North State Journal Vol. 7, Issue 11

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VOLUME 7 ISSUE 11

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2022

Senate passes bill to boost security for Supreme Court Washington, D.C. The U.S. Senate passed legislation to beef up security for Supreme Court justices. The bipartisan bill, which passed by voice vote with no objections, aims to put the court on par with the executive and legislative branches. The bill now moves to the House for its consideration. Passage of the legislation came as more than 100 people gathered Monday night outside Justice Samuel Alito’s home in Virginia, lighting candles and chanting, “Abort the court!” “Trying to scare federal judges into ruling a certain way is far outside the bounds of normal First Amendment speech or protest,” said Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COURTESY PHOTO

Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd (NC-13) hold yard signs during a campaign event with supporters. The primary for the U.S. Senate seat is next Tuesday, May 17.

Musk says he’s ‘aligned’ with EU approach to digital rules London Elon Musk, who has a deal in place to buy Twitter, has given his support to a new European Union law aimed at protecting social media users from harmful content after he met with the bloc’s single market chief. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told The Associated Press that he outlined to Musk how the bloc’s online regulations aim to uphold free speech while also making sure whatever is illegal “will be forbidden in the digital space,” which Musk “fully agreed with.” The pair agreed on the importance of being able to inspect algorithms that determine what social media users are being shown, Breton said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Industrial manufacturer to create 168 new jobs in Nash County Middlesex COSMOIND Co., Ltd., a polyethylene infrastructure piping manufacturer, will create 168 new jobs in Nash County, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday. The company will invest more than $12.8 million to build its first North American manufacturing campus for industrial, natural gas, and drinking water pipes in Middlesex. “It is positive news that North Carolina continues to be the top choice for international companies that want to expand in the United States,” said Gov. Cooper. The average annual salary for the new positions is $44,425. The project could create a potential annual payroll impact of more than $7.4 million per year for the region. NSJ STAFF

Alabama jailbreak mystery deepens as manhunt ends with death Evansville, Indiana The death of an Alabama jailer found shot in the head with a gun in her hand after a weeklong manhunt has only deepened the mystery of why a trusted official would help free a hulking murder suspect with a violent and frightening history. White stands 6 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 260 pounds. Vicky White, 56, was pronounced dead at a hospital after Casey White, 38, gave up without a fight in Evansville, Indiana. The fugitives had spent more than a week on the run. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Budd poised to take on Beasley in US Senate election By Matt Mercer North State Journal

Former Guilford County Commissioner requests investigation into school bond promotion By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Former Guilford County Commissioner Alan Branson is asking the Guilford County Board of Elections to investigate issues surrounding the promotion of a proposed $1.7 billion school bond. It has come to his attention that, with respect to a school bond referendum and a referendum for a sales tax increase that appear on the May 17, 2022, ballot, Guilford County is expending taxpayer funds and other government resources to promote a viewpoint favoring the passage of both referenda,” wrote Branson’s attorney Charles Winfree in a letter to Guilford County Elections Board members. A copy of the letter was also sent to N.C. State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell, Guilford County Attorney Matthew Mason and two Council of State members; State Treasurer Dale Folwell and State Auditor Beth Wood. In an interview with Branson, he confirmed to North State Journal that the school district had been busing students to the polls and that he questioned the legality of 17-year-olds possibly voting this month on the bond issue when they are not eligible to vote until they turn 18. He also said the Guilford Board of Elections declined to act and “kicked it to the state board” to deal with. The letter goes on to detail a lopsided presentation on the county’s website of the financial impact of the bond, irregularities in a mailer about the bond and electioneering concerns. Winfree’s letter says the information about the bond displayed on www.guilfordcountync.gov presents an “entirely unbalanced discussion of the bond, accentuating the needs and downplaying the costs of the bond.” He also points out there is “no discussion of the hundreds of millions of dollars” in interest payments and other bond-related costs that the county will be responsible for.

A mailer “touting the benefits of passing the bond” sent to area residents was also mentioned by Winfree, who notes that the item had “no disclaimer identifying who paid for these electioneering materials.” An exhibit containing images of the mailer was attached to the letter. Branson told North State Journal he wants to know “where the money was coming from.” “Is it political action committees who are filing or is it Guilford County schools along with Guilford County?” Branson asked about the funding source for bond promotion activities. Winfree’s letter also called out electioneering and political activities happening in Guilford Public Schools. “In addition, I am informed that school principals have been instructed to hold mandatory meetings with school teachers and staff, the main purpose of which is to encourage or direct them to work for the passage of these two referenda, regardless of their personal opinion on the merits of the bonds,” wrote Winfree, who goes on to add both activities violate state statutes. The statutes cited by Winfree are N.C.G.S. 153A-456 which includes prohibitions on county funds or assets being used for endorsing a referendum, and N.C.G.S. 153A-99, which prohibits the use of public funds for political purposes. According to parents in Guilford County, teachers and staff were not the only ones subjected to pro-bond meetings. Students at a high school in the district attended a mandatory assembly and were allegedly told to “vote yes” for the bond. GCS Parents: do you know your kids are being told to vote Yes for the school bond? There was an assembly @WGHS_hornets yesterday for juniors and seniors by You Can Vote NC,” tweeted Take Back Our Schools - GCS, a parent-led group in the district. “A few key points of interest: Parents were not given any communication in advance about the assembly.” See SCHOOL BOND, page A3

RALEIGH — In the final stretch of the 2022 U.S. Senate primaries, there’s little drama for the candidates leading their respective party nominations. For N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley has been called the “presumptive nominee” by her party since December, when Jeff Jackson quit the race and endorsed her. Jackson promptly ran for Congress follow-

ing a controversial court-mandated redistricting session. Endorsed by nearly every prominent Democrat in the state, Beasley has raised money and held tightly-controlled events around the state. “Cheri Beasley will be a great U.S. Senator for North Carolina,” Jackson said in a video. “I am going to be her first endorsement as our party’s presumptive nominee. We have to come together See SENATE, page A2

General Assembly returns for short session May 18 By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The day after the May 17 primary elections, lawmakers will head back to Raleigh for the start of the “short session.” The short session is expected to last about six weeks and follows the lengthiest long session since 1965. The long session also made history by adjourning in a different year than it originally convened in; spanning 199 days beginning in January of 2021 and running through March 11, 2022. Hot topics during the 2021 long session included the creation and passage of a comprehensive biennial budget, education issues, COVID-19 related legislation and a lengthy map-drawing and redistricting process. Likely issues to be covered in the short session include making any adjustments needed to the budgets, the legalization of medical marijuana, expansion of Medicaid, and sports wagering. Short sessions are also generally when the legislature will consider bill corrections, outstanding veto overrides, and take a look at the over 200 “crossover” bills that are eligible for consideration. Crossover bills are those that have passed a third reading in the chamber where the bill originated and were received by the other house without any issues or disqualifications. Lawmakers may also take a look at those bills sitting in conference committees. As of the end of April, five bills are in a conference committee: House Bill 64, Government Transparency Act of 2021; House Bill 103, Automatic Renewal of Contracts; House Bill 776, Remote Notarization/Gov›t Transparency; Senate Bill 336, Condo Act/Restitution/Market Title Act Changes; and Senate Bill 450, Various Education Changes. Medicaid Expansion has been the top priority issue for Democrats in North Carolina and has been a constant issue pushed by Gov. Roy Cooper throughout both of his terms in office.

In the past, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) has called Medicaid Expansion a “non-starter.” The 2021 budget created an interim Joint Legislative Committee on Access to Healthcare and Medicaid Expansion that will look into expanding various healthcare coverage and access options, including Medicaid Expansion. The JLOC committee has nine members appointed by House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) and nine members appointed by Berger. The committee has held half a dozen meetings since the end of February and its final report is anticipated to be delivered before the start of the See NCGA, page A2

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