Wednesday Wrap: Much more concise than SOTS

Gov. Pat McCrory threw as much as he could against the wall Wednesday night in his State of the State address to see how much would actually stick.

In a wide-ranging, 80-minute speech to the General Assembly, McCrory discussed his transportation and infrastructure plans, the need for more economic development incentives, teacher raises, Medicaid reform, creating state agencies to handle IT and military affairs and other assorted issues.

One new item that came up was a $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion bond issue to fix aging state buildings, but lawmakers were skeptical about piling that atop a proposed $1.2 billion bond for road projects.

Although McCrory never explicitly pushed Medicaid expansion, he suggested covering more uninsured residents by taking advantage of federal funds available for such expansions.

Lawmakers said they want more details on his plans before deciding whether to accept or reject them.