To file a hurricane related claim, contact the League’s claims team at CATclaims@nclm.org or 800-768-8600.
Archived Bulletins
January 10, 2025
With the new year, we here on the League’s Government Affairs team join city officials statewide in welcoming new faces in state government. There are many to get to know: Governor Josh Stein and his agency leaders, House Speaker Destin Hall, Senate Minority Leader Sydney Batch, and newly-elected Cabinet officials, all of whom have been recently sworn into office...
December 13, 2024
The state House this week joined the Senate in voting to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of an omnibus end-of year bill that includes a detrimental zoning provision, meaning that the bill becomes law. SB 382 Disaster Relief-3/Budget/Various Law Changes set aside additional money for the western disaster relief but was criticized for numerous provisions stripping the governor of additional powers.
December 6, 2024
As we close out 2024, it's important to reflect on both the challenges and the remarkable successes that municipalities across North Carolina experienced this year. While we faced significant hurdles—such as the devastation of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, which tested our communities’ resilience and response efforts —municipalities demonstrated extraordinary strength and dedication.
November 1, 2024
It’s been over a month since Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina. The storm, dumping over 40 trillion gallons of water across the Southeast United States, destroyed roads, bridges, businesses, and homes, and upended the lives of those who call western North Carolina home.
October 4, 2024
The last several days have been truly harrowing for North Carolina as Hurricane Helene brought unprecedented levels of rainfall and destruction to our state, especially in our western communities. Disasters like this can leave us feeling helpless and hopeless. But I can say without hesitation that I have hope and confidence in our ability to recover – time and time again, our cities and towns have proven that the government closest to residents is the most powerful.
September 6, 2024
Every two years, as North Carolinians usher in the fall season with pumpkin spice lattes, the Government Affairs Teams at the League embarks on its extensive, member-driven policy development process to establish the League’s policy goals for the next legislative biennium.
August 2, 2024
Whew, what a year this month has been! The political junkies among us have been gobbling up the recent national headlines. Meanwhile, most of the electorate has yet to tune in. Our team of political junkies here at NCLM is dialed in year-round, of course. And we’re eager to bring you the latest rundown since the NC General Assembly adjourned in July, as we switch to our monthly Bulletin publication cycle.
July 12, 2024
SB 166 Building Code Regulatory Reform was among five bills that Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed over the last week. The vetoes followed a frenetic final week of legislating before the Fourth of July week, with members of the General Assembly headed back to their districts afterward. The governor and his advisers then sorted through legislation to determine what would be signed into law, vetoed or allowed to become law without
his signature.
June 28, 2024
The General Assembly approved a crush of bills this week, as it began its more recent trend of a session end without end. Legislators left town Thursday after passing an adjournment resolution calling for them to reconvene on six dates later in the year: July 10, July 29, September 9, October 8, November 19 and December 11. How much business they conduct on those reconvening dates is yet to be determined.
June 21, 2024
The House and Senate rolled out competing budget plans this week after failing to agree to an overall spending target, a difference typically resolved early the budget negotiation process. The disagreement over spending – with the House proposing spending roughly $290 million more than the Senate – sets up the possibility of a lengthy stalemate between the two chambers.
June 14, 2024
A House committee has advanced legislation that could force manufacturers of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS to reimburse public water systems for the cost of removing the chemicals. HB 864 PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability was approved by the House Committee on the Environment and advances to the House Committee on Appropriations for consideration.
June 7, 2024
Legislators on the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee passed a concerning amendment to HB 385 Various Energy/Env. Changes. Wednesday that would modify the authority of water and sewer systems during the residential development process. The new language would prohibit public water and sewer systems from imposing unauthorized conditions for residential development in utility development agreements.
May 31, 2024
The death of the father of House Speaker Tim Moore meant a slow week at the North Carolina General Assembly this week. Richard “Rick” Moore, 75, previously served 12 years as a member of the Kings Mountain City Council and was a longtime business owner in the community. He passed away on Monday, at the age of 75, and his funeral was held on Wednesday.
May 24, 2024
Legislators unveiled a new version of their perennial farm bill this week, with proposals that call for several changes to agricultural laws, including one creating an exemption for municipal stormwater fees. SB 355 was originally filed as legislation affecting vehicle hauling on public roadways. The new version of the bill, SB 355 North Carolina Farm Act of 2024, would exempt agricultural land used for bona fide farms purposes from paying local stormwater fees. The bill references “bona fide farm purposes” as described in G.S. 160D-903.
May 17, 2024
Legislators capped off a quiet week in Raleigh with no-vote sessions in the House and Senate on Thursday. While the floor and committee hearing schedules were limited this week, behind the scenes budget writers continue work on the state budget. Last Friday, state budget officials revised the initial budget surplus down by $430 million over the next two years. Even with the lower revision, lawmakers will have the ability to spend up to $1 billion more than last year's budget.
May 10, 2024
House legislators advanced an omnibus bill this week that would reorganize the state Building Code Council, make several changes to the building code and also change some land development regulations. SB 166 2024 Bldg. Code Regulatory Reform. moved quickly through the House committee process, as it was heard by the House Finance Committee on Wednesday before bypassing the House Rules Committee to head straight to the House floor. It passed without significant debate.
May 3, 2024
The N.C. General Assembly reconvened for this year’s Short Session and began its work in earnest this week. With that resumption of regular legislative business, starting today, the League’s Bulletin will come to your inboxes weekly instead of the monthly publication schedule we follow during the legislative interim. Read the other articles in this issue for the most important matters that have come up for cities in this first full week of the session.
April 5, 2024
The Recap: The November battlefield is set. With the state Board of Elections unanimous vote in the final week of March, the election primary results from March 5 have been certified. Three Republican primaries head to a May 14 runoff, including the races for the 13th Congressional District, Lt. Governor, and State Auditor. That means the primary election season will continue for another six weeks, but the general election contests for all 170 North Carolina House and Senate races are set.
March 1, 2024
The Recap: Legislators are enjoying a relatively calm start to the new year when it comes to policy considerations. Why is that? It’s election season. Many legislators are gearing up for the March 5th primary, as all 120 seats in the General Assembly are up for election this November.
February 2, 2024
The Recap: It is pretty clear by now that, when it comes to relationship-building between municipal officials and state legislators, nothing resonates quite like our Town & State Dinner. At last year’s event, NCLM President and Fuquay-Varina Commissioner William Harris noted the common purpose, “As you look across the room tonight, our legislators represent large cities and small towns, and all those in between. I can assure that the elected officials from our cities and towns here also represent that rich and diverse patchwork of North Carolina.” President Harris’ remarks captured how important it is to have the voice of cities and towns heard as our state legislators navigate the myriad of issues at the General Assembly.
January 5, 2024
The Recap: This year, I was fortunate to spend the Christmas holiday with a family member who’s a long-serving Ohio mayor. Among the good-natured ribbing about which state can claim preeminence in creating aviation, we talked a lot about his work on behalf of his city. He described a recent contentious rezoning request, conversations with legislators about municipal finances, and efforts to clean up a vacant building in a growing area of town. Hearing about his experiences as a city leader—and the passion with which he told those stories—it felt like I could have been talking with any of our own local elected leaders here in the state that was clearly First in Flight.
December 1, 2023
The Recap: The North Carolina General Assembly stands adjourned as of Thursday, November 30th, and while legislative action has mostly come to a halt, candidate filing for local, state, and national elections begins Monday, December 4th—setting the stage for long, competitive campaigns for some of the most coveted positions of power in our state and country.
October 6, 2023
Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil is credited with saying, “The House Republicans are not the enemy, they’re the opposition. The Senate is the enemy.” The Massachusetts Democrat was commenting on the state of affairs in 1980’s Washington, but there may not be a better truism about life in the current North Carolina General Assembly.
September 1, 2023
In the new Barbie movie, Ken receives a new occupation that he simply calls “Beach.” A friend asked me how I would describe my job similarly, and my answer was immediate: “North Carolina.” That’s because working as a lobbyist on behalf of N.C. municipal officials ultimately means working for North Carolina.
More precisely, our Government Affairs team works passionately so that you as local officials can make the best possible decisions for North Carolina—its businesses, residents, and visitors. Keeping you up to date on major state-level developments that affect your local decision-making is a big part of our mission here at NCLM.
August 25, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Another relatively quiet week at the General Assembly. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed SB 747 Elections Law Changes, setting up another potential veto override from the Republican supermajority. Otherwise, the still-delayed budget remains the key piece of outstanding legislation, and we expect that status quo to remain for at least a few more weeks.
August 18, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: After weeks of inactivity, legislators returned to Raleigh on Wednesday, overriding several of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes and passing into law a number of pieces of legislation, including controversial changes to state election procedures.
August 11, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Legislative leaders made clear this week that the budget would have to wait yet another month. "At this point, you’re talking about a September date for actual passage — signing into law and all of that. I think you should have significant progress made in the next couple of weeks, so you have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to be," Speaker Tim Moore told WUNC.
August 4, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The General Assembly was quiet yet again. Next week figures to hold more of the same, as votes aren't expected until the week of the 14th.
July 28, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Despite a mostly quiet week at the General Assembly, the League's advocacy efforts on behalf of cities and towns were in full swing.
July 21, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Business was mostly slow at the General Assembly, especially as it relates to the largest piece of outstanding legislation: the budget.
July 14, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The House took a few notable actions this week on legislation that relates to cities and towns, including HB378 Firefighters Criminal History Record Checks and two local land use bills. Those are covered in depth in this bulletin.
June 30, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It’s now official: budget negotiations will stretch into the new fiscal year. With Independence Day this coming Tuesday, Legislators will not return to Raleigh until the week of July 11.
June 23, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was a week of vetoes... and potential overrides. For cities and towns, one key piece of legislation is in the crosshairs: SB299 Reimburse Late Audit Costs with Sales Tax Rev. The House has yet to hold its override vote on the bill, but that is expected next week. Scroll down for more information on this legislation and where it stands.
June 16, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was a big week for North Carolina cities and towns at the General Assembly amid bigger, newsmaking topics this week, like the signing of the sports-wagering bill.
June 9, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was an active week for bills that cities and towns have been following this session, with mostly positive results and items to continue tracking. More broadly, work continued on the state budget, with negotiators from both chambers working toward a compromise version. Perhaps highest in the headlines from the General Assembly this week was its action on legislation that would allow for sports
wagering.
June 2, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: On municipal matters, it was a lighter week at the General Assembly, where lawmakers worked mostly on high-profile issues like sports wagering and shifting appointment powers with state boards and commissions. They also held a discussion-only hearing on this session's regulatory reform legislation, a bill that usually gains momentum late in the session.
May 26, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Last week, we shared insights into the Senate's draft budget, which the chamber adopted and sent to the House for consideration. The House, which previously issued its own state budget proposal, rejected the differing Senate version this week. Meanwhile, legislative committees were active with hearings on significant policy bills like sports wagering and a reorganization of Blue Cross and Blue Shield. In the mix, bills of interest to cities and towns saw activity as well.
May 19, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The N.C. Senate unveiled and approved its draft of the state budget at $29.8 billion. The plan includes significant differences from the budget draft approved by the House a month ago. Meanwhile, a bill limiting abortions in the state went into law after Republican legislators, with their new supermajority, overrode the governor’s veto of it.
May 12, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was, by comparison, a much quieter week at the General Assembly, following the previous week's "crossover" deadline clamor that determined what bills would remain eligible this session. (Much of the public dialogue meanwhile centered on the abortion limitation bill that the chambers during crossover week sent Gov. Roy Cooper. He opposes the legislation and hopes lawmakers will sustain his expected veto amid a Republican supermajority that could override it). But, importantly right now for cities and towns, we're essentially at the midpoint of the 2023 session, and it's time to review.
May 5, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was, by comparison, a much quieter week for theGeneral Assembly. The expected lull came in the wake of the previous week's clamor, which saw gusts of legislative activity under the wire of the "crossover" deadline that determined which bills remain eligible for the remainder of the session. But we still have bills to discuss in the Bulletin.
April 28, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Arguably, it was the biggest week of the year (so far) for the League and its members -- for one, with the CityVision 2023 conference transpiring over the past days in Concord, with hundreds of municipal officials in attendance representing cities and towns of all sizes from across North Carolina. Meanwhile, the League's Government Affairs team was fast at work at the Legislative Building in Raleigh tracking bills on the move as the House's final bill-filing deadline approached and lawmakers' "crossover" deadline loomed just beyond.
April 21, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: State lawmakers returned from their customary "spring break" to buckle down on business as deadlines loomed. The House crossed a major bill deadline (and its final deadline for public bills is coming up April 25), prompting a big swell of bill filings -- 217 new bills in the House
alone in the past week. Meanwhile, earlier-filed bills continue to move through the legislative process.
April 14, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: Following last week's packed slate at the 2023 General Assembly, lawmakers this past went on a planned "spring break," quieting the hallways at the Legislative Building until they regroup this coming Monday. But, for cities and towns, impactful proposals afloat in the meantime require attention and action.
April 7, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was a boisterous week in North Carolina politics. For one, making national headlines, Rep. Tricia Cotham of the N.C. House switched her political affiliation from Democratic to Republican, a move her former party decried as it gave the latter a powerful supermajority in the General Assembly. Meanwhile, the House gave final approval to its biennial budget proposal and sent it over to the Senate for review as a number of bills we've been tracking also saw movement. It was a busy week for bill filing too, as it marked the Senate's final filing deadline.
March 31, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The N.C. House released its state budget proposal. As we point out below in this Bulletin, it once again has a local infrastructure focus. Among its contents, the budget bill proposes to spend $1 billion on roads and transportation, along with $1 billion for water and sewer infrastructure across the state. Meanwhile at the General Assembly, news coverage centered on this week's veto override that put new gun legislation into law and the House's passage of a sports-betting bill.
March 24, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The League and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners released an extensive report examining the housing affordability crisis in North Carolina, “Local Governments Responding: The Housing Crisis in North Carolina,” based on a survey of planning and inspections staff in the fastest growing communities in the state.
March 17, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The chambers kept a busy clip this week, but less-so on issues of direct significance to city and town governments, as the 2023 legislative session continued on Jones Street in Raleigh.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Senate made news by passing Medicaid expansion after years of debate over the subject; the House still needs to give approval and has the bill on its calendar for next week. Meanwhile, the House this week considered more bills on controversial topics that received Gov. Roy Cooper's veto stamp in past sessions.
March 10, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: With the 2023 General Assembly running on all engines, lawmakers continued filing and moving bills -- with some activity reflecting filing deadlines -- while House leadership indicated their draft of a proposed state budget may debut soon, possibly in April.
WHAT IT MEANS: It's a key point in the General Assembly's session work -- House and Senate leaders have agreed on a state spending target, which creates an axle for budget negotiations and ideally puts lawmakers on track to adopt a final two-year plan this summer. According to the Insider State Government News Service, majority leaders agreed to a 6.5 percent increase in the budget for the first year of the biennium -- coming out to $29.7 billion -- and a 3.75 percent increase in the second year, or roughly $30.8 billion. In remarks, House Speaker Tim Moore noted focuses of the chamber's plan would include teacher and state employee pay raises, infrastructure and workforce development.
March 3, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The filing of bills and shaping through legislative committees continued at the General Assembly, with a big piece of news materializing in an agreement between majority-party leaders toward
Medicaid expansion, an issue with years of preceding discussion. While most of the bills moving through the process were not of direct interest to cities and towns, we have highlighted some that are, which you'll see below in this Bulletin. Meanwhile, the House continued work on its to-be-released state budget proposal.
WHAT IT MEANS: With regard to budget development, municipal leaders should let their lawmakers know now if they have any requests to include in the plan (as lawmakers urged ongoing communication about context and needs from local officials during last week's successful Town & State Dinner.)
February 24, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: With the 2023 General Assembly session underway and gaining steam, the League held its fifth Town & State Dinner on Wednesday, uniting municipal and legislative officials from across the state for conversation and common ground as the lawmaking session unfolds over the coming months. The event was a tremendous success in relationship-building for the betterment of North Carolina and its variety of communities.
WHAT IT MEANS: More than 500 attendees discussed issues with their lawmakers and other fellow officials over dinner at the Raleigh Convention Center, and House and Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle took to the stage for feature conversations moderated by municipal leaders.
February 17, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: After a couple weeks of limited activity at the legislature for cities and towns, the radar began to blip. Some of the latest bill filings include measures of interest to municipalities, which we'll review
below in this Bulletin.
WHAT IT MEANS: Generally, things are picking up, with a variety of ideas in the mix; importantly, some bill-filing deadlines are just ahead, including for local bills. Keep it in mind as you talk to your legislators: Senate members have until Feb. 23 to request the drafting of local bills; House members have a March 1
deadline. Other deadlines apply for different kinds of bills.
February 10, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: It was a new week for the N.C. General Assembly in Raleigh, where lawmakers continued to file bills and meet with their assigned committees, but still in the shallow end of the overall session.
WHAT IT MEANS: In the details, both the House and Senate this week initiated their appropriations committees, where lawmakers received information from legislative staff about the state budget development process. This is standard for the early weeks of the long session.
Meanwhile, we continue to monitor the filing of bills for items that may be of interest to cities and towns.
February 3, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: The 2023 legislative session continued this week, at a pace typical for this part of the calendar. It's the long session of the General Assembly, which tends to ramp up slowly and methodically. But there are some important deadlines ahead.
WHAT IT MEANS: Bill-filing, for one aspect, continued this week, with proposals on a spread of issues, some of which have been considered in prior sessions but didn't become law. Neither chamber held floor votes this week, and the few committees that met to discuss bills didn't have anything of municipal interest on the calendar.
January 27, 2023
WHAT HAPPENED: After a brief break, the General Assembly gaveled back into business at the Legislative Building in Raleigh to formally kick off the 2023 long session that will unfold over the months to come.
WHAT IT MEANS: The long session is the heavy-lift of the legislative biennium, with new proposals for committees to vet -- lawmakers are now filing bills -- and the development of the state's spending plan. As you'll read in this Bulletin, the League has approved its slate of goals for the new biennium, based on input and shaping from the state's cities and towns. We break them down by category below.
League Bulletin Archive