Latest news with #N.C.GeneralAssembly
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill seeks to curtail homeless camps
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways RANDOLPH COUNTY — An area legislator said that he's shepherding a bill through the N.C. General Assembly that's meant to address concerns expressed by cities and counties and their residents about homeless camps. Rep. Brian Biggs, R-Randolph, is a primary cosponsor of House Bill 781, which would prohibit unauthorized homeless encampments on public property in the state. Exemptions to the proposal would have to come with the acceptance of local government officials and meet specific requirements. 'I saw some of the problems that local municipalities were having with long-term encampments and the damage that they were causing to the areas that they occupied,' Biggs told The High Point Enterprise. 'I felt the need to do something to protect the communities that were being affected by these camps. Municipalities reached out for guidance, surrounding property owners worried about their property values and communities worried about the cleanliness, dignity and the safety of the people inhabiting these camps.' House Bill 781 would set parameters for cities, towns and counties to allow for homeless camps, which could only remain in place for up to a year. A local government would have to show that there aren't enough local shelter beds available for its homeless population to allow for an encampment. The camp site wouldn't be allowed adjacent to property zoned residential and couldn't 'adversely or materially affect the property value or safety' of any residential or commercial property, the bill states. A municipal or county government would have to address public safety and accommodations, such as access to well-maintained restrooms, options for mental health treatment and enforcement of prohibitions on substance abuse. House Bill 781 would require the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to review the local government plan before a municipality or county could allow for a homeless camp. Critics of the proposal argue that banning homeless camps statewide on public property would lead to the criminalization of homeless people from enforcement of the law and further complicate the lives of people on the margins of society. Biggs saide that his goal is to help people in homeless camps who can be in desperate situations. 'The hope is that we can help the people who are living in these situations through some of the remedies in the bill and also help the municipalities respond to a growing problem in the state,' he said. pjohnson@ | 336-888-3528 | @HPEpaul
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Local legislator files universal bills
HIGH POINT — Rep. Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, filed four bills Wednesday to extend universal coverage statewide over school meals, pre-kindergarten enrollment, health insurance coverage and baseline minimum personal income. Brockman, the lone High Point resident in the 170-member N.C. General Assembly, has some of the poorest areas in the state in his 60th House District. 'These issues are all near and dear to my heart because I've seen firsthand the disparities produced by all of these problems, and I am committed to addressing them at home and across the state,' Brockman said. Brockman faces the task of advancing the bills in a House chamber dominated by Republicans. 'These universal bills are common-sense legislation that will make a difference for those who have been neglected for too long,' he said. 'I call on all of my colleagues to join me in passing these bills and making North Carolina great for all of us.' The bills House Bill 712 would direct the N.C. Department of Commerce to establish and maintain a Pay-It-Forward Fund to provide a universal monthly income of up to $3,000 per person for up to five years to people who are currently receiving job training, performing volunteer work for 40 hours a week or both. The program would be funded in part by an increased income tax percentage for state residents who have previously benefited from the fund. House Bill 713 would establish a universal school breakfast and lunch program for each school to provide cost-free breakfast and lunch to each student every school day. House Bill 714 would direct the N.C. Commissioner of Insurance to establish and maintain a state-run universal health care benefit plan offering plans to residents with standards applicable to the federal Affordable Care Act. House Bill 715 would create a universal pre-kindergarten program at a cost of $13.3 million per year. pjohnson@ | 336-888-3528 | @HPEpaul
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed bill would undo NC climate goals, change rules for Duke Energy raising rates
The Republican-controlled N.C. General Assembly is pushing a bill that would allow Duke Energy to charge N.C. customers for power plants that haven't yet been built and allow the utility giant to avoid the state's approaching carbon emission-reduction goals. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 261, has prompted fierce pushback from environmentalists, clean energy advocates and many Democrats. They all claim the bill would move North Carolina in the wrong direction when it comes to cleaning up its air and battling climate change, would saddle customers with unneeded expenses, and tie the state more than ever to a future electrical grid that relies on old fossil fuel power sources rather than cleaner, cheaper and safer renewable alternatives. But advocates say the move would save Tar Heel State consumers from ever-increasing electrical bills − partly fueled by the need to meet clean energy mandates − and allow the construction of a more reliable and cheaper power infrastructure. The bill, dubbed the "Energy Security and Affordability Act," would eliminate the 2030 deadline for Duke to reduce carbon emissions 70% from 2005 levels. The utility giant would still have to meet carbon neutrality by 2050. While Duke has said it wants to add lots more solar and wind, and potentially more exotic renewables like hydrogen and small nuclear reactors, to its future grid, it also wants to replace some of its old coal-fired polluting power plants with new natural gas plants that can operate even when its dark or the wind isn't blowing. The legislation also would allow Duke to ask the N.C. Utilities Commission to start charging customers for power-generating facilities even before they are built. Georgia and South Carolina already allow their large utilities to do that. But in both cases, customers are paying for new nuclear plants whose price tags vastly blew through original estimates − and in South Carolina's case never came close to completion and left customers saddled with a $9 billion loss. TWEAKING THE CARBON PLAN: More natural gas, offshore wind, and higher customer bills in Duke's revised energy plan State Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, is a former president of Duke's N.C. operations and helped write the bill and advocate for it. Another primary sponsor is state Sen. Phil Berger, R-Guilford, the GOP leader of the Senate. The bill passed the Senate with all Republicans and three Democrats supporting it. Duke also supports the proposal. 'As North Carolina continues to experience unprecedented growth, we're focused on making substantial investments in our critical infrastructure to ensure reliability and keep costs as low and predictable as possible for our customers," the company said in a statement. "We are supportive of policies that enable us to meet the state's growing energy needs, including those that advance efficient and always-on baseload generation resources.' Critics of the state's push to decarbonize its energy network note that customer bills are rising now in part because of efforts to "green" the grid, costs that would likely keep rising quickly if Duke was forced to keep adding more renewables to meet carbon-reduction goals. Some officials also have noted that recent changes coming out of Washington under the Trump administration have made renewable energy projects more expensive and politically less palatable. WINDY FUTURE? Trump's decision to pause offshore wind farms creates stormy waters for NC projects Environmentalists and others say the proposed bill would do little to clean up North Carolina's air. It would also tie the state's customers to expensive and polluting power-generation systems for decades to come that would do little to help in the fight against climate change when cleaner and cheaper options, like wind and solar, are proven and financially less volatile alternatives than relying on gas. Allowing rates to be raised to cover power plants that aren't even built yet also would remove a layer of oversight through the utilities commission that protects customers from wasteful and unnecessary bill increases. "At a time of rising energy costs, this bill is a bad deal for ratepayers," said Will Scott, Southeast climate and clean energy director for Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement. "Our recent analysis showed that North Carolina does not need any more baseload gas power plants, yet this bill fast-tracks those plants' costs on to North Carolinians' power bills. Let's stick to our goals to reduce harmful power plant pollution and minimize customer exposure to volatile gas prices.' Opponents of the bill also note that the 2021 bipartisan legislation that set the carbon-reduction goals was hashed out between GOP legislators, Duke and then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, over months of delicate negotiations and called for sacrifices on both sides. This proposed bill has had little input from anyone but Republicans and is being fast-tracked through the General Assembly with little public debate. POWER GAMES: NC faces challenge of creating a clean, reliable and affordable energy future Gov. Josh Stein, who was N.C. attorney general when the original carbon bill was passed, has criticized the proposed bill as a step backward for the state's economy and the environment. 'This bill would raise utility bills on ratepayers and threaten progress we've made on building a clean energy economy, a sector that employs over 100,000 North Carolinians," said Morgan Hopkins, spokesperson for the Democratic governor. "We should be looking for solutions that create jobs and lower costs for hardworking North Carolinians, not increasing their financial burden.' The proposed bill is now under consideration by the N.C. House. Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@ or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work. This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Proposed bill would see NC retreat from climate goals, allow new rates
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State funds sought for county school programs
By Paul B. Johnson GUILFORD COUNTY — A bipartisan group of local legislators is supporting a bill that would secure $8.3 million for the tutoring and learning hub programs of Guilford County Schools. House Bill 342 was filed this week in the N.C. General Assembly. The legislation would secure $5 million to hire more tutors, expand tutoring subject areas and offer more tutoring sessions. The bill also would provide $3.3 million to support the learning hub program, which provides high school students who are at risk of not graduating with individualized programs to complete graduation requirements and increase the school district's graduation rates. The state funding would be for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year that begins July 1. GCS started the tutoring and learning hubs programs as part of its response to academic declines following the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were initially paid for with federal pandemic relief money, but when that money expired last year, both programs were reduced. Tutoring now is done only in elementary school English and middle school math, and learning hubs were reduced from operating four days a week to two days a week. The programs have received national acclaim for their results with student achievement. Superintendent Whitney Oakley said at a High Point Schools Partnership event Feb. 27 that while reduced, both programs continued to show improved academic results. Guilford County Schools leadership is seeking the tutorial and learning hubs funding as part of the annual legislative goals of the Guilford County Board of Education. Cosponsors of House Bill 342 are Reps. Alan Branson and John Blust, R-Guilford, and Reps. Cecil Brockman, Amos Quick, Pricey Harrison and Tracy Clark, D-Guilford. 'House Bill 342 is a priority request to support funding of critical targeted programs for getting all of our students where they need to be,' said Brockman, who represents the vast majority of High Point. 'This is a bipartisan initiative developed in consultation with the local school board and with the full support of the Guilford legislative caucus. We trust that our colleagues will appreciate the importance of this request for North Carolina's future success.' pjohnson@ | 336-888-3528 | @HPEpaul
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City files downzoning bill
HIGH POINT — The city of High Point is seeking special legislation from the N.C. General Assembly to restore a local power that's been drastically limited by a new state law. House Bill 317 would revive the city's ability to initiate the downzoning of private property so that High Point can proceed with enactment of its proposed Southwest Mill District revitalization initiative. The measure is what's known as a 'local bill' because it would apply only to High Point. Its primary sponsors are state Reps. Cecil Brockman of High Point and Amos Quick of Greensboro. The two Democrats are members of High Point's state legislative delegation. The measure was filed in response to a law the legislature passed last year that bars any local zoning change that decreases the permitted uses or the density of what can be built on a property without the owner's written consent. The law defines downzoning as this, as well as any zoning change that would create a nonconforming use or structure on a property. The city is proposing to create the mill district by rezoning 171 acres of an old industrial area along W. Green Drive to try to spur more redevelopment activity by allowing residential and other new uses in this area, which could make the former mills in the district nonconforming structures. The local bill would allow the city to initiate the rezonings by effectively exempting it from the state's downzoning restrictions. In addition, bills to restore at least some aspects of local downzoning powers have been filed that would apply to jurisdictions throughout the state. The city says statewide legislation is its preference for regaining downzoning power but submitted the local bill as a backup measure.
