Governor's Attorney: McCrory Will Veto Coal Ash Panel Bill
Gov. Pat McCrory's administration says legislation reconstituting a commission to oversee the cleanup of North Carolina's coal ash pits could mean more litigation and derail a plan to get permanent drinking water more quickly to some people living near the ponds.
McCrory attorney Bob Stephens on Tuesday told a House committee that voted for the measure that McCrory will veto the bill in its current form.
McCrory challenged a 2014 law that created the Coal Ash Management Commission. The state Supreme Court ruled in the governor's favor, and he closed it down. Now, legislators want to revive the commission and provide McCrory most of its appointments.
North Carolina Speaker: On LGBT, Charlotte Must Repeal First
Chances appear to be dwindling that North Carolina lawmakers will alter a contentious state law limiting LGBT nondiscrimination protections, because a legislative leader says they won't act until Charlotte first throws out its local ordinance increasing those protections.
House Speaker Tim Moore says he and other Republican legislators want Charlotte to act before any conversations are held on rewriting House Bill 2. Among other things, the state law says transgender people must use public restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their biological sex.
But the city council refused Monday to hold a vote later this week to consider removing the now-nullified city ordinance.
Lynch Says Civil Rights Key To Suit Against NC Law
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch says civil rights laws exist for anyone victimized because of a physical characteristic they can't control.
Lynch was visiting her native state Tuesday for the first time since the U.S. Justice Department sued North Carolina over House Bill 2.
Lynch said she disagreed with conservative black pastors and civil rights figures who hours earlier blasted her comparison of House Bill 2 to Jim Crow laws that relegated blacks to inferior opportunities.
State Senate Wants Quick Standard Deduction Increase
The state Senate has agreed to increase the amount of individual income not subject to North Carolina taxes even more.
The chamber voted unanimously Tuesday for legislation that would grow standard deductions by a total of $1,000 to $2,000 — depending on a person's tax filing status — by next year. A married couple filing jointly wouldn't pay taxes on their first $16,500 of income in 2016 and $17,500 in 2017. The legislature already agreed last year to raise deductions a little this year.
Increasing deductions lowers a filer's tax bill and largely benefits people making less than $80,000. The bill would cost $145 million in state revenues to implement.
Former North Carolina Lawmaker Parmon Remembered By Colleagues
Former colleagues of a late North Carolina General Assembly member recalled her for taking on tough issues and caring for people in need.
The Senate and House approved a resolution Tuesday honoring Earline Parmon, who died in March at age 72. The Forsyth County Democrat was elected to the state Senate in 2012 after serving in the House for 10 years. Before that, she was a county commissioner.
Legislators talked on the floor about Parmon's efforts to financially compensate those sterilized under North Carolina's defunct eugenics program. She also sponsored a law so convicted murderers could have death sentences reduced to life in prison if they could prove racial bias influenced the outcome of their cases.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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