State Policy

September 16, 2014 - The civil rights group has filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections and a local district attorney over a TV ad sponsored by the campaign of state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger that suggests citizens need to show a photo ID to vote -- even though the ID requirement doesn't take effect until 2016. In North Carolina, misrepresenting election law to discourage voting is a felony.

September 12, 2014 - Suppose we stopped bribing companies to do what already benefits them, and instead focused our public dollars on restoring and expanding public services.

September 11, 2014 - An analysis by a voting rights watchdog found that 454 North Carolina citizens who would have been able to successfully cast ballots in previous elections had their votes discounted in this year's primary because of the state's new election law -- and those affected were disproportionately African Americans and Democrats.

August 29, 2014 - Groups in favor of and opposed to school vouchers have invested heavily in the North Carolina legislature and the state Supreme Court, which is now being asked to release voucher money despite a recent lower court ruling that the program is unconstitutional.

August 28, 2014 - Last week a North Carolina judge minced no words in his ruling that a law giving taxpayer-funded vouchers to low-income families that want to send their children to private schools was a violation of the state constitution and the public good. Supporters of the program have asked the state Supreme Court to take emergency action to release the money anyway.

August 22, 2014 - North Carolina has passed the nation's first state law regulating coal ash, but it's being met with protests for not doing enough to protect public health and the environment -- and for placing oversight in the hands of political appointees in a state where Duke Energy is a major campaign financier.

August 19, 2014 - The first public hearing on North Carolina's proposed fracking rules will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 20 in Raleigh, with three other hearings set for the central and western parts of the state. Environmental advocates have reviewed the rules and are offering their ideas for how they should be changed to better protect natural resources and public health.