North Carolina Political Headlines – October 22, 2013

As school went on break, we slightly fell behind on the political headlines. However, they are back and will continue to be updated daily for the foreseeable future. As always, let us know if you have questions or comments.

CHARTER SCHOOL STAFF STILL WAITING FOR MISSED PAYCHECKS: When a Kinston charter school suddenly shut down in September, it left nearly 200 students and their families scrambling to find new classrooms a few days into the school year.  It also pushed nearly 60 staff members unexpectedly into unemployment and who are now unsure of when, or if, they’ll be paid for the week of school they worked.  “It’s left my family in a mess,” said Michael Joyner, the associate principal for school operations. “We did our jobs, we didn’t do anything wrong.”  -From NCPolicyWatch, http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2013/10/22/charter-school-staff-still-waiting-for-missed-paychecks/#sthash.2MK5CHV8.dpuf

N.C. GOVERNOR MCCRORY MEETS WITH CONSERVATIVE POLICY GROUP: Less than a week after the government shutdown ended, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory traveled to the nation’s capital to give a talk to a group that championed the effort to tie government funding to defunding the health care law.  The Heritage Foundation, a conservative policy group, introduced McCrory as the kind of Republican reformer that Washington could emulate.  McCrory never addressed the controversial shutdown and host Becky Norton Dunlop, a Heritage vice president, didn’t bring it up.  –From NewsObserver, http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/21/3301607/nc-gov-mccrory-meets-with-conservative.html#storylink=cpy

STATE WANTS COURT TO TOSS VOTER I.D. SUITS: The state is asking a federal court to dismiss two lawsuits — one filed by the North Carolina NAACP and one filed by the League of Women Voters of N.C. — challenging the new law requiring voters to present government-issued identification when voting and changing other election regulations.  The response by the state to the lawsuits was filed Monday in the U.S. Middle District Court. Responses to other lawsuits, including one filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, are expected later this year.  The state denied many of the allegations appearing in the plaintiffs’ lawsuits. In addition to asking that the lawsuits be dismissed and that a judgment be entered for the state, the state asked to be awarded attorneys’ fees and further relief that the court may deem just and proper.  –From CarolinaJournal, http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=10575

STATE DENIES ELECTIONS LAW VIOLATES RIGHTS: State officials responded Monday to two lawsuits filed over sweeping changes to elections laws, denying allegations that the legislation violates voters’ rights.  The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, Common Cause of North Carolina and several individuals sued Gov. Pat McCrory and the State Board of Elections in August, alleging that regulations requiring voters to present photo identification at the polls, limiting early voting and ending same-day registration were designed to suppress voter turnout.  The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a third lawsuit, alleging that North Carolina’s law is racially motivated. State officials haven’t yet responded to it.  –From WRAL, http://www.wral.com/state-denies-elections-law-violates-rights/13019841/

A JUDGE COMES TO SEE THE UNFAIRNESS OF VOTER ID LAWS: The legal struggle over North Carolina’s changes in its voting laws is just beginning, but a federal judge who helped open the way to new voter ID requirements recently delivered his informal verdict: Voting ID laws are a form of “trickery” intended to suppress the vote.  That was the surprising admission made by U.S. District Judge Richard Posner in his new book and in a follow-up interview.  Posner was the author of a 2007 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago that defended the constitutionality of Indiana’s voter ID laws. That ruling, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008, provided the legal justification for a wave of new state laws requiring voters to provide a photo identification at the polls. It also emboldened states to press the restrictions further.  North Carolina did so this year by adding a narrow photo ID requirement. Student IDs and some other common forms of identification are not accepted. The law also cut back the days for early voting from 17 to 10 and eliminated same-day registration.  –From NewsObserver, http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/21/3301562/a-judge-comes-to-see-the-unfairness.html#storylink=cpy

DHHS HEAD OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH RESIGNS: Layton Long Jr., head of environmental health at the state Department of Health and Human Services, resigned Monday. His resignation is effective in 30 days.  Long has worked at DHHS for a little more than a year. He’s leaving the $113,593-a-year job to become director of the Chatham County Health Department. The environmental heath section is in the Division of Public Health, which has seen high-profile departures this year. The former public health director, Dr. Laura Gerald, resigned in July. The state’s top dentist, chief of the division’s oral health section, was fired shortly after.  DHHS released a statement from Long that said he enjoyed working with the professionals in public health.  –From NewsObserver, http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/21/3301738/dome-dhhs-head-of-environmental.html#storylink=cpy

MCCRORY’S PREDICTION THAT STATE MAY BE FORCED TO EXPAND MEDICAID RAISES EYEBROWS:  Gov. Pat McCrory said Monday that North Carolina may have to expand its Medicaid health insurance program, saying a back door in federal health reforms is forcing his hand.  Reform experts question his logic, though changes in the law give hospitals more power to approve Medicaid eligibility temporarily, potentially putting the state-and-federally-funded program on the hook for more patient bills.  –From WinstonSalemJournal, http://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region/article_f8105ce6-3abc-11e3-ad11-001a4bcf6878.html

MORE FEDERAL MONEY STILL MAY NOT SIGNAL SUCCESS FOR UNION STATION: Raleigh officials got most of the money they wanted for the estimated $73 million Union Station upgrade. In late September, the city secured an extra $15 million in federal funds, bringing to $66.25 million the amount of federal, state, and local funding committed to the proposed transit hub. But the project faces critics who note that, if the proposal really could expand development in the way its backers imagined, Union Station would have generated more money from private developers and less from taxpayers.  –From CarolinaJournal, http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=10570