NC lawmakers’ big deadline looms. What kinds of bills could come up?
Good morning and welcome to Under the Dome. I’m Emmy Martin.
We’ve got an update on the shift in power on the North Carolina elections board.
But first on the agenda, we’re less than a week away from lawmakers’ crossover deadline. Dawn Vaughan explains.
CROSSOVER DEADLINE LOOMS
The General Assembly sets a self-imposed deadline that requires a bill to pass at least one chamber – by May 8 – in order for it to be heard in the other chamber this legislative session.
Known simply as “crossover,” it is a time when sessions can go very long, holding a flurry of votes. Any long debate over controversial bills, like the one held Wednesday on diversity, equity and inclusion restrictions, will mean sessions are several hours long.
For the House, that means sessions could go until 9 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, House Speaker Destin Hall told reporters after another busy House session on Thursday.
The House may finish its pre-crossover work Wednesday night, but Hall told representatives to keep Thursday open in case they need another day of votes ahead of the deadline.
The Senate is likely to be different. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger told reporters after session on Thursday that there will be three days of Senate votes starting Tuesday.
“When I first got here, crossover – it was almost like the last day of session, with things popping up at the last minute and that sort of thing. I think it’s going to be fairly orderly next week,” Berger said.
That means bills already heard in policy committees are in the “field of things that are possible,” Berger explained.
– Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan
Who’s on the new State Board of Elections?
Republicans gained a majority on the State Board of Elections for the first time since 2016 thanks to State Auditor Dave Boliek.
Boliek announced Thursday his appointment of three Republicans and two Democrats to the five-member board, including two new members, Kyle Ingram reports.
The new members are:
Republican Francis De Luca, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who also previously served on the State Ethics Commission.
Republican Bob Rucho, who served in the state Senate for nearly 17 years.
Republican Stacy Clyde Eggers IV, a lawyer and a current member of the State Board of Elections.
Democrat Siobhan O’Duffy Millen, a retired lawyer and current member of the board.
Democrat Jeff Carmon, a lawyer and current member of the board..
“These board members will ensure North Carolinians have fair, free, honest, and transparent administration of elections,” Jason Simmons, chair of the NCGOP, said in a post on X about the Republican appointments.
The appointments came one day after the state Court of Appeals allowed a law to take effect that stripped Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, of his power to select the board’s members.
Read more about the implications of the shift from Ingram.
AUDITOR BILL ON HOUSE FLOOR TUESDAY
The state House plans to vote Tuesday on a bill to give the state auditor even more power, after the House Rules Committee passed the bill Thursday that allows his employees to be exempt from the state’s human resources law.
Exempt employees can be hired and fired at will, and Democrats criticized the bill as giving State Auditor Dave Boliek, and future state auditors, too much power. House Minority Leader Robert Reives argued in a hearing Thursday that it paves the way for political appointees in the office.
Exempt employees have fewer protections, but exempt status can also mean more hiring flexibility and higher salaries.
House Speaker Destin Hall said House members are “working on some final provisions” in the bill ahead of the vote Tuesday, but he doesn’t think there will be major changes.
Hall said that the “general tenor of the country is they want to root out government waste. That’s one of the reasons why we’re doing that. Dave Boliek is equipped to do those things. He’s a well-experienced attorney, and we think he’s the right person at the right time to be able to look at all levels of state and local government to try to root out any sort of waste that may be out there.”
Also Thursday, Senate leader Phil Berger said that he expects funding of more positions in the auditor’s office to be part of the final budget.
– Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan
HOUSE PASSES BILL ALLOWING CONCEALED CARRY IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS
The House approved a bill Thursday that allows private schools to provide written permission for people to carry concealed handguns on campus, T. Keung Hui reports.
House Bill 193 will now go to the Senate.
Currently, guns are not allowed on educational property in North Carolina, even if a person has a concealed carry permit.
The bill says a private school can give prior written permission for a “qualified person” to carry a gun on campus. That person must have a concealed carry handgun permit or be exempt from needing a permit, like a current or retired police officer or an active-duty military member would be.
Hui reports that the bill drew heated debate, much of which was over whether a teacher or school volunteer could be reasonably expected to respond to a shooter.
Democratic lawmakers cited polls that show teachers do not support being armed or having more guns on campus. Republican lawmakers said the goal was deterrence, pointing to incidents where armed individuals stopped shootings in churches and malls across the country.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE WORKING ON
Duke University will begin a voluntary buyout program in response to potential federal funding cuts. Brian Gordon reports that school officials said the offer will mitigate the number of layoffs the university may have to make in the coming months. Duke is the Triangle area’s top employer.
On Wednesday, the state Senate voted to approve a bill to let school districts start a week earlier in August in exchange for creating penalties for violating the school calendar law, T. Keung Hui reports. Senate Bill 754 will make it easier for schools to schedule high school final exams before winter break, but cost the tourism industry a week of August business.
Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, resigned on Thursday, and thus became the first Cabinet official to fall in this administration, David Catanese reports. However, he was nominated later in the day as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Waltz added a journalist to a Signal text thread of high-level Trump administration officials discussing imminent military strikes.
Today’s newsletter was by Emmy Martin and Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan. Check your inbox Sunday for more #ncpol.
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