In surveys conducted during the months leading up to the 2016 election, large numbers of Americans reported little interest in the political process. They said things like, “nothing will change,” “the elected leaders just do what they want to,” and “my vote doesn’t really count.” And that, my friends, is the beginning of the end of democracy. We believe there is a better way. For five days across North Carolina, we will offer Faith in Democracy workshops and provide an alternative to the fatalism many feel about the political process….
Uh-Oh – It’s the Legislature, Again
Better get used to it. The N.C. General Assembly, after an all-too-brief adjournment during July, is about to reopen for business in its marble and masonry maze on Raleigh’s Jones Street. Given this legislature’s track record so far, the big question would seem to be: How much more damage will unfold as majority Republicans seek to carve their narrow-minded agenda even more deeply into the state’s civic bedrock? Legislative sessions held during odd-numbered years – the so-called long sessions that typically begin in late January – have varied widely in…
Gerrymander Remedy: Redraw, Now
The Republicans who took control of North Carolina’s General Assembly with the elections of 2010 were, it could be said, licking their chops. They knew that when they came to Raleigh in 2011, a big prize awaited. All they had to do was seize it. And seize it they did. Because of the timing of the most recent, once-a-decade U.S. census, conducted the previous year, 2011 would be the year in which congressional and legislative voting districts were adjusted to account for population changes. The districts are supposed to be…
UPDATE — High Court to NC: Draw Those Districts Fairly
UPDATE In separate, party-line votes on June 8, the state House and Senate rejected Gov. Cooper’s attempt to convene a special session for the purpose of redrawing legislative voting districts. Leaders of the Republican majority argued that Cooper’s proclamation failed to meet standards set forth in the state constitution by which special legislative sessions can be called by the governor. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ What a relief and cause for celebration it would be if North Carolina’s legislative chiefs collectively slapped their brows and exclaimed, “Oh, now we get it! We’re not allowed…
Lines of Influence: Justices Zap Voting Map
Following the elections of 2010 – tilted as they were by an intense right-wing pushback against President Barack Obama midway through his first term – Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly saw themselves as large and in charge. For the first time in the state’s modern history, they had won majorities in both the House and Senate. And the timing was beautiful. They would control the fateful process by which legislative and congressional voting district boundaries were adjusted to reflect population changes documented in the 2010 national census. They would…
2018 Budget Proposal is the Antithesis of our Call
Plenty of analysis is already happening around the 2018 budget proposal out of the White House. The Washington Post provides two helpful graphics here and here. More is being written than most of us can fully absorb, but Politico offers a key observation: On close reading, the budget is less a credible attempt to eliminate, or even pay down, the U.S. debt and more an ideological policy agenda disguised as a program of fiscal responsibility. If the proposal is, as such plans are often described, a place to begin discussion…
Justice on Gerrymandering
Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court affirms what many in North Carolina knew – the state’s congressional districts were deliberately drawn in 2011 to mute the voices of minority voters. By upholding last year’s lower court ruling, the justices reinforced the value of every vote. For the Council and others, this has been and remains a key tenet of justice and equity — allowing every voter, regardless of circumstance, to equally impact the democratic process. This very welcome decision ratifies that.
Raleigh Report — May 10, 2017
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director [For more information on bills, including committee referrals and re-referrals, texts of bills, procedural histories, and recorded votes, go to the General Assembly website www.ncleg.net.] Newly Introduced Bills EDUCATION Three companion bills would impact food served in schools. H 891, Free Breakfast and Lunch in K-12 Public Schools, would provide funds ($200 million per year) to make free breakfast and free lunch available to all public school students who request it. It would also create a fund to which taxpayers could contribute through a…
Retiring Judge Stands Tall
As Shakespeare’s King Lear famously put it, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Top Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly now might well be muttering, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a Republican judge who stands on principle!” Sure, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper had blistered them in vetoing a bill to shrink the Court of Appeals. But Judge Douglas McCullough, who timed his retirement with precision so that Cooper could name his replacement, delivered a rebuke to his fellow…
Raleigh Report — April 26, 2017
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director [The deadlines for the introduction of most new bills have now passed, and we are in Crossover Week. By the end of the week, most non-money bills (i.e., not taxes, fees, or appropriations) must have passed one house in order to remain alive for this session. There are exceptions, and those exceptions can sometimes be used creatively by legislative leaders to keep bills alive. For more information on bills, including committee referrals and re-referrals, texts of bills, procedural histories, and recorded votes, go to…
Raleigh Report — April 21, 2017
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director [For the latest committee referrals and re-referrals, go to the General Assembly website www.ncleg.net. There you can also find the texts of bills, procedural histories, and recorded votes.] Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXES H 727, Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, would add a lengthy and detailed amendment to the state constitution, subject to voter approval. The heart of the amendment is that the state’s budget could not increase each year more than the national inflation rate plus the state’s population growth rate. A larger…
Raleigh Report — April 17, 2017
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Newly Introduced Bills BUDGET AND TAXES H 540, Teachers & State Employees Pay Raise, would give annual raises of $2,400 to teachers and other state employees making less than $100,000/year. The bill would appropriate more than $700 million for the first year of these raises. Introduced by Reps. Malone (R-Wake Forest), Jordan (R-Jefferson), J. Bell (R-Goldsboro), and Hardister (R-Greensboro). Referred to House Appropriations. CHILDREN AND FAMILIES S 594/H 608, Family/Child Protection & Accountability Act, would require the state to develop a plan to divide…
Raleigh Report — April 10, 2017
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Bills are being introduced at a rapid pace as the Senate’s deadline for new bills has passed and the House’s deadline on non-money approaches. This Raleigh Report and another one later in the week will try to catch up with the flood of bills. Newly Introduced Bills CHILDREN AND FAMILIES S 439, Eliminate NC Pre-K Waitlist Statewide, would appropriate $36 million over the next two fiscal years to eliminate the waiting list for the NC Pre-Kindergarten Program (formerly known as More at Four). Introduced…
Shock Waves from High Court ‘Nuke’
Our national politics are in an ugly place, driven by an accelerating cycle of suspicion, accusation, blame, recrimination and retaliation. The circumstances by which Neil Gorsuch takes office as a justice of the Supreme Court sadly fit the mold – to the U.S. Senate’s discredit and the court’s peril. President Trump, with his reckless disregard for long-established norms of presidential conduct, bears his own share of responsibility for the mess. Senate Democrats could rightly question why Trump’s choice for the court deserved the customary deference – what with investigations under…
2017 Legislative Seminar — Thank You plus Worship and Awards Presentation Online
For those who could not be with us at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Raleigh, video from portions of the day is available on our Facebook page. The morning worship was led by the Revs. Jill and Rick Edens of United Church of Chapel Hill, and NCCC board member the Rev. Paula Dempsey provided music. Lisa Price and Congressman David Price received our Faith Active in Public Life Award, marking the first time the honor has been presented to a married couple. We hope those who joined us found…