It's a wrap!

The state House met on Wednesday, voted to override Governor Cooper’s veto of the SB 382 (which includes additional funding for Hurricane Helene relief efforts as well as reorganization of some functions within the Executive Branch of state government) and passed one of the two state Senate proposed amendments to the state constitution to appear on the ballot in the 2026 General Elections.

Governor Roy Cooper and Governor-elect Josh Stein, both Democrats, on Thursday filed a lawsuit contesting the legislative action, with Cooper calling the provisions within the bill removing some of the gubernatorial appointment authority an ‘unconstitutional and dangerous power grab.’ This litigation is likely to end up before the state Supreme Court.

Also this week, the House Helene Recovery Committee met and heard presentations on the storm-impacted parts of western NC.

Representatives of the Legislative Fiscal Research Office, Office of State Budget and Management, and the Division of Emergency Management provided committee members an updated assessment of financial impact as well as emerging plans for recovery and mitigation efforts (you can see these presentation materials by clicking HERE).

Somewhat related, the Office of the State Auditor released a report on Thursday on the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) that stated the agency had mismanaged recovery funds for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, failing to design and implement oversight measures to ensure funds were being spent in accordance with legislature requirements and that funding was achieving desired outcomes in impacted areas.

Legislative leaders have said publicly they intend to take a far more aggressive role in the oversight of funds appropriated for Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

With this week’s action, the 2024 legislative session has officially come to an end, and the 2025 Session is scheduled to kick off on January 29^th.

We’ll publish an edition of the Raleigh Report the week before the General Assembly gets started next month to highlight issues likely to be discussed and debated by the state legislature in 2025, as well as a review of the items on IIANC’s 2025 Legislative Agenda.

IIANC member Representative John Bradford is not returning to the state House next year, but is remaining engaged in our advocacy efforts by serving as the Chair of the IIANC Governmental Affairs Committee for 2024 – 2026.

We are extremely fortunate to have John serving in this role, as his relationships with his legislative colleagues – both Democrats and Republicans, and in the state Senate as well as the House where he served – will make him an extremely effective advocate on issues important to IIANC members.

Also this week:

FEMA issued an advisory regarding applications for federal assistance in the storm impacted parts of the state, to alert the public that January 7, 2025, is the deadline to submit necessary documents to receive aid.
In the state Supreme Court race, after two recounts did not change Democratic candidate Allison Riggs winning margin of just under 800 votes out of 5.5M ballots cast, the State Board of Elections also denied Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin’s request to toss out 60,000 cast ballots based on voting eligibility concerns. The Griffin campaign is now considering whether to file a lawsuit in state court contesting the outcome.

Year-End Clearance!

During a recent office cleaning effort, we found a box of Brümate iPAC tumblers in the storage closet at IIANC. These were the premium gift for iPAC contributions of $120 or more a few years back.

To help us find a good home for each of these ‘vintage’ tumblers, we’re offering a special one-time incentive deal:

Make a year-end contribution to iPAC of just $60 (instead of the usual $120 or more required to get a tumbler) and we’ll send you one of these classic Brümate iPAC tumblers.

You’ll be supporting the advocacy work we do on your behalf with your iPAC contribution, and helping us in the year-end push to reach our goal of raising $105,500 for iPAC in 2024 (we are really close, but we need more of you who haven’t given to iPAC in the past to do so before December 31^st so we can hit our goal – we’re hoping this one-time deal convinces you to give now).

Of course, for $120 or more we’ll send you one of our current YETI iPAC tumblers.

It’s a great year-end clearance deal that supports the advocacy work we do on your behalf throughout the year - you can make your 2024 iPAC contribution by clicking HERE.

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