The following article appeared in the Goldsboro Daily News on Thursday, January 19th: John Bell: Great Representation For Wayne County On Tuesday, November 8th, eyes were glued to the news as votes were tallied for government positions across the country. While the presidential election had everyone’s attention, on the state level local representative John Bell […]
A few weeks ago, when the General Assembly called itself back into a special session following the passage of The Disaster Recovery Act of 2016, the legislature took up some important bipartisan reforms to North Carolina’s ethics, elections, and court systems. At the same time, another piece of bipartisan legislation, House Bill 17, was also passed […]
Education was clearly a priority for lawmakers in this year’s short session as reflected in the 2016 state budget. Education spending overall has increased by $513 million over last year’s budget, a 4.2% increase. Education funding represents the lion’s share of the state’s total General Fund budget at 56.8%. $314 million of the education spending […]
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) held a joint press conference yesterday to announce details of the $22.34 billion budget agreement reached between Senate and House conferees this past weekend. The compromise budget includes a responsible 2.8 percent spending increase and achieves both chambers’ shared goals with Governor Pat McCrory of […]
Best post by Bob Luebke There is no shortage of activity in the North Carolina General Assembly. While most capitol watchers are focused on the short session’s main responsibility, developing and passing a state budget, it’s good to remember other significant education legislation has already been passed or continues to work its way through the […]
After a highly contentious debate this afternoon, a bipartisan majority in the House passed House Bill 1080, the goal of which is the creation of a new “Achievement School District” (ASD). The legislation establishes a special turnaround district whereby charter schools gain legal authority to take over and operate five of North Carolina’s chronically underperforming […]
Yesterday, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed its version of the state’s budget for the second year of this session’s biennium. The spending plan cleared the chamber by an overwhelming margin, with a bipartisan vote of 103-12. Representative Bell voted with all of his House Republican colleagues for the Budget, joining with 30 other House Democrats who also supported […]
Revenues for the current year are projected to finish $330 million above initial budget projections, according to the latest figures released by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management and the legislature’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. The latest revenue forecast also boosts projections for FY 2016-17 by $231 million above the certified budget. […]
[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/Q7Kc4cjiuKI” width=”580″ modestbranding=”1″ autohide=”1″ fs=”1″ border=”1″ hd=”1″] Lt. Governor Dan Forest sets the record straight on education funding in North Carolina. For more of Lt. Governor Forest’s informative videos, be sure to visit his YouTube Channel.
On March 7, Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest announced that he would propose a bill be introduced this year that he’s calling the “Campus Free Expression Act.” The legislation would require a discipline policy for any students who interrupt the free expression of others. Forest is working on a draft of the bill with the help of Stanley Kurtz, […]