Tuesday Wrap: Creature from the Black (Coal Ash) Lagoon

The measure would reconstitute the Coal Ash Management Commission, which Gov. Pat McCrory shut down a few months ago after winning a legal battle with lawmakers over appointments; would require Duke Energy to provide permanent water supplies to people who live near ash ponds; and would allow reworking the risk classifications for the 33 ash ponds in North Carolina. It immediately drew a veto threat from McCrory, who again argued that lawmakers were sticking their noses into his job to carry out the coal ash cleanup mandated by a 2014 law.

The Senate, meanwhile, passed a bill that would increase the standard deduction on state income tax returns by $2,000 for couples filing jointly and $1,000 for single filers in the next two years. The House budget calls for spreading the increase out over four years.

In your daily House Bill 2 minute, the Charlotte City Council voted Monday night to reject a proposal to repeal its transgender nondiscrimination ordinance, which was nullified by House Bill 2. Some council members had met with lawmakers recently about linking a repeal to changes to the controversial state law, but legislative leaders were noncommittal to any changes.