RALEIGH, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today @NCCapitol for Monday, July 1. This is WRAL's roundup of what you need to know about North Carolina state government today.
TODAY: Unemployment benefits will end for 71,000 workers today due to a decision earlier this year by lawmakers to revamp how and how much North Carolina provides for unemployed workers. Benefits for the long-term unemployed are due to expire elsewhere in the national at the end of this year unless Congress acts. However, North Carolina's first-in-the-nation status has attracted
national and
international attention.
FLIPPING THE SWITCH: Ten years after the first contract was awarded to replace North Carolina's outdated Medicaid billing network, a computer claims processing system is finally poised to go online.
ON THE RECORD: This weekend's episode of "On the Record" explores recent landmark rulings but the U.S. Supreme Court of voting rights and marriage.
NOBODY HOME: The state House will hold "skeleton" sessions all this week, conducting no formal legislative business until July 8.
Senators had put their tax reform bill on hold while they negotiated a compromise bill with the House. However, with the House out of town and negotiations not proceeding quickly, Senate Leader Phil Berger said it was time to move ahead.
"We hope the bill in the Senate Finance Committee on Monday will represent a final agreement," Berger said Friday. "But if not, we’re confident we can work out any remaining differences in conference."
The Senate Finance Committee will meet at 2 p.m. WRAL.com will carry the meeting live. Check the Video Central box on the home page.
ALSO ON THE SCHEDULE: The House's skeleton session will by at 4 p.m. today. The Senate will meet at 7 p.m. and take up a bill that would both grant food producers immunity from being sued over obesity-related illnesses and prohibit cities from putting regulations in place governing the size of soda sales. WRAL.com will carry the Senate session live at 7 p.m. Please check the Video Central box on the home page.
MORE PROTESTS: The NAACP and other liberal groups are expected to organize a ninth wave of "Moral Monday" protests today. Thus far, roughly 500 people have been arrested at the legislature during the gatherings that demonstrate objections to the Republican-lead legislature's policies. {{a href="story-3'}}Tonight's event will focus on unemployment benefits{{/a}}.
MORE TO READ: Other stories worth noting include reports from:
The Associated Press: A new conservatism is beginning to emerge on some college campuses, spurred in part by opposition to President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
News & Observer: The emotional debate over fracking spilled over to the N.C. Mining & Energy Commission as the board voted Friday to tell the legislature to stop meddling in its business. Commissioners voted unanimously to protest the state legislature’s move to wrest a controversial fracking rule out of the commission’s hands. The rule – specifying which chemicals pumped underground must be publicly disclosed – is the most contentious issue in every state that allows shale gas drilling.
Charlotte Observer: The waiting room outside Bob Rucho’s Senate office is mostly empty these days. All but gone are the lobbyists and staffers craving a moment of his time. Gone, too, is the crunch of meetings that kept him at the heart of some of the session’s most far-reaching issues – tax overhaul, hospital costs and creation of a Charlotte airport authority.
Now it’s a different world for the Matthews Republican, who until two weeks ago was one of North Carolina’s busiest and most powerful lawmakers. Suddenly, he says, “I have a lot more free time.” Triggering the change was an unusually public clash between the passion of one lawmaker and the pragmatism of others.
Wilmington Star-News: It's not easy being a freshman, whether in high school or your first year in the General Assembly. It's a year chock full of new faces, new rules, new friends and new lessons. Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover, described the experience as "very interesting."
