North Carolina Crime Victims, Testing Bills Signed By Cooper

New laws in North Carolina will scale back the number of standardized tests that public school students take and lay out expanded rights for crime victims. 

The crime victims' bill implements what's known as Marsy's Law, the constitutional amendment approved by voters last fall that expands rights given to crime victims. The measure explains which additional crimes trigger those rights and the process by which a victim can assert them.

The testing legislation approved by the General Assembly eliminates over 20 state exams currently given to students. It will be implemented next school year.

Also among the half-dozen bills that Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Thursday that he signed is one directing the State Lottery Commission to study the feasibility of state-regulated sports and steeplechase betting.