Governor Pat McCrory has proclaimed May 2-10 as North Carolina’s “Week for the Animals,” an annual event that brings together community organizations, animal welfare organizations, libraries, wildlife centers, educational agencies and animal shelters to celebrate the joy, love and service that animals bring to our lives. From the event’s official website: Through the week, shelters, […]
Under a new law signed by Governor McCrory, your church could qualify for additional tax breaks. House Bill 229 extends property tax exemptions for churches and other religious facilities before they are open — if they are considered to be “under construction.” Normally, property tax exemptions only apply to religious property (land or structures) when […]
There’s nothing quite more thrilling for state government geeks (like us) than the annual publication of the General Assembly’s Summaries of Substantive Ratified Legislation. This weedy tome, of which only a few hundred are printed, is produced at the end of each legislative session by the good folks of the Research Division. The Research Division is a non-partisan central office […]
Four years ago this week, former Democrat Speaker of the House Jim Black was released from federal prison after serving three years of a 63-month federal prison term for corruption charges. Interestingly, the requirement that state legislators comply with ethics laws is a fairly recent phenomenon. After the multi-year cascading corruption scandals that ensnared Mr. […]
Why did the legislature reject federal unemployment payments? This is a common misconception. The legislature did not reject these unemployment payments — the federal government refused to grant them to the citizens of North Carolina. State governments do not have the power or the authority to either pay federal benefits or take away federal benefits. […]
Representatives Rick Catlin, Dana Bumgardner, and Chris Millis have introduced House Bill 893 to investigate how taxpayer dollars are used by North Carolina’s nonprofit organizations in paying employee salaries. As of last year, the state appropriated around $600 million annually to nonprofit corporations; there over 50,000 nonprofit organizations in North Carolina, with a combined annual […]