Raleigh Report is a regular newsletter offering extensive legislative information from the NC Council of Churches. Click here to subscribe.
Amid the turbulence of a high-stakes election season stands a sadly familiar outpost of stability – the N.C. General Assembly’s relentless support of private schools at the expense of the […]
There’s the civics-class version of how laws are enacted in North Carolina – rooted in the state constitution and rules of the General Assembly, and embodying ideals of orderly, even-handed […]
First, the good news. As North Carolina’s lawmakers crank up their every-other-year “short” session (well, sometimes it’s not so short), they’ll have the luxury of working with a healthy boost […]
In a political climate less driven by conservative ideology, even within our judicial system’s upper reaches, it might be reckless to forecast how the latest, epic clash over proper funding […]
North Carolina’s new voting district maps were hatched in a way that brings to mind Macbeth’s calculation as he ponders murder: “If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere […]
Not for the first time, let’s recall the quasi-consolation offered by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. as the U.S. Supreme Court declared – in a case involving North Carolina – […]
Well, that was quick. We’d barely had time to reckon with all the bullying packed into the new state budget approved on Sept. 22 when the N.C. General Assembly’s Republican […]
The Republicans who rule North Carolina’s General Assembly from their high supermajority perch want to make voting more difficult because they think that on balance, this gives them a leg […]
The N.C. General Assembly — under the thumb of a conservative and anti-small-d-democratic majority – is making its intentions clear. It wants to keep as many voters as possible from […]
As painful as it is to admit, and just as obvious, the right of Americans to vote in the elections by which their political leaders are chosen has emerged only […]
In the conservative catalogue of insults, calling a judge an “activist” is about as cutting as it gets. If this were an old-time playground war of words, it would rank […]
We weren’t expecting it to be pretty – “it” being the launch of the N.C. General Assembly’s new session, with freshly emboldened conservatives eager to flex their muscles. The reality, […]
The N.C. General Assembly gathered on Jan. 11 amid trappings of ceremony and good cheer to kick off its 2023 session. Then reality reared its head: At least in the […]
The N.C. Supreme Court – or at least a slim majority of its members – invoked its solemn duty to uphold constitutional rights when it agreed in a Nov. 4 […]
Like it or not – and there are plenty of reasons to worry amid the familiar end-of-summer bursts of excitement – another school year will soon get under way. The […]
The U.S. Supreme Court, as if rushing to settle old grievances, in recent weeks has thrashed about in a virtual frenzy of “originalism” – never mind the consequences for America’s […]
The colossal dispute over the proper financing of North Carolina’s public schools that has played out over 28 years is heading to a showdown before the state Supreme Court – […]
This Raleigh Report was written by Jennifer Copeland, Executive Director, in collaboration with Matt Rossi, Duke Divinity School intern. The past two years have revealed not only how vulnerable we […]
Four months after the N.C. General Assembly enacted a new alignment of the districts in which our state’s congressional representatives are chosen, the gavel has come down: That district map […]
Among all the issues and challenges confronting North Carolina as 2022 gets under way – overcoming the pandemic, easing rural poverty, alleviating environmental threats, improving access to health care, on […]
Here in the last week of October, almost four months after a new state budget was supposed to have been in place and with multiple plot-lines coming to a head, […]
A momentous clash between North Carolina’s General Assembly and the state’s judicial system looks to be coming to a head. At stake is the ability of the state’s public schools […]
The coronavirus – now rekindled in a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” – is forcing us yet again to adjust our daily routines and recalibrate our expectations of normalcy. Even people […]
North Carolina legislators – offering what amounts to a snappy salute in the direction of Mar-a-Lago – are well on their way toward fixing an election law that’s anything but […]
Say this much, at least, for those legislators who favor making it easier, not harder, for North Carolinians to vote: They’re not ready to surrender to their vote-suppressing foes. Even […]
With Republican lawmakers throughout the land making “election integrity” a favorite cause and rallying cry, it likely was just a matter of time before some of their North Carolina counterparts […]
When an ambitious bill designated as H.R. 1 was approved by the newly empowered Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives back on March 8, 2019, perhaps a fitting […]
Perhaps it’s the pandemic that offers a fitting analogy to the condition of our politics as Americans try to recover from the trauma of Jan. 6 – when we came […]
The United States Congress, a week after the nation’s Capitol was overrun by a violent mob while lawmakers were carrying out one of their paramount duties, now faces a paramount […]
Even for those of us who found a measure of joy during the year whose end we now mark – taking delight from a child’s birth, perhaps, or from a […]
As Americans soldier on amidst their ill-fated 2020 stress test, there is inspiration to be found. Our democracy’s guardrails as enshrined in the Constitution may have been battered by a […]
My faith tradition professes that our worth is in our faces because our faces look like God’s face. We are created in the Image of God, making each human face […]
North Carolinians who stood against our soon-to-be ex-president’s rancid politics of grievance, contempt and division, fueled by a gusher of falsehoods, are heartened by the nation’s clear choice of Joseph […]
With North Carolinians on track to cast eye-popping numbers of votes in advance of Election Day, Nov. 3, perhaps it’s time to breathe a cautious sigh of relief. A system […]
With the coronavirus still rampant across North Carolina, the top education concern in many families has little to do with the state’s long-term school investments or with the disadvantages faced […]
It’s pretty obvious why the N.C. Council of Churches and its allies on the faith-and-justice spectrum hope to see plenty of like-minded voters turning out for the elections this fall. […]
The image of a perfect storm conveys a rueful irony – the storm whose components are so intertwined, so synchronized, so mutually reinforcing as to make it “perfect” in its […]
The scenario was familiar as the N.C. General Assembly engaged in another frantic and exhausting push to complete a legislative session. Mission accomplished? Well, that depends on how you look […]
With just five months and change until Election Day, 2020 – and with many virus-leery North Carolinians wondering how they’ll manage to vote safely – efforts to update the state’s […]
Members of the N.C. House and Senate, resolutely confronting the deadly and disastrous coronavirus pandemic, have offered up shining examples of just what friends are for. Friends are there to […]
When and if members of the N.C. General Assembly reconvene as scheduled on April 28 – presumably wearing masks and taking all the other recommended precautions to stay safe and […]
In keeping with the familiar rhythms of American politics, this is a year when many of our elected leaders, including the president, and their would-be successors will stand for inspection […]
The North Carolina General Assembly’s Republican majority is down to what looks to be its last-ditch defense of the voter ID law it rammed through at the tail end of […]
UpdateOn Jan. 21, Superior Court Judge David Lee, who oversees compliance in the Leandro school-quality case, issued an order endorsing the WestEd report’s findings and setting forth steps to address its recommendations […]
A long road remains to be traveled before North Carolinians find out whether they’ll have to show an identification card, with photo, in order to vote in next fall’s pivotal […]
When leaders of the N.C. Council of Churches two years ago adopted a policy statement entitled “Confederate-themed monuments: Time to reassess,” the statue known as Silent Sam still faced north […]
Perhaps the Republicans who control North Carolina’s General Assembly have finally gotten the message: their decade-long efforts to rig the state’s congressional voting district boundaries in their party’s favor simply […]
When N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore called the House to order for its scheduled 8:30 a.m. session on Sept. 11, he made a fateful decision bearing not only on a […]
If politics can be described as a contact sport, it’s perhaps fitting to say that when the Republicans who control North Carolina’s General Assembly went to court to defend the […]
If politics can be described as a contact sport, it’s perhaps fitting to say that when the Republicans who control North Carolina’s General Assembly went to court to defend the […]
If politics can be described as a contact sport, it’s perhaps fitting to say that when the Republicans who control North Carolina’s General Assembly went to court to defend the […]
It can’t have escaped many folks’ notice – even those, bless their hearts, for whom the really big news involves the onset of football season – that our political systems […]
It can’t have escaped many folks’ notice – even those, bless their hearts, for whom the really big news involves the onset of football season – that our political systems […]
You have to wonder: What would U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. tell that proud North Carolina gerrymanderer David Lewis if they ever came face to face, just the two […]
Not to belabor the obvious, but when North Carolina’s elected leaders craft a spending plan for state government, they take positions on many issues that have a moral dimension. And […]
The Mother Emanuel, Charleston, SC, shooting was four years ago today, June 17. The N.C. General Assembly Senate Judiciary Committee will consider Senate Bill 90 tomorrow, June 18. A favorable […]
Introduced Bills CRIMINAL JUSTICE HB 834 – Ban the Box would prohibit the state from asking a job applicant about his/her criminal history until that applicant had been selected for […]
INTRODUCED BILLS CRIMINAL JUSTICEHB 781 – Limitations on Use of Solitary Confinementactually contains several items related to prisons: Solitary confinement couldn’t be used for inmates with serious mental illness unless […]
The people of North Carolina pay federal taxes. Our tax dollars help fund the 90 percent federal match on Medicaid expansion enrollees for states that have expanded Medicaid under the […]
INTRODUCED BILLS CRIMINAL JUSTICE HB 587 – Repeal Death Penalty would abolish the death penalty, and all prisoners currently on Death Row would be resentenced to life imprisonment without parole. […]
INTRODUCED BILLS CRIMINAL JUSTICE/PRISON REFORM HB 460/SB 545 – Fair Chance Hiring would require state agencies to reduce barriers to hiring people with a criminal history. Specific provisions include: Prohibits […]
INTRODUCED BILLS ECONOMIC JUSTICE HB 422/SB 234 – Healthy Families & Workplaces/Paid Sick Days is similar to the paid sick leave provisions of HB 46. (See RR, February 26.) Introduced […]
INTRODUCED BILLS GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION With the passing last month of the first anniversary of the shooting deaths of 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, the […]
INTRODUCED BILLS ECONOMIC JUSTICE HB 46 – Economic Security Act of 2019HB 46 is a collection of issues long of concern to workers and worker advocates. Specific provisions would: Increase […]
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to specify that the court ruling does not address the status of the law enacted in December to comply with the state constitution’s […]
Each time the Council holds its bi-annual Legislative Seminar, we honor those whose public lives reflect their faith commitments. The Faith Active in Public Life Award calls attention to someone […]
The 2019 Long Session of the General Assembly is now in full swing. As a result of last November’s elections, Republicans maintained majorities in both Senate and House but lost […]
The decade-long struggle for truth and justice got a welcome boost this weekend with a powerful opinion piece in the News & Observer. The writer, former N.C. resident and Capitol […]
Update: After this article was written, Gov. Cooper did veto House Bill 1029, as he was urged to do. He criticized the bill as potentially “devastating to the cause of fighting election […]
The first thing Gov. Roy Cooper did after he reported for work on Wednesday, Nov. 8, was to order up a generous new supply of red ink for his veto […]
Every seat in the North Carolina General Assembly is being challenged in the upcoming election. Every person qualified to vote has a responsibility to show up at the polls on […]
It’s a truism that weather affects elections. Yes, many of us would slosh through a downpour if that’s what it took to get to the polls. But a cold, driving […]
The drive by Republicans who control the N.C. General Assembly to enhance their already formidable power, often at the expense of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, has been relentless. Why is […]
Depending on the context, it could be called poor sportsmanship. Or bullying. Or a flouting of democratic principles. Or even tyranny. Consider a situation in which a group of people […]
The current leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly – top members of the state House and Senate, all of them Republicans – rule with iron fists and aren’t squeamish […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director Senate Bill 75 is on the move. It would put on this November’s ballot a constitutional amendment setting a maximum income tax rate of […]
North Carolina’s new state budget – now on a fast track to final enactment by the Republican-controlled General Assembly over Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto – represents a miserable failure […]
By George Reed, Retired Executive Director The North Carolina General Assembly re-convened for its 2018 “short session” on Wednesday, May 16. Under terms of last year’s adjournment resolution, the General […]
Hours after teachers marched on Raleigh to talk about funding needs for their schools, their students, and, yes, even themselves, a bill was introduced in the N.C. General Assembly to […]
They suited up in their red t-shirts, hoisted their homemade signs and coursed like a river through the heart of downtown Raleigh. Destination: The headquarters of North Carolina’s General Assembly. […]
When the N.C. General Assembly convenes on May 16, legislators will be “welcomed” by a throng of advocates for high-quality public schools – teachers prominent among them. More power to […]
The North Carolina Council of Churches believes that participating in our democracy is one critical component of our call to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. […]
Public education in North Carolina has its share of challenges, not the least of which has been the state’s ongoing failure to make sure that school systems in poorer communities […]
It was perhaps the N.C. Supreme Court’s finest hour. In 1997, the high court held unanimously that North Carolina public school students are entitled under the state constitution to the […]
Ordinary Americans – those of us not allowed to know the secrets of high-level espionage work – at this point find it hard to judge accurately the accomplishments of Gina […]
As the General Assembly wraps up its weirdly timed and generally ill-conceived winter session, it would be nice to think that the grand dispute over class sizes in North Carolina’s […]
Only rarely does the United States Commission on Civil Rights hold hearings outside of Washington D.C. In February they came to town, convening in Raleigh to hear testimony about obstacles […]
The pattern has become familiar – and a welcome pattern it is, even if brought about by the Republican-controlled General Assembly’s relentless abuses of our democratic system. Call it, “Judges […]
The Federal Government of the United States of America shut down at midnight on Friday. It reopened yesterday, but may shut down again in February. Uncertainty and disorientation abound. […]
Progress in rooting out North Carolina’s gerrymandered voting districts hasn’t always occurred in a straight line. But the trend – thanks to federal judges honoring their duty to uphold the […]
Grand constitutional questions in this country aren’t settled until the Supreme Court has its say, either by affirming or reversing the rulings of lower-court judges or simply by declining to […]
With Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House desperate to post a big legislative win, their push for so-called tax reform – the label being used to sugar-coat […]
To the Republicans who run the N.C. General Assembly, the concept of judicial independence – central to our bedrock American principle of checks and balances and to the rule of […]
At many levels, Americans are confronting issues of race relations and racial justice with an intensity that echoes the climax of the civil rights movement five decades ago – as […]
When President Trump stepped to a White House lectern on Monday and rebuked the instigators of the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Va., that had erupted two days before, he was […]
The three federal judges could have just come right out and said it: The Republicans who rule the N.C. General Assembly have elevated foot-dragging to a fine art. Their stall […]
The optics, as they say, are terrible. But in a state whose motto is “To Be Rather Than to Seem,” it’s even more important to look at the substance. And […]
Better get used to it. The N.C. General Assembly, after an all-too-brief adjournment during July, is about to reopen for business in its marble and masonry maze on Raleigh’s Jones […]
Presented with a new state budget that, whatever its occasional virtues, is mainly about easing tax burdens on the well-off while grinding opponents of legislative Republicans into the dirt, Democratic […]
