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Cooper Pitches Budget Fixes GOP Unlikely To Back
Don't expect any compromise to be reached between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican legislators that alters some major provisions in the state budget now that Cooper says he'll veto it.
Cooper said Monday he would consider signing the two-year budget in another form if GOP lawmakers delete a corporate income tax cut and limit the personal income tax cut to those making less than $150,000. His proposed education changes would include improving new and veteran teacher pay and phasing out what critics label private-school "vouchers."
Those changes would block major multi-year GOP policy initiatives.
Judicial, DA Boundary Line Changes Approved By House Panel
A redrawing of North Carolina's electoral boundaries for trial court judges and district attorneys has surfaced in the General Assembly's final days of this year's session.
A House judiciary committee debated and voted Monday along party lines for proposed districts drawn by Republicans for Superior Court, District Court and DAs.
Local prosecutors are elected in partisan races. Trial court races turned nonpartisan in the 1990s but a new law reverts them to officially partisan affairs in 2018.
Bills Take Aim At Human Trafficking In North Carolina
Regulating massage parlors, stiffening the punishment for human trafficking and spreading awareness are just some of the ways North Carolina is looking to crack down on the forced sex trade.
Data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline shows North Carolina ranked among the top ten states for the number of human trafficking cases reported.
Last week, the House approved a measure to require that massage and bodywork therapy establishments to be licensed. Sponsors say the businesses are sometimes used as a front for illegal sexual activities.
A similar Senate bill would make it a higher level felony for violating human trafficking laws.
Bill To Ease Billboard Regulations Fails In NC House
An effort to loosen North Carolina's outdoor advertising regulations has failed at the Legislative Building.
The House voted 48-67 on Monday night against a bill after a barrage of opposition, including "no's" from 30 Republicans.
The measure would have allowed billboard companies to relocate signs already installed within a municipality to its commercial or industrial use areas. The bill also would have made it easier for outdoor advertising owners to upgrade to digital signs.
Court Of Appeals Judge Calabria Won't Seek Re-Election
North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Ann Marie Calabria won't seek re-election when her term expires at the end of 2018.
Calabria announced her decision at the North Carolina Bar Association convention in Asheville over the weekend.
The former Wake County judge was first elected to the intermediate-level appeals court in 2002 and re-elected to an eight-year term in 2010. Now age 69, Calabria would have been able to only serve another 10 months had she been re-elected next year because judges must retire at 72.
A new law could otherwise abolish her seat if she steps down during the middle of a term.
No Bond For Suspect In NC Teen's Disappearance
A man has been denied bond in the case of a North Carolina teenager who was found in a Georgia home after disappearing more than a year ago.
31-year-old Michael Wysolovski sat emotionless in a Gwinnett County, Georgia, courtroom as a magistrate judge read the charges. He did not enter a plea. His next court appearance is July 7.
FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch said Sunday that the victim, now 17, was reunited with her parents after being found in Duluth, about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Wysolovski faces charges that include sex offenses, cruelty to children and false imprisonment.
Her parents believe she left home in May of last year after meeting a man online.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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