House Bills Senate Bills Notable Quotes Arizona-like Immigration Bill Introduced
In the wake of failed attempts by Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, states and localities have increased their own efforts to enforce current immigration laws and to implement new programs designed to reduce immigration. Many of these efforts have created a more hostile environment toward immigrants, with people – both documented and undocumented – living in fear of harassment, arrest and possible [...]
Continue reading Arizona-like Immigration Bill Introduced: Raleigh Report, May 3, 2013
With the passage of deadlines for the introduction of most bills, there’s been a flurry of new legislation. This issue of Raleigh Report will cover some of these new bills, with others to come in the next issue. [...]
Continue reading Deadlines Pass – Raleigh Report April 22, 2013
Many of you who attended the 2013 Legislative Seminar expressed an interest in having portions of the day available online, and we have started that process. Audio from the Rev. Joe Brown’s opening worship, the Rev. Fletcher Harper’s plenary “Communicating the Values We Believe,” and Gene Nichol’s luncheon address are now available on our seminar page, along with Fletcher’s Power Point presentation. Video, additional photos and audio, as well as other resources will be posted [...]
Continue reading Legislative Seminar Page Features Podcasts, Pictures and More
There’s no telling how the tax cookies will crumble by the time the 2013 General Assembly closes shop. But chief bakers in both the House and Senate seem intent on some manner of “reform.” In sync with Gov. Pat McCrory, they’ve signaled their desire to cut income tax rates, and hopefully to replace lost revenue by revamping the sales tax to cover more kinds of transactions.
The concerns here are twofold: 1) whether a realigned [...]
Continue reading Tax Reform Cookies
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Voter Suppression & Campaign Finance Other New Bills Commentary Tax Fairness Public Education Voting Rights Death Penalty Rush to the Right Continues
From the first days of this legislative session, we’ve seen challenges to many advances our state has made in recent decades. It’s frustrating to watch the Council’s work for prophetic social justice and the common [...]
Continue reading Rush to the Right Continues (Raleigh Report, April 5, 2013)
Gun bills that extend the availability and use of guns flood the General Assembly. [...]
Continue reading Raleigh Report-Gun Bills Flood In
As you probably know, the Voting Rights Act is being challenged in the US Supreme Court, and General Assembly leaders in Raleigh are renewing their push to pass laws that will make voting harder, especially for African Americans, seniors who no longer drive, people who don’t own a car, and other low-income voters.
These legislators would create a new barrier for voters by requiring them to show a current driver’s license or other government photo [...]
Continue reading Resources for Voting Rights Sunday
There will be no more important and overarching issue before the General Assembly this year than tax reform. Proposals being floated by legislative leaders would reduce or eliminate personal and corporate income taxes and replace lost revenues by increasing the sales tax, eliminating exemptions, and/or making further cuts in funding to crucial state programs. This would mean a decidedly regressive turn to the state’s tax structure and would bring hardship to vulnerable people.
We have a chance to hear [...]
Continue reading Faith and Fair Taxation Expert at WFU
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Attacks on Struggling North Carolinians Advance Medicaid Coverage Unemployment Insurance Earned Income Tax Credit Fracking Moratorium Gun Violence Raise the Age Refusing to Extend Medicaid Coverage
SB 4, which would deny Medicaid coverage to more than a half million North Carolinians under the Affordable Care Act and also would put the state under a federal Health Benefits Exchange, has passed both [...]
Continue reading Raleigh Report – February 25, 2013
Payday Lending What It Is, How It Harms People, Why We Don’t Need It Back
Payday lending, sadly, could be coming back to North Carolina. It was banned by the General Assembly in 2001, and strong enforcement by Attorney General Roy Cooper has led to its disappearance from NC. If payday lending returns, it will be because the current General Assembly and Governor want it back.
For those of us with no [...]
Continue reading Raleigh Report – February 21, 2013
If you are interested in attending, but have not pre-registered, you may call our office at 919-828-6501 on Tuesday, April 9 until 5:00 p.m.
Gene Nichol, Director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the UNC-CH School of Law will be the lunch speaker at this year’s Legislative Seminar.The day’s topic for Nichol, who is also the school’s Boyd Tinsley Distinguished Professor, is “It’s Better Not to Be Poor in NC.”
The seminar takes [...]
Continue reading Program and Registration for 2013 Legislative Seminar
Yesterday morning the Senate Rules Committee unveiled a committee substitute for SB 10 which would effectively kick off all of the members of several influential commissions, including the Environmental Management Commission, the Coastal Resources Commission, the Utilities Commission, and the Lottery Commission, and then enable the General Assembly and the Governor to appoint new members. [...]
Continue reading Raleigh Report – February 6, 2013
After a one-day organizational meeting in early January, the 2013 General Assembly convened in earnest last Wednesday. Bills introduced and advanced during these first two days give a taste of things to come. Note especially the bills affecting the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, weakening the benefits of unemployment insurance, and extending the presence of guns. [...]
Continue reading Raleigh Report – February 1, 2013
One of the most insidious proposals coming up in the General Assembly session is the one to require people to show photo IDs in order to vote. It has the potential to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in NC. Proponents argue that it will prevent voter fraud, but they are unable to point to more than a handful of possible (not confirmed) cases of fraud, hardly enough to justify excluding so many voters. Opponents [...]
Continue reading What’s Wrong with Photo ID?
You probably already know that the General Assembly goes into session on Wednesday, January 30. They’ve already had a one-day organizational meeting. You probably also already know that this will be a difficult session for those of us who have worked for years (or even decades) for justice for all North Carolinians, especially the most vulnerable in our midst. Because of that, there are two important events I hope you’ll put on your calendars and plan [...]
Continue reading Important Upcoming Events for NC Social Justice Advocates
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