RALEIGH – A recent poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a Democratic polling firm based in Raleigh, points to a tough race for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) in 2014.
According to a press release from PPP, Hagan has a 41% approval rating compared to 42% who disapprove. The poll shows Hagan leading all likely Republican challengers by margins of between 4% and 9%. However, she fails to top 50% of the vote in any of the hypothetical races.
by Tom Donohue
Environmental advocacy groups with a strong mind to advance their agendas are increasingly using a clever, albeit abusive, way to game the regulatory process. It’s called “sue and settle,” and it’s resulting in interested parties—states, industries, and businesses—being shut out of major regulatory decisions. What’s most corrosive about this practice is that key federal agencies are in on it.
Here’s how it works: An environmental advocacy group sues a federal agency, usually the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to issue regulations by a specific deadline. Then the agency chooses not to defend itself against the lawsuit. Instead, the group and the agency work out an agreement. It should surprise no one that the settlement tends to favor the interest group.
RALEIGH – Lew Ebert, president and CEO of the North Carolina Chamber, a nonpartisan business advocacy organization, has announced that the organization supports the passage of legislation that would help provide long-term, sustainable jobs for former or current members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
House Bill 322: CDL Requirements/Military Experience, which passed in both the N.C. House of Representatives and Senate with unanimous support, would allow the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to waive the commercial skills test for servicemen and women who satisfy the requirements of a commercial drivers license (CDL) through military experience.
Congressman Mark Meadows
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Mark Meadows (NC-11) introduced a resolution today to amend the U.S. Constitution to protect children and parents from government overreach.
“In a time when longstanding truths and traditions are being tested, we must safeguard the right of parents to direct their children’s upbringing and education,” Meadows said. “This amendment to our Constitution would ensure that these decisions are made not by faceless bureaucrats but by parents who love their children and know them best.”
by Dr. Terry Stoops
On Monday, Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson publicized a $250 – $300 million idea — to exempt public school teachers from state income taxes.
Superintendent Atkinson has not been the first elected official to propose an income tax exemption for teachers. In 2000, for example, former governor of California Gray Davis proposed exempting California teachers from the tax, but members of his own party were not impressed. Then Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, a Democrat from San Francisco, remarked, “I think it’s a noble thing to want to help teachers, but I can’t think of a worse policy way to do it. You can’t run the tax code by profession — it’s too slippery a slope.” California voters recalled Davis three years later.
CHAPEL HILL — The N.C. Department of Transportation is hosting a Rail Safety Summit aimed at combating an unusually high number of vehicular and trespasser deaths on North Carolina’s railroad tracks since January. So far this year, 15 people have died on the tracks compared to 18 fatalities during all of 2012.
The summit, which is set for Thursday, June 20 from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, will include remarks by NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata, N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Kieran Shanahan and Amtrak Police Chief Polly Hanson.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) joined Representatives Justin Amash (MI-3) and John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) in introducing a bipartisan bill to reform the sections of the Patriot Act that have been misconstrued by the federal government to compromise the privacy of American citizens. The Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email “LIBERT-E” Act would narrow the scope of Section 215 of the Patriot Act – used by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court as the basis for approving the collection of millions of Americans’ telephone records – by requiring that the government provide “specific and articulable facts” to prove that collected information is related to investigations of foreign intelligence, spying, and terrorism.
RALEIGH – Secretary John E. Skvarla announced today the appointment of Rex A. Whaley as the new chief financial officer for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Whaley is a certified public accountant with 34 years of experience in North Carolina state government, including more than eight years with DENR. Whaley becomes DENR’s second chief financial officer, a position created in February by Skvarla to better organize the agency by placing all financial programs in one division.
RALEIGH — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will have law enforcement officers out in force June 28-30 in support of Operation Dry Water — an annual nationwide campaign to remind boaters that it is unsafe, as well as illegal, to operate a boat while impaired. In North Carolina, penalties include a maximum $1,000 fine and possible jail time.
“Drinking affects the skills necessary to operate a boat, including coordination, reaction time, balance and rational decision-making,” said Maj. Chris Huebner, the state’s boating safety coordinator and a wildlife officer with the Wildlife Commission. “We want everyone to enjoy his or her time on the water and do so safely. Having a designated driver, for boating and the drive home, is always a good idea.”
Congressman Mark Meadows
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representative Mark Meadows (NC-11) released the following statement after introducing the IRS Verification Act of 2013.
This legislation calls for a full audit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from Jan. 1, 2010, to present by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). Until the audit is completed and a public report is released, the bill prohibits full implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
