’s a guy that’s going to make a difference, and I don’t see that with his opponent,” she told The N&O.

Stein has pushed for a Fentanyl Control Unit at the N.C. Department of Justice and has been part of lawsuits leading to a series of settlements with pharmaceutical companies over opioid misuse, totaling $56 billion with $1.5 billion going to North Carolina. He also called for more funding from Congress for fentanyl scanners at the southern U.S. border. Republicans have pointed to illegal border crossings as the reason for the fentanyl crisis.

Stein has not taken a position on Republican-written House Bill 10, which would require sheriffs to cooperate with detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Robinson supports HB 10 and has said if he wins, his administration would “work with ICE to ensure immigration law is followed and upheld in our state, and keep violent, dangerous illegal immigrants off our streets to keep North Carolina families safe.” [Source]

 

Auditor’s Race

Chris Roush, Business NC, 7/25/24

For the first time since 2008, North Carolina voters will elect a new state auditor. And the candidates have different opinions about what the position should do in the future.

Jessica Holmes was sworn in as state auditor in December 2023, replacing Beth Wood, who resigned after she was indicted, and later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for misusing a state-issued vehicle for personal activities. Holmes is now running for a full term. Holmes, a Democrat, was previously a Wake County commissioner and deputy commissioner of the N.C. Industrial Commission. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.

She faces David Boliek, a Fayetteville attorney and member of the UNC-Chapel Hill board of trustees. Boliek also holds a bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill as well as a law degree from Campbell University. A Republican, Boliek won a run-off to be in the general election.

The state auditor reviews more than $100 billion in state assets and liabilities each year and audits programs that contribute tens of billions of dollars in federal money to the state. Each year, it investigates hundreds of cases of alleged fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Holmes says she’s most proud of two recent audits – the annual statewide single audit, which identified $467,246 in questioned costs, and an audit at Fayetteville State University, which discovered employees allegedly spent $692,239 on “unallowable” credit card purchases.

The 2023 statewide single audit examined how the state spent $35 billion in federal awards that were distributed to 618 programs managed by 103 different state entities, including the university and community college systems.

“I like to say that money isn’t red or blue, it’s green,” says Holmes. “My job is simply to follow the money regardless of where it goes without being biased or leaning any particular way, with a personal focus on integrity, accountability and transparency.”

If elected, Holmes said she would take a “very unbiased approach, instead of targeting a particular state agency.” The auditor’s office receives about 800 tips a year. “I don’t have my eye on any particular agency,” she says. “I want to make sure that I am impartial and looking at all the agencies and following the money.”

Boliek would take a different approach. He’d like to audit the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles and says he’d take a “hard look” at nongovernment organizations that receive state money to perform state services. “Sometimes that is an appropriate appropriation, and they may be sitting in the best position to accomplish the best goals for the state of North Carolina, but they should be audited,” says Boliek.

Boliek notes that the state auditor focuses on finances and compliance, but he would like it to look at performance as well. “It goes back to performance audits in state government, holding them accountable with an eye toward customer service,” he says. “I really think the auditor’s office can be another place in state government that helps to keep the economic engine that has been created in North Carolina.”

Holmes, the first Black female to serve on the N.C. Council of State, expressed a similar point of view. “The more efficient our government is, the better return on investment for the taxpayers, and we get to keep more money in our pockets,” she says, adding she is not “spewing political rhetoric. I am here to do my job. I am here for the right reasons and I have the best of interests for my state.”

A Libertarian, Bob Drach, is also running for state auditor. He said on Ballotpedia that he would “focus on retaining the excellent audit staff, recruiting additional talent, continuing key investigations, and keeping technology current.” [Source]

 

Campaign Funds

Elyse Apel, The Center Square, 7/25/24

With 103 days to Nov. 5, Democrats are out-fundraising Republicans in the top state-wide elections across North Carolina.

These races, often called the Council of State election races, include the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, commissioners of agriculture, insurance, and labor, the secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, and superintendent of public instruction. Of those 10 elections, Democrats ended the second fundraising quarter of the year with more cash than their opponents in six of them, according to campaign finance reports.

In the governor’s race, Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein raised more than double the amount of money for his campaign than Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Stein spent $10.6 million and raised $13 million from individuals, ending the period with $15.9 million in the bank. Robinson spent $3 million, raised $4.5 million from individuals, and ended with $6.6 million.

Democratic candidate Rachel Hunt is faring similarly successfully in the race for lieutenant governor. She ended the period with just over $1 million, while her Republican opponent Hal Weatherman had only $113,000. Hunt, daughter of four-term former Gov. Jim Hunt, raised $888,000 in individual donations, while Weatherman raised $390,000 and spent $350,000.

In the hotly-contested race for attorney general, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson ended the period with $5.7 million in the bank to Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop’s $2.7 million. In the second fundraising quarter, which ended on June 30, Jackson raised $3.7 million from individuals, while Bishop brought in $1.2 million from individual donors.

Steve Troxler, seeking a sixth consecutive four-year term as agriculture commissioner, is one of the Republicans who finished with more funding than his Democratic opponent Sarah Taber, even though she raised more money. Troxler ended the period with $191,000 to Taber’s $101,000, while they raised $140,000 and $142,000 respectively.

In the insurance commissioner race, Democratic state Sen. Natasha Marcus raised $257,000 and ended June with $412,000 on hand. Incumbent Republican Mike Causey raised only $31,000, ending with $44,000.

Braxton Winston II went unchallenged in the Democratic primary for labor commissioner, yet still spent $81,000 over the spring. He ended the period with only $52,000, while his Republican opponent Luke Farley ended it with $134,000.

In the secretary of state race, incumbent Democrat Elaine Marshall – first woman elected to statewide office and seeking an eighth consecutive four-year term – had nearly 10 times the amount of money her Republican opponent Chad Brown had at the end of the period. Marshall raised $261,000, accumulating $335,000 by June 30, while Brown raised only $26,000 and ended with $40,000.

Republican Dave Boliek spent over half a million dollars in the second quarter to win the Republican primary for state auditor, but ended with only $62,000 on hand, compared to Democrat Jessica Holmes’ $113,000. Holmes was appointed to the post by Gov. Roy Cooper in December. Holmes, beaten by Josh Dobson in the labor commissioner race of 2020, raised $103,000 from individuals, while Boliek brought in $419,000.

The race for state treasurer is another one where Republicans took a lead, with Brad Briner ending with just over half a million dollars at $503,000. Wesley Harris, the Democrat on the ticket, ended with $275,000. He fundraised $381,000 from individuals, while Briner brought in significantly less at $272,000.

Democrat Mo Green is also raking in donations in North Carolina’s election race for superintendent of public instruction, bringing more than six times the amount of Republican opponent Michele Morrow. Green ended the quarter with $578,384, raising just over $600,000, while Morrow had only $14,000 left and brought in $45,000. [Source]

Plasma Medications

Bradley George, WUNC Radio, 7/25/24

A bipartisan group of North Carolina lawmakers supports a bill that would reduce the cost of medicines made from blood plasma. Plasma medications treat rare, autoimmune diseases. They’re also expensive — running anywhere from $500 to $3,000.

A bill in Congress called the PLASMA Act would require manufacturers to pay more of the cost for patients covered by the Medicare drug program. If enacted into law, the measure will alter a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that requires drug makers to pay a rebate to Medicare if they raise prices at a rate higher than inflation.

North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, alongside Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly.

“It is critical patients with rare diseases and immunodeficiencies have uninterrupted access to the life-saving plasma-based medicines they need,” Tillis said in a statement. “This commonsense legislation increases access to these innovative medications and ensures they remain affordable for the thousands of Americas who rely on them.”

Several North Carolina House lawmakers, including Republican Richard Hudson and Democrat Don Davis, support a similar measure introduced last year.

Plasma medicines are a major industry in North Carolina. Biopharma company Grifols operates one of the nation’s largest plasma processors in Johnston County. [Source]

 

Tobacco IDs

Emily Vespa, NC Health News, 7/25/24

North Carolina is teetering on the edge of losing roughly $5.4 million in federal funds for combating the opioid epidemic and supporting substance use disorder treatment. If the state doesn’t slash youth tobacco access, it could forfeit funding. But North Carolina’s tobacco laws have made that difficult.

To receive federal block grant funding for substance use treatment and prevention, federal law says states have to annually survey a random sample of tobacco retailers and report the percentage of them that sell to people under 21 — the federal minimum tobacco sale age. If that percentage, called the retailer violation rate, exceeds 20 percent (with a  +/-3 percent margin of error), a state could face penalties, including up to a 10 percent cut in its grant funding.

North Carolina’s retailer violation rate is pushing the margin of error of that 20 percent limit: It was 21.9 percent in the 2023 federal fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30, 2023.

The state’s annual survey “continues to show an increase in the percentage of retailers who do not check ID and sell to minors,” a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services wrote in an email. If North Carolina doesn’t correct its course, it could put a portion of those federal dollars, which total more than $44 million a year, at risk.

A DHHS official said North Carolina’s Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Block Grant funding pays for:

  • Substance use disorder treatment for youth and adults across the state, administered through local behavioral health management companies. 
  • Substance use prevention efforts through education in schools and prevention coalitions.

The rate’s been creeping up in part because of a limit on state law enforcement authority: North Carolina’s Alcohol Law Enforcement can’t enforce the federal minimum tobacco sale age, only the state’s, which is 18. That hinders its capability to reduce tobacco access for 18- to 20-year-olds.

In the past year, N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement also reduced its tobacco enforcement due to unspecified “competing priorities,” according to the 2024 survey report, which gets sent off to the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. [Source]

 

Carbon Emissions

Zachary Turner, WFAE Radio, 7/24/24

Duke Energy is in the process of finalizing its plan to power North Carolina while reducing emissions. Last week, Duke Energy, the state’s consumer advocacy group, and two business groups reached an agreement about what that plan should look like. The new plan includes fewer gas-powered generators in the near term, an expedited timeline for offshore wind and a possible hydrogen-fuel pilot project.

North Carolina law mandates state utilities eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050. The state legislature set a 70% reduction goal by 2030 to stay on track. Duke had said it couldn’t meet that goal and maintain reliability. The agreement sets the interim target at 2035, in line with what Duke had said was feasible.

Regulators will examine the plan and decide by the year’s end. This week regulators along with environmental, consumer and business groups are questioning experts on their recommendations for Duke Energy’s carbon reduction plan. [Source]

Electric Buses

Shea Carver, Port City Daily, 7/24/24

Pender County’s school board took up numerous issues in the last week, some of which have drawn ire in the past but other seemingly routine votes that ended up taking hours of conversation, multiple days of meetings and some flaring tempers. Multiple items were left deprived of resolution last Tuesday, leading the all-Republican board to meet again earlier this week in a special session to revote.

Approved Monday was an 80% payout to Moseley Architects via Bordeaux Construction for a design-build contract on the district’s new K-8 school. Two parking projects also were taken up.

However, one issue with a successful vote last Tuesday, July 16, included the cancellation of the contract with Duke Energy to provide three electric buses to the district. They would be paid for via a grant stemming from the $30 million North Carolina Volkswagen Settlement Program. It’s been a hot topic since the board passed the contract in last year or so, with Phil Cordeiro and Brent Springer dissenting.

Some conservatives have shoo-shooed its support, citing it as unnecessary spending and pushing President Joe Biden’s “green agenda.” The contract stipulates PCS will receive the EV chargers for the buses on loan until the end of 2025. Then, Duke Energy has the option to transfer ownership at no cost or “minimal payment” to the district.

Some board members took issue with this, not knowing how much the electric company could charge the district. They asked Chief Auxiliary Services Officer Michael Taylor to request Duke Energy amend its contract to reflect only charging the district $1 for the stations at the end of the contract; Duke denied the request.

Last September, Springer brought up a motion to cancel the contract upon hearing this, agreed by Cordeiro. However, members Beth Burns, Ken Smith and Don Hall dissented, so the motion failed. It was déjà vu Tuesday, as Springer brought up the cancellation of the contract again, citing no movement has taken place with the stations or electric buses so far.

“While I had hoped the project would move more quickly, I didn’t see that as a reason to abandon the project in its entirety,” Burns wrote in an email to PCD, nor did she think the district should cease a contract it already agreed to.

Cordeiro suggested staff work with the Department of Public Instruction to relay the board’s desire to get out of the contract: “I’m sure you can make it work.” Taylor asked if the attorney, Brandon McPherson, would be able to help, to which he said yes, but not before Hall interrupted again: “We’re done with this discussion,” he snapped, before rocking back in his chair. “I’ve heard all I want to hear about an electric bus, for eternity.” [Source]

 

RTP Transit

Richard Stradling, The News & Observer, 7/25/24

In the 1990s, transportation planners picked a wooded lot on the edge of Research Triangle Park to build a station for buses and commuter trains. More than 25 years later, the trees are all still there. But now GoTriangle, the regional bus system, has received $25 million from the federal government to help build a new station on the land, near the corner of N.C. 54 and South Miami Boulevard.

The station, which GoTriangle calls the Triangle Mobility Hub, will replace the agency’s bare-bones transfer center carved out of a parking lot about a mile and a half away. GoTriangle hopes to begin using the station by the end of 2028.

This transit hub will help the Research Triangle Foundation fulfill its vision of turning RTP into more of a 24-hour place, rather than a suburban office park that everyone leaves each afternoon. The foundation owns the 19-acre site and will seek to rezone the land around the station for a more urban mix of apartments, restaurants and offices. The land also abuts the main rail line between Raleigh and Durham and is considered a potential stop for commuter trains someday.

The foundation, which manages the 7,000-acre park, is also urging Amtrak and the state to add a stop at the site for the Piedmont, the train that makes four daily round trips between Charlotte and Raleigh, said Travis Crayton, the foundation’s vice president of planning and public policy.

“We do see future Amtrak Piedmont service to RTP as very complementary to this,” Crayton said. [Source]

 

Charlotte JetBlue

WBTV News, 7/25/24

JetBlue will no longer operate flights to and from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. A representative from the airline confirmed to WBTV on Thursday, July 25 that their last day of service in Charlotte will be Oct. 26. The end of the service comes after a lack of customer demand, according to the airline.

JetBlue operations will still continue out of the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. A corporate representative also said that impacted customers will automatically have their tickets refunded.

“Exiting a market is a difficult decision and we were privileged to have served in Charlotte,” a statement read, in part. [Source]

 

Brunswick Green Space

Bob Liepa, State Port Pilot, 7/25/24

A series of recommendations regarding green space in Brunswick County may have some people seeing red. Brunswick’s planning staff has produced nine proposed amendments to the county’s unified development ordinance (UDO) that are aimed at protecting trees and greenery, but they are far from receiving a green light.

The proposed amendments presented by Deputy County Manager Haynes Brigman to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners on July 8 were created at the direction of the commissioners in response to the public’s request to address development outcomes related to clearcutting and tree protections.

The recommendations the planning staff came up with were unanimously supported by the planning board in April, said Brigman. However, he said, when the planning staff returned in May with specific proposed amendments based on those recommendations, the planning board voted to deny them, 5-0.

“They didn’t provide staff with any other directions to make amendments or alterations or changes to those,” Brigman said during the meeting at the David R. Sandifer County Administration Building in Bolivia. “They were simply denied.”

Brunswick County Planning Board Chairman Eric Dunham did not respond to requests for comment prior to the deadline, and planning board vice chair Joy Easley declined to comment.

Brigman said the development community does not support any of the proposed amendments, but has given no further feedback. He did say the development community has expressed concern over reducing the amount of developable land by increasing recreation areas as proposed. “Their concern is that there could be additional housing costs and development costs associated with that,” said Brigman.

The proposed amendments address required trees, the amount of required open space, usable recreation space, street buffers and an updated landscaping species list recommended by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Incentives for maintaining existing trees would be included, but there would be no mandate to do so. [Source]

 

Economic Mobility

David Mildenberg, Business NC, 7/25/24

A study released Thursday by the Harvard University affiliate that studies effectiveness in enabling poor families to climb the economic ladder said that Charlotte has moved up to No. 38 among the 50 cities examined by Professor Raj Chetty.

The new report also shows Charlotte was ranked No. 3 out of 50 on economic mobility progress, while Mecklenburg is the only U.S. county where low-income white children did not experience a decline in economic mobility.  Raleigh ranked No. 48 in the 2014 study, and is now 41. The state capital is No. 14 on the most improved list.

The initial Chetty study embarrassed Charlotte leaders, sparking a variety of responses to help low-income and diverse residents join in the overall economic prosperity of North Carolina’s largest city. Critics questioned the study’s validity, noting that Charlotte’s above-average economic growth in recent decades has provided more economic opportunity than many peer cities.
Many efforts have resulted from the city leaders’ commitment for change. They include:

  • The Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative, which includes funding for Johnson C. Smith University aimed at helping it become a top-tier HBCU.
  • The Charlotte Executive Leadership Council’s Leaders on Loan program with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has placed more executives at more than 30 companies and organizations in local public schools.
  • Increasing the Housing Trust Fund from $15M to $50M, with another proposed increase to $100M on the table.Mecklenburg County’s $60M commitment to create Universal Pre-K for 4-year-olds.


“We are in the early innings and we have a long way to go. We need to stay the course,” says Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, who in 2021 launched the Initiative.

In 2017, officials formed Leading on Opportunity, which advocates and tracks progress on economic mobility issues. “Charlotte is a city that in many ways has and continues to be ahead in our approach to community progress,” says Sherri Chisholm, the group’s executive director. “We refused to accept our low ranking, and made a commitment to improve lives in Charlotte.” [Source]

Legislative Sessions, Studies and Meetings

LB: LEGISLATIVE BUILDING. LOB: LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING

HOUSE CALENDAR

Monday, July 29, 2024

  • House Convenes at 12:00 P.M.

SENATE CALENDAR

Monday, July 29, 2024

  • House Convenes at 12:00 P.M.

HOUSE & SENATE: Reconvening allowed under provisions of SB 916, if no sine die adjournment previously adopted.

  • Monday, July 29 to Thursday Aug. 1
  • Monday, Sept. 9 to Wednesday, Sept. 11
  • Wednesday, Oct. 9
  • Tuesday, Nov. 19 to Friday Nov. 22
  • Wednesday, Dec. 11 to Friday Dec. 13

N.C. Government Meetings and Hearings

BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS

Wednesday, July 31

  • 10 a.m. | North Carolina State Board of Education meets, 1 South Wilmington St, Raleigh.

Thursday, Aug. 1

  • 6 p.m. | The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality Public Hearing on Moriah Energy Center Draft Air Quality Permit, Vance-Granville Community College, 200 Community College Road, Henderson.

Monday, Aug. 5

  • 9 a.m. | The Board Development Committee of The North Carolina Partnership for Children meets, The meeting will be held via Zoom. You may contact Yvonne Huntley at 984.221.1242 or email at [email protected] for additional information.

Tuesday, Aug. 6

  • 9 a.m. | The Council of State meets. 1 South Wilmington St, Raleigh.

Monday, Aug. 19

  • 2 p.m. | The Executive Committee of The North Carolina Partnership for Children meets, The meeting will be held via Zoom. You may contact Yvonne Huntley at 984.221.1242 or email at [email protected] for additional information.

UNC Board of Governors

23 S. WEST STREET, SUITE 1800, RALEIGH

Wednesday, Sept. 11

  • Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Sept. 12

  • Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Oct. 17

  • Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Wednesday, Nov. 13

  • Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

Thursday, Nov. 14

  • Meeting of the Board of Governors, TBA.

N.C. Utilities Commission Hearing Schedule

DOBBS BUILDING, 430 NORTH SALISBURY STREET, RALEIGH

Tuesday, Aug. 13

  • 10 a.m. | Public Hearing – Annual Review of Gas Costs | G-5 Sub 675

Wednesday, Aug. 14

  • 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Tuesday, Aug. 20

  • 6 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for Transfer of Public Utility Franchise and Approval of Rates of HISCO East, LLC in Carteret County to HISCO I in Carteret County | W-1297 Sub 17, W-1344 Sub 0
  • 6 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and for Approval of Rates to Provide Sewer Utility Service to Currently Served Cape Ponte Village Subdivision, Additional Phases for the National Park Service, Harkers Island RV Park and a Fe | W-1344 Sub 1

Wednesday, Aug. 21

  • 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Thursday, Aug. 22

  • 7 p.m. | Public Witness Hearing – Application for General Rate Increase for Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. | G-9 Sub 837

Other Meetings and Events of Interest

BOLD ITEMS ARE NEW LISTINGS

Saturday, July 27

9 a.m. | North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans Convention, The Farm at 95, Selma..

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