A hodgepodge of anti-voter bills resurfaced this afternoon in the House Committee on Elections as a single 44-page proposal, without warning or even a summary of its complex contents for committee members. Republican chair David Lewis wanted the bill voted on that afternoon. Rep. Deborah Ross (D-Wake County) called the process “legislative malfeasance,” and others [...]
The photo ID bill, known by opponents as the “Voter Suppression Act,” passed its final House vote by a party line vote of 68 to 48. The goal of Democracy North Carolina and other voting rights groups has been to keep the conservatives’ margin of victory small enough to send a message to Gov. Bev [...]
Earlier this week, Democracy North Carolina released a report that sharply criticized a proposal jammed inside the state Senate budget to merge and shrink the three agencies that oversee elections, ethics, and lobbying. We’re pleased to report that the proposal, which many others also rebuked, is no longer a part of the Republican budget plan. The Senate [...]
IMPORTANT UPDATE: We are pleased to confirm that the newest version of the Senate budget DOES NOT include a provision to combine the State Board of Elections, State Ethics Commission and the lobbying regulation division of the Secretary of State’s office as described below. We are hopeful that this bad idea will be permanently shelved [...]
For Release Thursday, May 26, 2011 Contact: Bob Hall, 919-489-1931 Legislation to Increase Charges on Small Loans Follows Surge in Contributions from Consumer Finance Industry A campaign finance watchdog organization is raising questions about whether an unusual pattern of contributions given by donors in the consumer loan business is connected to a bill now moving [...]
Blue Cross of NC is the main backer of a bill to create the health insurance exchange in North Carolina that will help implement the national health reform law. The intent of an independent exchange is to give more people access to insurance coverage, boost competition and lower premium costs, somewhat akin to Travelocity for [...]
Sweethearts of the Tea Party elected to Congress last November have quickly become water carriers for heavy duty lobbyists and special interests. And they are cashing in like the veterans. So much for their promises of integrity or changing the system; if anything, these guys are even deeper in the pocket of Wall Street and [...]
The Center for Public Integrity has just released an in-depth investigative report on the sprawling, worldwide business operations of the Koch family, patrons of far-right groups descending from the John Birch Society. Ironically, brothers David and Charles Koch are happy to take government subsidies and spend millions to lobby for special tax breaks and protection [...]
Duke Energy is feeling heat from both sides of the political spectrum. The company wants to become the largest electric utility in the US, through a merger with Progress Energy, but conservatives want Duke CEO Jim Rogers fired. They don't like his support for regulating carbon emissions, his executive team's multiple ethical violations, and (probably [...]
The problem with politics in America boils down to this: General Electric piled up $14 billion in profits last year and paid ZERO in income taxes; GE’s chief executive Jeffrey Immelt, who coordinated the massive political effort to win those tax breaks, received millions in salary and an appointment by Barack Obama to head up [...]