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Appeals Court Keeps Voter ID, Tax Cap Ruling Unenforceable
A trial judge's ruling keeping two voter-approved amendments out of North Carolina's Constitution — one of them a photo voter identification requirement — will remain unenforceable while his decision is appealed by Republican lawmakers.
The state Court of Appeals had already granted a temporary delay of the February decision by Wake Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins. On Thursday, the appeals court extended the postponement of Collins' order until it rules on the substance of his decision.
Collins voided the voter ID amendment and another amendment lowering caps on income tax rates that were approved by voters in November.
Bipartisan Bill Aids With Lead Testing In North Carolina Schools
North Carolina House members say bipartisan legislation helping school districts and child care centers test drinking water outlets for lead will help fix problems and ensure that children are in safe and healthy environments.
Legislators on Thursday discussed a bill ordering that tests be performed by mid-2021 in buildings constructed before 1961. Newer buildings would be tested later. The bill provides $8 million to help schools and centers test faucets and water fountains and provide alternate water supplies or filters when elevated lead levels are detected.
Federal Judge: North Carolina Must Stop Limiting Hepatitis Drugs
A federal judge is ordering North Carolina prison authorities to quit denying expensive medicines to most inmates believed to carry a potentially deadly blood-borne infection.
U.S. District Judge William Osteen this week ordered that the three inmates suing prison officials immediately receive the drugs. They cost about $33,000 and are for a hepatitis C treatment regimen that should prevent liver cancer, cirrhosis or other ailments.
The judge said estimates for inmates who may have the infection and could need treatment are between around 6,000 and 12,000 of North Carolina's prison population of 36,000.
Lawmakers Doubt Double-Digit Raises For State Agency Workers
Lawmakers in North Carolina say the state Department of Transportation misinterpreted a state budget provision and gave about 5,300 workers pay raises as high as 65 percent.
The News & Observer reports Wednesday that the 2018 provision gave NCDOT funds to boost salaries that were no longer competitive, but lawmakers say the agency misunderstood how much funding it got.
Three state budget chairmen say NCDOT was supposed to use 2 percent of payroll expenses for raises, but it instead interpreted the provision to mean it could use 2 percent of the state's $3.7 billion in highway funds.
NCDOT has since spent nearly $30 million on the pay hikes. NCDOT officials say they stand by their interpretation of the provision.
Senate Picks 6 To Serve On UNC Board Of Governors
The North Carolina Senate has chosen five current members of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors to serve another four years.
Senators elected six candidates on Thursday from a list of seven. Newcomer Martin Holton III of Winston-Salem was elected along with incumbents Darrell Allison, Thom Goolsby, Anna Spangler Nelson, Temple Sloan and Michael Williford.
Some Democrats in the GOP-led Senate said they voted for less than six names, so their votes weren't counted by rule.
NC Officials To Pay $650K Settlement In Teen Jail Suicide
Officials in North Carolina have agreed to avert a federal lawsuit by paying $650,000 to the mother of a 17-year-old murder suspect who hanged herself in a jail.
The settlement agreement is awaiting approval by a federal judge after being filed Wednesday. In addition to the payment to Julia Graves, its calls for several policy changes at the Durham County Detention Facility, including removing all known suicide hazards by the end of this year.
Seventeen-year-old Uniece Glenae Fennell died in March 2017 after hanging herself with a bedsheet.
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