Latest news with #PhilBerger
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge refuses to revive defamation lawsuit linked to NC casino opposition
A state judge who previously dismissed a defamation case that has revealed secret moves to legalize casinos in North Carolina rejected an effort to remove him from the case, and said he would report the attorneys involved to the NC State Bar for disciplinary proceedings. In a hearing Friday afternoon, Special Superior Court Judge Hoyt Tessener denied any bias in the case involving a hotly contested Rockingham County commissioner race, and said he found no legitimate claim that candidate Craig Travis had been defamed. He sided with the defendants' attorneys who said in court that they viewed Travis' lawsuit as a frivolous attempt to revisit the state legislature's failed effort in 2023 to land three casinos in Rockingham, Anson and Nash counties. State Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County sought the legislation, and his son Kevin is a Rockingham commissioner who voted to rezone property that would have been developed for a casino. Records obtained by the lawyers bringing the defamation suit reveal moves the Cordish Companies of Baltimore and its advocates made in Anson and in the legislature. The News & Observer obtained those records from Anson County in a public records request. Travis, a former county commissioner and a casino opponent, had narrowly lost a Republican primary election against Kevin Berger last year that would have put him back on the board. He claimed Berger, two other commissioners on the board last year, a Rockingham GOP leader and two political groups had defamed him during his campaign, in which his opposition to casinos was prominent. Tessener dismissed the lawsuit after a hearing on April 23, writing in a brief order that Travis lacked a valid claim. In court Friday, Tessener said the majority of the facts laid out in the complaint had to do with issues linked to the failed 2023 effort to legalize casinos in this state and not Travis' claims that he was defamed. He also noted that Travis' attorneys did not raise issues about his impartiality, which he defended, until after his decision. 'I do not have any relationships with any of the parties, I do not even know them,' Tessener said. He sparred with two of Travis' attorneys – Kimberly Bryan and Alicia Jurney – throughout Friday's hearing in Wake County Superior Court. Tessener took over Travis' case on April 23, hours after Superior Court Judge Robby Hicks recused himself just before the hearing began. Hicks had used The Differentiators, a prominent consulting firm, to administer his successful judicial campaign in 2022. The firm had been subpoenaed by Travis' attorneys. Travis' attorneys in a court filing said Tessener had conflicts that he should have considered before dismissing the case. They contend that he is too closely tied with one defendant in the case: GOPAC, a national political group that supports Republican candidates. 'The important thing is for people to have confidence in the judicial system,' Jurney said in court. Former House Speaker Tim Moore appointed Tessener a judge in 2023, the year the Republican-led state legislature put language into the massive state budget bill to give legislative leaders the power to create and appoint 10 Special Superior Court positions, a job previously filled by the governor. From 2015 to 2023, Moore sat on a GOPAC advisory board, Travis' attorneys said. Berger remains on the board, after taking a seat in 2020. Travis' attorneys also pointed to the judge's campaign contributions to Moore and Berger as evidence of a conflict. Tessener had made donations totaling $17,000 to Moore's legislative campaigns, much of it after 2014, and $6,600 to his congressional campaign, state and federal election records show. He gave $1,000 to state Sen. Phil Berger's campaign in 2017. But Moore and Phil Berger were not defendants in the case, and GOPAC's advisory board includes nearly every Republican state legislative leader across the country, said Ellis Boyle, an attorney for two of the defendants. Tessener has also made donations to several prominent Democrats over the years, including Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and former state appellate Judge Lucy Inman, Boyle said. 'You can't divine any bias or partiality from that,' Boyle said. Timeline of a high-stakes campaign to open North Carolina to the casino industry
Axios
21-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
N.C. legislature one step closer to passing pay raises, tax cuts
North Carolina's Republican-controlled House released its full state budget proposal Monday, teeing up what's expected to be weeks — or even months — of negotiations between legislative leaders over what to include in their final spending package. Why it matters: Teachers and state employees will receive pay raises and bonuses, income taxes will decrease, and thousands of vacant positions in state government will be eliminated if the state House and Senate can reach an agreement on how to spend state dollars. Yes, but: Whether they'll reach a deal is unclear. Though both chambers are led by Republicans, their visions differ on how to spend taxpayer dollars and on issues like when and how to cut income taxes and whether to fund a new children's hospital. Driving the news: The House's more than 500-page proposal, detailed in a press conference Tuesday morning, would bring North Carolina's starting teacher salary to $50,000 by 2026 — above the national average — reinstate a tax-free holiday, cut 3,000 vacant government jobs, exempt the first $5,000 in tips from state income tax, and increase standard deductions. Zoom in: In one of the most significant differences from the Senate's budget, the House proposes offsetting its spending by delaying scheduled income tax cuts, which could be a major sticking point in negotiations. The House and Senate both proposed cutting vacant positions, though the House proposed more cuts, and both chambers also proposed increasing college tuition and cutting higher education spending and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The intrigue: The House's proposal does not allocate any additional funds to the planned Duke and UNC children's hospital, as the Senate's does. The House's plan would also yank funding from NCInnovation, a nonprofit the state helped form for university research, and instead allocate it to Hurricane Helene relief. The Senate, meanwhile, proposed restructuring its funding model for NCInnovation. State of play: First-term House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger will have to work out all of these differences in budget negotiations in the coming weeks if they want to hit their goal of passing a spending plan before July, when the new fiscal year begins.
09-05-2025
- Politics
North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Gun access, parental rights and the response to illegal immigration were front and center this week in North Carolina as Republican lawmakers worked to keep their high-priority bills alive, while many other pieces of legislation are likely dead for two years. Unlike other years with chaotic late-night sessions full of political bargaining, the lead-up to Thursday's biennial 'crossover deadline' looked more orderly and even wrapped up a day early. GOP legislative veterans chalked it up to a disciplined House work schedule from new Speaker Destin Hall, and perhaps because fewer 'controversial' bills were considered. It doesn't hurt that parliamentary maneuvers can be used to bypass the deadline and move bills later — if top leaders allow. There are also exceptions for bills involving spending or taxes, constitutional amendments and other topics. 'There are so many ways to skin a cat,' Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters. Among other things, legislators advanced measures making it easier to retain a concealed handgun permit, as well as ensure immigrants unlawfully in the country can't get certain state benefits, and make it so minors need a parent's consent for more kinds of medical treatments. Since bills on these topics passed one General Assembly chamber, they met the deadline. Here's a look at some of the recent activity: After a brief debate, the GOP-led House passed a bill that creates lifetime concealed handgun permits and eases training requirements for some people renewing expired permits with fixed durations. Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey warned that having renewals safeguards the public, because a lifetime permit wouldn't account for changing circumstances like addiction or mental illnesses. But Republican proponents emphasized that permits — with or without renewals — don't prevent bad behavior. Earlier this year, Senate Republicans approved legislation that would allow concealed carry without a permit. In the past week, the House and Senate approved competing bills that would allow certain people with concealed handgun permits — like teachers — to carry such guns at their private K-12 schools, if granted permission by school leaders, to promote campus safety. Amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, the House passed a bill Wednesday that would bar several state agencies from supplying benefits to immigrants unlawfully in the country. State public universities are also instructed to verify applicants as legal U.S. residents to be considered for instate tuition and financial aid, according to the bill. Republicans in both chambers have already signaled support for Trump's immigration policies through bills previously advanced this session. Minors would be limited in their ability to consent to most medical treatments on their own, except for pregnancy, according to a bill passed Tuesday in the House. A handful of House Democrats joined Republicans in approving it. Under current law, minors can provide sole consent for treating sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, substance abuse and mental health conditions. Minors could still consult with doctors about those issues, but the bill maintains parents' 'essential role' in determining the best medical course of action for their children, Republican Rep. Jennifer Balkcom said. Some Democrats spoke against the bill, saying it would endanger teenagers who feel less inclined to seek treatment for sensitive issues. The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would prevent parents from being cited for neglect because they raised their child consistent with the child's sex assigned at birth. One House bill with momentum that fell short would have expanded the state's capital punishment methods from lethal injection to include death by electrocution and a firing squad. The legislation, which had cleared two committees, would make electrocution the default execution method but allow death-row offenders to choose another option if correction officials have it available. The firing squad method garnered national attention this year after South Carolina executed the first U.S. prisoner by firing squad in over a decade. North Carolina hasn't carried out a state execution since 2006 in part due to a legal impasse involving lethal injections and litigation over racial bias in capital trials. House and Senate leaders will decide the fate of measures from the other chambers. The state budget process also revs up as House Republicans hope to pass their two-year spending plan before Memorial Day weekend. Negotiations with Senate Republicans, who approved their budget last month, will follow. In the background is new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who has his own ideas on a budget and other legislation. Veto threats could wield Stein more influence since Republicans are now one seat short of a veto-proof majority. Republicans have been able to sway some Democrats on key measures.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gun access, parental rights and the response to illegal immigration were front and center this week in North Carolina as Republican lawmakers worked to keep their high-priority bills alive, while many other pieces of legislation are likely dead for two years. Unlike other years with chaotic late-night sessions full of political bargaining, the lead-up to Thursday's biennial 'crossover deadline' looked more orderly and even wrapped up a day early. GOP legislative veterans chalked it up to a disciplined House work schedule from new Speaker Destin Hall, and perhaps because fewer 'controversial' bills were considered. It doesn't hurt that parliamentary maneuvers can be used to bypass the deadline and move bills later — if top leaders allow. There are also exceptions for bills involving spending or taxes, constitutional amendments and other topics. 'There are so many ways to skin a cat,' Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters. Among other things, legislators advanced measures making it easier to retain a concealed handgun permit, as well as ensure immigrants unlawfully in the country can't get certain state benefits, and make it so minors need a parent's consent for more kinds of medical treatments. Since bills on these topics passed one General Assembly chamber, they met the deadline. Here's a look at some of the recent activity: Gun access appeared as a leading issue After a brief debate, the GOP-led House passed a bill that creates lifetime concealed handgun permits and eases training requirements for some people renewing expired permits with fixed durations. Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey warned that having renewals safeguards the public, because a lifetime permit wouldn't account for changing circumstances like addiction or mental illnesses. But Republican proponents emphasized that permits — with or without renewals — don't prevent bad behavior. Earlier this year, Senate Republicans approved legislation that would allow concealed carry without a permit. And in the past week, the House and Senate approved competing bills that would allow private K-12 school governing boards to give permission to certain employees or volunteers to carry a concealed handgun on campus for student and staff safety. Advancing Trump's immigration agenda Amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, the House passed a bill Wednesday that would bar several state agencies from supplying benefits to immigrants unlawfully in the country. State public universities are also instructed to verify applicants as legal U.S. residents to be considered for instate tuition and financial aid, according to the bill. Republicans in both chambers have already signaled support for Trump's immigration policies through bills previously advanced this session. Emphasis on parents' rights and protections Minors would be limited in their ability to consent to most medical treatments on their own, except for pregnancy, according to a bill passed Tuesday in the House. A handful of House Democrats joined Republicans in approving it. Under current law, minors can provide sole consent for treating sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, substance abuse and mental health conditions. Minors could still consult with doctors about those issues, but the bill maintains parents' 'essential role' in determining the best medical course of action for their children, Republican Rep. Jennifer Balkcom said. Some Democrats spoke against the bill, saying it would endanger teenagers who feel less inclined to seek treatment for sensitive issues. The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would prevent parents from being cited for neglect because they raised their child consistent with the child's sex assigned at birth. What didn't meet crossover? One House bill with momentum that fell short would have expanded the state's capital punishment methods from lethal injection to include death by electrocution and a firing squad. The legislation, which had cleared two committees, would make electrocution the default execution method but allow death-row offenders to choose another option if correction officials have it available. The firing squad method garnered national attention this year after South Carolina executed the first U.S. prisoner by firing squad in over a decade. North Carolina hasn't carried out a state execution since 2006 in part due to a legal impasse involving lethal injections and litigation over racial bias in capital trials. What's ahead? House and Senate leaders will decide the fate of measures from the other chambers. The state budget process also revs up as House Republicans hope to pass their two-year spending plan before Memorial Day weekend. Negotiations with Senate Republicans, who approved their budget last month, will follow. In the background is new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who has his own ideas on a budget and other legislation. Veto threats could wield Stein more influence since Republicans are now one seat short of a veto-proof majority. Republicans have been able to sway some Democrats on key measures.
Associated Press
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gun access, parental rights and the response to illegal immigration were front and center this week in North Carolina as Republican lawmakers worked to keep their high-priority bills alive, while many other pieces of legislation are likely dead for two years. Unlike other years with chaotic late-night sessions full of political bargaining, the lead-up to Thursday's biennial 'crossover deadline' looked more orderly and even wrapped up a day early. GOP legislative veterans chalked it up to a disciplined House work schedule from new Speaker Destin Hall, and perhaps because fewer 'controversial' bills were considered. It doesn't hurt that parliamentary maneuvers can be used to bypass the deadline and move bills later — if top leaders allow. There are also exceptions for bills involving spending or taxes, constitutional amendments and other topics. 'There are so many ways to skin a cat,' Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters. Among other things, legislators advanced measures making it easier to retain a concealed handgun permit, as well as ensure immigrants unlawfully in the country can't get certain state benefits, and make it so minors need a parent's consent for more kinds of medical treatments. Since bills on these topics passed one General Assembly chamber, they met the deadline. Here's a look at some of the recent activity: Gun access appeared as a leading issue After a brief debate, the GOP-led House passed a bill that creates lifetime concealed handgun permits and eases training requirements for some people renewing expired permits with fixed durations. Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey warned that having renewals safeguards the public, because a lifetime permit wouldn't account for changing circumstances like addiction or mental illnesses. But Republican proponents emphasized that permits — with or without renewals — don't prevent bad behavior. Earlier this year, Senate Republicans approved legislation that would allow concealed carry without a permit. And in the past week, the House and Senate approved competing bills that would allow private K-12 school governing boards to give permission to certain employees or volunteers to carry a concealed handgun on campus for student and staff safety. Advancing Trump's immigration agenda Amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, the House passed a bill Wednesday that would bar several state agencies from supplying benefits to immigrants unlawfully in the country. State public universities are also instructed to verify applicants as legal U.S. residents to be considered for instate tuition and financial aid, according to the bill. Republicans in both chambers have already signaled support for Trump's immigration policies through bills previously advanced this session. Emphasis on parents' rights and protections Minors would be limited in their ability to consent to most medical treatments on their own, except for pregnancy, according to a bill passed Tuesday in the House. A handful of House Democrats joined Republicans in approving it. Under current law, minors can provide sole consent for treating sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, substance abuse and mental health conditions. Minors could still consult with doctors about those issues, but the bill maintains parents' 'essential role' in determining the best medical course of action for their children, Republican Rep. Jennifer Balkcom said. Some Democrats spoke against the bill, saying it would endanger teenagers who feel less inclined to seek treatment for sensitive issues. The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would prevent parents from being cited for neglect because they raised their child consistent with the child's sex assigned at birth. What didn't meet crossover? One House bill with momentum that fell short would have expanded the state's capital punishment methods from lethal injection to include death by electrocution and a firing squad. The legislation, which had cleared two committees, would make electrocution the default execution method but allow death-row offenders to choose another option if correction officials have it available. The firing squad method garnered national attention this year after South Carolina executed the first U.S. prisoner by firing squad in over a decade. North Carolina hasn't carried out a state execution since 2006 in part due to a legal impasse involving lethal injections and litigation over racial bias in capital trials. What's ahead? House and Senate leaders will decide the fate of measures from the other chambers. The state budget process also revs up as House Republicans hope to pass their two-year spending plan before Memorial Day weekend. Negotiations with Senate Republicans, who approved their budget last month, will follow. In the background is new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who has his own ideas on a budget and other legislation. Veto threats could wield Stein more influence since Republicans are now one seat short of a veto-proof majority. Republicans have been able to sway some Democrats on key measures.
