RALEIGH – Expanding Medicaid via Obamacare would be the largest increase of taxpayer-funded entitlements in state history. That this massive growth of government would happen at the hands of a conservative Republican legislature is mind-boggling and antithetical to the fiscal discipline this General Assembly has skillfully exerted in other areas of public policy. Medicaid expansion...
As session gets underway, we look forward to the bills, the debate, and ultimately the votes that will shape North Carolina’s public policies. Whether it’s the budget, education, health care or regulations, we believe the question to be asked with each consideration of a bill – Does this enhance freedom or does it take it...
As session gets underway, we look forward to the bills, the debate, and ultimately the votes that will shape North Carolina’s public policies. Whether it’s the budget, education, health care or regulations, we believe the question to be asked with each consideration of a bill – Does this enhance freedom or does it take it...
The Civitas Action Freedom Rankings are now available on the Civitas Action site. In addition, for the first time, Civitas Action has compiled a 2019-2020 legislative biennium Freedom Ranking, which is also available on the Civitas Action site. Since 2011, the Civitas Action Freedom Rankings have informed the public, in as unbiased a method as...
In November, the state legislature received the findings of an investigation into the governor’s handling of state permitting for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), a natural gas pipeline which would run through eight counties in eastern North Carolina. The investigators found that “the information [uncovered in the report] suggests that criminal violations may have occurred.”...
With the conclusion of the long legislative session, the 2019 Civitas Action Freedom Rankings are now finalized on the Civitas Action site. The purpose of the Freedom Rankings is to inform the public, in as unbiased a method as possible, where individual legislators stand on issues of freedom. State legislators are graded on key votes...
RALEIGH, N.C. – Today Civitas Action released its annual Freedom Rankings, a scorecard created to inform voters on how their legislators came down on key votes related to limited government, personal responsibility, free-markets, and civic engagement. Civitas Action’s Freedom Rankings enable citizens to discern whether their elected official cast votes that promoted/defended freedom for North...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a 421-page report on July 26 approving the preferred route for the MVP Southgate gas pipeline project. The federal regulatory agency’s endorsement of the route is positive news for the proposed 80-mile extension with a reach just south of Burlington, NC. The chosen route is viewed as having...
The FY 2019-20 Senate budget proposal includes a provision to allow the North Carolina State Lottery Commission to increase the amount it spends on advertising from 1 percent to 1.5 percent of total annual lottery revenue. The goal of increasing advertising is to generate more interest in the purchase of lottery tickets. With increased lottery...
In the sometimes-unreasoned environmentalist craze today, it is easy to overlook those who are struggling to pay their bills or provide for their family. America and North Carolina have the resources to lower energy prices, so what’s the hang up on expanding natural gas pipelines? In a recent and superb piece titled “Americans Need More Oil...
Each year, Civitas Action issues the North Carolina Freedom Rankings. The rankings score members of the General Assembly based on key votes selected to reflect the legislators’ ideological commitments. The purpose of the North Carolina Freedom Rankings is to “inform the public, in as unbiased a method as possible, exactly where individual legislators stand on the...
The recent vote by Alamance County Commissioners to oppose the extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline into North Carolina is disappointing. The resolution approved by Commission has no legal authority but sends a signal to state and federal authorities that local officials oppose the pipeline. The Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate would offer underground delivery points...
As North Carolina’s population increases, energy demands are an inevitable need across the state. Most citizens want to strike a balance that offers clean and affordable energy. Thankfully, new technologies make that more and more accessible. The Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate would offer underground delivery points in Alamance and Rockingham Counties. That proposal could deliver...
Senate Bill 325, The Uniform & Expanded Early Voting Act, would allow for the same number of days of early voting (seventeen). The legislation would also require counties to open the same additional sites on the same days during the same hours. Under the current rules of in-person early voting, counties can open different sites...
HB 933, Reciprocity/School Psychologist Licensure, would direct the State Board of Education to grant licensure as a school psychologist to any individual who holds the Nationally Certified School Psychologist credential. This would enable school psychologists moving to North Carolina to bypass specific state licensing hurdles, making it easier for them to practice their profession and...