Gov. Pat McCroy has appointed two new members of the N.C. Utilities Commission and a new director for the commission's Public Staff.

The five new members of the State Board of Elections will have decisions to make about who will head the board's staff and whether a recently opened campaign finance investigation connected to top state leaders should continue.

The ruling is a bit of good news for an industry that has faced a hostile law enforcement environment.

Lawmakers have filed a bill to legalize, tax and regulate video sweepstakes games. Local law enforcement agencies have been shutting down the quasi-gambling establishments.