VOLUME 8 ISSUE 6
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2023
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TRUMP INDICTED, PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 34 FELONY CHARGES Donald Trump became the first American president to be indicted in history, a shocking moment as he sat in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday afternoon. Wearing his signature dark suit and red tie, Trump turned and waved to crowds outside the building before heading inside to be fingerprinted and processed. He arrived at court in an eight-car motorcade from Trump Tower. Trump, who was impeached twice by a Democratically-controlled U.S. House but was never convicted in the U.S. Senate, is the first former president to face criminal charges.
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General Assembly overrides Cooper’s veto of firearms bill
BRIEF this week
Bill reforming state board appointments moves in Senate Raleigh Senate leaders including President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Eden) introduced Senate Bill 512, which establishes new membership for 9 state boards and commissions. The bill would broaden the appointment of members to include more input from those serving on Council of State and in the General Assembly. The affected boards in the bill are the Utilities Commission, Economic Investment Committee, Environmental Management Commission, Commission for Public Health, Board of Transportation, Coastal Resources Commission, Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C. Railroad Board of Directors and UNC Health Care Board of Directors. NSJ STAFF
1st moon crew in 50 years make debut Houston, Tex. NASA named the four astronauts who will fly around the moon late next year, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission. NC State graduate Christina Koch, who holds the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, is one of the four astronauts selected for the mission. “Am I excited? Absolutely,” Koch said to cheers from the crowd of schoolchildren, politicians and others. “But my real question is: ‘Are you excited?’” she said to more cheers. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The veto was Cooper’s 76th as governor and successful override is first since 2018 By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
NC House unveils budget proposal including numerous policy items, school choice State employee pay raises include 4.25% in year one and 3.25% in year two By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — General Assembly lawmakers in the House unveiled their $29.7 billion budget proposal on March 29. The budget contains several spending items related to mental health while adding $100 million to the disaster recovery relief fund, $1.4 billion to regional economic reserves, and $2 billion for water and sewer needs. The House proposal includes pay increases for state employees, members of law enforcement, corrections officers and teachers of 4.25% in the first year of the budget and 3.25% in the second
year. A recurring 1% cost of living (COLA) increase for all state employees is included in each year of the budget. Around $70 million in additional funds for teacher supplement pay in low-wealth county districts is also included. With the inclusion of step increases and additional supplements rolled in, average teacher pay will increase nearly 11% over the biennium. Per sources in the House, Gov. Roy Cooper has already agreed to the budget in advance as part of the agreement reached with Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) to pass Cooper’s long-sought-after goal of expanding Medicaid in the state. That agreement has given rise See BUDGET, page A8
Slow recovery progress questioned again at 3rd legislative hearing NCORR director told her word “doesn’t mean a whole lot.” By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The Hurricane Subcommittee of the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations held another hearing March 29 to receive updates from officials with the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) and the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Testimony was given by Laura Hogshead, director of NCORR, and Richard Trumper, senior ad-
viser for disaster recovery for DPS. Trumper was named to that post beginning Feb. 1. He was previously the executive director of disaster recovery with the Office of State Budget and Management. Trumper, who spoke at the end of the more than two-hour hearing, presented only a few slides that dealt mainly with increasing contractor participation in order to get work moving. While the hearing was less tense than the prior two, at least one lawmaker — Sen. Brent Jackson (R-Sampson) — displayed displeasure with the continued slow progress. Jackson grilled Hogshead on what families were being given
RALEIGH — In back-toback days, both chambers of the General Assembly successfully overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 41, a firearms bill that has a provision repealing the state’s pistol permit purchase process. “This legislation preserves the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians by repealing the outdated pistol permit system. It also allows all churches and other places of religious worship to protect their parishioners and launches a statewide firearm safe storage awareness initiative,” House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) said in a statement. “These have been long-standing goals of Second Amendment advocates in our state, and we have finally brought this legislation over the finish line.” The repeal of the permit process has also had consistent backing from the N.C. Sheriffs’ Association. Sens. Danny Earl Britt, Jr. (R-Robeson), Warren Daniel (R-Burke), Jim Perry (R-Lenoir) and Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck) released the following joint statement on Senate Bill 41 becoming law: “After years of Gov. Roy Cooper obstructing our Constitutional rights, today marks a long overdue
priority, including those who were promised to be home before Christmas last year. Hogsheads said they were “absolutely” a priority. “As I said, the ones that are out of their home are our top priority,” Hogshead said. “The ones that are in temporary relocation assistance have been, and continue to be, our top priority.” Jackson asked the NCORR director how the public will be assured that the most vulnerable are being taken care of. Hogshead responded with, “you have my word on that.” “Well, nothing personal about what I’m fixing to say at all, but based off prior history, your word isn’t worth a whole lot,” Jackson told Hogshead. “Understood,” Hogshead replied. Hogshead’s presentation showed 1,067 completed projects out of See SUBCOMMITTEE, page A2
victory for law-abiding gun owners in our state. By successfully overriding Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, we have guaranteed and secured Second Amendment rights for North Carolinians, and set forth a path to overcoming any future impediments from the lame-duck governor.” The finalized override vote in the Senate was 30-19. In the House, the vote was 71-46. No House Democrats voted to override the veto, but due to attendance levels, the 71 Republicans were enough to meet the required 60% threshold for an override to be successful. Rep. Michael Wray (D-Northampton) did not cast a vote. He had voted in favor of passing the bill and was the co-sponsor of a similar House measure. In addition to Wray, two other Democrats did not cast a vote: Reps. Cecil Brockman (D-Guildford) and Tricia Cotham (D-Mecklenburg). Rep. Shelly Willingham (D-Edgecombe) changed his position on the bill multiple times. He first claimed he would not vote for passage, yet he did end up voting in favor of the bill when the Senate took the passage vote. Willingham also said he would maintain that passage vote, but he then flipflopped and voted against the override. Like Willingham, Rep. Marvin Lucas (D-Cumberland) did not stick to his passage vote and voted against the override. See FIREARMS, page A2