NCGA

This kind of approach to lawmaking should be outlawed:

“I don't want any pollutant stuff either,” said Sen. Harris Blake, a Republican representing Moore and Harnett counties. “I'm very concerned about that. But I'm concerned that we'll spend years studying this stuff and then go ahead and do it. Then look at the time we'll lose.”

If those years spent provide us with guidance on how to frack safely, and how to protect our landowners from being ripped off (which is happening now), and gives us the tools we need to manage the upfront water usage and disposal of used (tainted) water, that time will not have been wasted. And we're not the only ones studying this matter:

And the Board of Education needs to hold off on its approval:

A shareholder in Virginia-based K12 Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the virtual-schools operator in federal court, alleging that the firm violated securities law by making false statements to investors about students’ poor performance on standardized tests. The class-action complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, also accuses K12 of boosting its enrollment and revenues through “deceptive recruiting” practices.

NC Policywatch has already been covering this issue:

Time to duck, the irony stick is swinging fast:

"Last session we were told no votes," said state Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Charlotte-area Democrat. "I think there is reason for skepticism and caution."

"The Democrats attempt to bring drama into everything, but this time they are going to be sorely disappointed," said state Rep. David Lewis, a Dunn Republican.

The fact that you had to inject "this time" into that sentence undermines your entire argument. Breaking your word about what will or will not happen generates doubt about future happenings, and doubt produces suspense, and suspense is a core element of drama. cut, that's a wrap

Today the filing period opens for the 2012 elections in North Carolina. Democrats have endured a series of retirements and with so many Democratic Representatives double-bunked there are a lot of open questions. Use this thread to report on interesting developments.

Making the gap between the Haves and the Have-Nots even wider:

In addition to taking a hacksaw to higher-education funding last year, the Honorables also cut money for financial aid. Some revenue from the tuition increase will go to financial aid, but as the price of admission rises more students will fall through the cracks.

I think it's safe to say that making the UNC System only available to the privileged few was exactly what the framers of our Constitution didn't want to happen:

That's a really big if, Rob.

If Speaker Tillis and Senate President Pro Tem Berger have any interest in doing the right thing, they should cancel the special legislative session scheduled for next Thursday immediately.

Truth is, none of the Tarheel Taliban has any interest in doing the right thing. They're on a whacked-out power trip ... and it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

Plotting with lobbyists to compound the misery of our unemployed:

Next Thursday, February 16, the General Assembly will renew this problematic pattern when it returns to Raleigh for another “special” session on a yet-to-be-disclosed topic (or topics).

An email obtained by NC Policy Watch, however, indicates that legislative leaders have been secretly negotiating with business lobbyists on at least one topic: unemployment insurance.

Hat-tip to Rob Schofield for exposing this information. Here's the text of the e-mail:

Leaving 43,000 folks out in the cold:

The map leaves 43,000 residents of the new District 6 without representation in county government for the next two years. State Senate leader Phil Berger, who's responsible for creating this mess, still won't acknowledge that a problem exists let alone move to fix it.

That's because he doesn't consider it a "problem". Republicans in the General Assembly have treated municipalities/county governments with nothing but contempt since they took charge. If they could, they would take away all local representation, leaving everybody to depend on (a useless) state government for their needs. In a perfect world (again, we don't live there), that would equate to 43,000 votes against Berger (or whoever) in the next election.