Gov. Roy Cooper attempted to violate Article III, Section 5 of the North Carolina Constitution, which allows him to call for an extra session “on extraordinary occasions, by and with the advice of the Council of State.” Gov. Cooper’s stated purpose for the session was redistricting. But the governor has no constitutional role in redistricting, and we have no order … Read More

The North Carolina Senate tentatively passed bipartisan legislation to help prevent the unfair misclassification of newspaper delivery workers and salespeople as independent contractors. The bill levels the playing field by deleting a special carve-out in the Workers’ Compensation Act that prevents these workers from being classified as “employees” of their publications entitled to benefits such as unemployment insurance, payroll taxes … Read More

On Monday, I was honored by Fayetteville Tech Community College, as it rededicated its Horticulture Educational Center in my name. As a former graduate of FTCC, this award has left me in awe. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would receive such an incredible honor. I am truly humbled to have been chosen for this distinction. Fayetteville Tech and its horticulture program … Read More

The Senate passed a $22.9 billion budget that focuses on improving outcomes in public education, providing generous tax cuts for the middle-class and job-creators, and saving for the future – priorities that have resulted in consecutive years of revenue surpluses, including a $580 million surplus this year. Highlights of the Senate budget include: • It increases spending by 2.5 percent over … Read More

The Senate passed legislation that would create penalties for local governments, law enforcement agencies and public universities that act as ‘sanctuary cities’ and ‘sanctuary universities’ by defying federal and state laws against illegal immigration.The legislation requires: – The state attorney general to accept, maintain records of and investigate (with help, if he chooses, from the State Bureau of Investigation) complaints … Read More

Fayetteville Technical Community College (FTCC) announced that according to the Center for Digital Education (CDE), FTCC ranks 4th in the nation in the Large College Category (+10,000 students) in their 12th annual Digital Community Colleges Survey recognizing how community colleges use digital technologies to improve services to students, faculty, staff, and the community at large. The 2016-17 Digital Community Colleges … Read More

This week the Senate passed a roughly $1 billion tax cut proposal that would provide relief to the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians – with the most dramatic reductions going to middle class and working families and job-creating small businesses. The Billion Dollar Middle Class Tax Cut Act would continue Republican-led efforts to reform, simplify and cut state taxes – … Read More

In an effort to dramatically increase choices and lower costs for health care patients across the state, members of the Senate filed a host of proposals to reform North Carolina’s outdated and burdensome Certificate of Need (CON) laws. Currently, North Carolina’s CON laws discourage competition and drive up costs by forbidding health care providers from performing many medical services, building … Read More

The Senate voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of commonsense legislation that restores partisan elections for local judicial races, helping ensure North Carolina voters have more information about the candidates they elect. The House of Representatives voted to override the governor’s veto, so the bill is now law. In the 2016 election, nearly 800,000 fewer North Carolinians voted in the … Read More

With autonomous self-driving cars and trucks expected to reach the streets and highways within five years, North Carolina needs to be ready. So I filed a bill to create the state’s first law specifically to address the operation of these vehicles. Under my bill, no occupants of a fully autonomous self-driving vehicle would need a driver license to ride in it. If … Read More