Weekend reads: A GOP surprise, clarifying school suspensions, and NC’s snowballing gambling mess • NC Newsline

By Rob Schofield and Ahmed Jallow 

In a surprise move that caught most Legislative Building watchers off-guard, Republican lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday that would make significant changes to state campaign finance law. The sudden move prompted all 20 Senate Democrats to walk out of the chamber in protest when the bill was quickly brought to a vote. It was approved 28-0 by the Republicans who remained on the Senate floor. The House is expected to take up the measure next week.

The proposed law changes, which were appended to a conference committee report on a controversial and much-debated bill dealing with punishment for unlawful protests and the wearing of masks (see the box below), would make it easier for big dollar donors to funnel large sums of cash in relative anonymity to support North Carolina political candidates.[Read more…]

For a two-month delay in delivering driver’s licenses, the DMV and its contractor blame each other

By Lynn Bonner

Two adversaries sat side-by-side at a North Carolina hearing Thursday as House members tried to find the cause of a driver’s license backlog that delayed delivery of permanent IDs to hundreds of thousands of residents.

DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said that what started as a problem with 2,150 licenses  ballooned to a 354,697 backlog, where customers had to wait up to eight weeks for permanent licenses.  He blamed the state’s longtime contractor, Idemia, for the backlog and a lack of communication about the growing problem. An Idemia vice president said DMV should have gone along with the company’s recommendations for a quicker resolution. [Read more...]

Legislation to clarify NC school suspensions finds initial bipartisan support

By Clayton Henkel 

Tens of thousands of students are suspended each year; bill would expand due process rights

Leah McGhee said when her son was suspended from Central Davidson High School, she could not appeal the punishment because it was less than 10 days.

According to McGhee, her 16-year-old son was only seeking clarification when his teacher used the word aliens in class, and he asked whether that reference was to “space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards.”

The student received a three day out-of-school suspension for what was deemed a racially motivated comment which disrupted the class.[Read more…]

A push to keep NC autopsy reports secret ends — for now

By Lynn Bonner

Republican senators have dropped immediate plans to prevent the public and family members from seeing autopsy reports that are connected to criminal cases.

Last month, Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, presented a proposal to keep secret from the public autopsy reports in criminal cases until those cases were resolved. [Read more…]

After federal court hearing, use of toxic algaecide at Lake Mattamuskeet on hold

By Lisa Sorg 

Young Kang, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, had not even finished announcing his last name when Judge Terence Boyle cut him off.

“Why are you doing this?” Boyle, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Reagan in 1984, barked at Kang. “This is a drastic approach.” [Read more...]

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness anxiously await U.S. Supreme Court decision

By Greg Childress

Latonya Agard, executive director of NC Coalition to End Homelessness, is anxiously awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, an Oregon case testing a city ordinance that prohibits people experiencing homelessness from sleeping in public.

An unfavorable ruling in the case, which is expected to be decided by the end of the month, could have severe consequences for the nearly 10,000 people in North Carolina who are experiencing homelessness, Agard said this week during a statewide conference where advocates gathered to discuss topics impacting people experiencing homelessness. [Read more.…]

Bonus read: Veteran journalist and housing advocate: We must change the narrative about homelessness

 

North Carolina abortion pill restrictions struck down by federal judge

By Elisha Brown

A federal judge on Monday blocked parts of North Carolina’s law on medication abortions.

Under the ruling by U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles any health care provider — not just physicians — and pharmacists who are certified can prescribe abortion pills, patients can take mifepristone at home and they no longer have to make three-in person visits to a doctor.[Read more...]

 

North Carolina’s rapidly snowballing gambling mess (commentary)

By Rob Schofield

The physical therapy facility was a beehive of activity at 8:00 a.m. on a Tuesday. In a big and well-lit room, dozens of patients – most of them aging and trying their best to stave off various ravages of time – stretched awkwardly on tables or did their best to make use of exercise machines and various props, as busy therapists and assistants offered encouragement, and pecked away at laptops.

It was a mostly friendly and positive environment in which privacy was relatively minimal and conversations sometimes overlapped. [Read more…]