Thursday Wrap: Punishing rioters, abortion restrictions, giant growlers

The bill would charge people involved in riots that cause extensive property damage or lead to someone getting hurt or dying with a felony. Activists say it targets the Black Lives Matter protests and will discourage people from exercising their right to protest. Moore, R-Cleveland, says it's apolitical, noting it would also apply if something like the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol happened in North Carolina.

Not one, but two abortion-related bills advanced in the General Assembly on Thursday. The gave final approval to a measure that would make abortions illegal if they're specifically sought because the fetus may have Down syndrome or because of the presumed race of the child. A Senate committee passed the return of the "born alive" bill that was vetoed two years ago. That bill requires doctors to care for infants that survive unsuccessful abortions.

The House also passed its version of a "collusive settlements" bill, saying that lawmakers must sign off on any legal settlement involving state laws they wrote. The bill is a reaction to the State Board of Elections settling a suit last fall absentee voting rules during the pandemic that, needless to say, the Republican majority didn't like.

Finally, two of the more than 40 bills the House passed Thursday involve drinking, which many lawmakers likely will want to take advantage of in the coming days because of the frenetic pace before crossover. One would allow cities to create "social districts" where people could wander about consuming open containers of alcohol. The other would double the size of growlers permitted in North Carolina, to 4 liters – that's more than a gallon of beer for those not on the metric system.