Stateline Headlines

Some States Speed Up Death Penalty

The slow pace of the death penalty prompted states to fix it or quit it this year.

Ex-North Carolina Gov. Jim Holshouser dies at 78

Oklahoma Corrections Department director to resign

NC Superintendent Atkinson’s suggestion for a teacher tax exemption flops

Perdue to launch education consulting business

NC House votes to end campaign financing checkoff

McCrory -- Budget deal may not happen by July 1

NC NAACP protest ends with more than 80 arrests

NC Senate expected to take final tax overhaul vote

Speed-loving legislators would lift N.C. limit to 75 mph

Airport bill could see action this week

Holshouser a trailblazer

Proposal calls for statewide telepsychiatry program by next year

2007 law discouraging non-NC trash getting review

Report -- N.C. gets C on infrastructure report card

NC NAACP prepares for seventh week of protests

Trouble for Voller continues to mount

Politicians and the powerful touch NC Rural Center cash

N.C. GOP is rolling back decades-long era of Democratic laws

No good reason to get rid of NC Child Fatality Task Force

State budget plans expand rural-urban divide

New transportation money formula clears N.C. Senate

Immigrant advocates in NC get word out about proposed NC immigration reforms

As Senate tax bill moves forward, Rucho breaks with Berger

Berger wants non-profit N.C. hospitals to pay sales tax

Let the Racial Justice Act stand

NC Senate tax overhaul heading for floor vote

Racial Justice Act repeal heads to NC Gov. McCrory(2)

Racial Justice Act repeal heads to NC Gov. McCrory

Private school vouchers at center of House budget debate

More NC offenders head to juvenile court in bill

Out-of-state spending likely swayed some state judge elections(2)

Private school vouchers at center of budget debate

McCrory signs 39 bills that become NC law

House considers NC budget again before final vote

In North Carolina, political protesters welcome arrest

NC House to debate budget proposal Wednesday

McCrory tosses ball, catches controversy

Senate’s new tax plan avoids expanding tax on services

NC bill would do away with handgun permits

Weekly protests in North Carolina challenge conservative shift in state politics

NC budget moving through House this week

NC House gives its final OK to tax overhaul

NC Republicans ignore Tillis, say no to tolls

NC Dems' No. 2 official resigning amid conflict

Feds, Ga. officials ponder high-speed rail routes to Charlotte

NC governor says he won't back down to protesters

NC House expected to complete tax overhaul OK

States look to tax hybrids to recoup road funding

N.C. GOP stresses unity in bid to oust Kay Hagan in 2014

NC House-Senate budgets -- Numbers close, priorities aren’t

Racial injustice in North Carolina

A test case for Republican lower-taxes rhetoric

NC House 'fracking' bill heading to House floor

Retooled NC tax package OK'd by House budget panel

NC infrastructure gets mostly C grades from engineers

Impact of proposed NC tax bill outlined

NC needs to look again at Medicaid expansion

North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act another step closer to repeal

NC House Republicans go back to original tax plan

Redistricting hearing over NC maps' legality over

N.C. House panel keeps fracking moratorium

Cap on mortgage deductions is back in House tax bill

Study -- N.C. bridges, dams need repair

Court ruling will allow N.C. DNA database to grow

Gov. McCrory -- Public school students take too many tests

North Carolina repeals law allowing racial bias claim in death penalty challenges

Heineman signs bill to offer wind energy tax incentives

NC redistricting trial continues before judges

NC House tentatively approves loan rate increases

N.C.’s lieutenant governor calls for review of education standards

Former NC lawmaker testifies on his own behalf

Movement against Common Core education standards hits NC

NC House tentatively OKs Racial Justice Act repeal

Testimony questions redrawn NC voting districts

150 arrested at NAACP rally against N.C. Republicans

In quick vote, House panel approves major tax bill

McCrory says Monday protests are unlawful, unacceptable

Legislators close in on Racial Justice Act repeal

Court ruling will allow N.C. DNA database to grow

NC House approves transferring control of MeckLINK to an authority

Airport bill advances after ‘impasse’ with city leaders

GOP should heed ‘Moral Monday’ protests

Foreign Law Bans: Political Statement or Unconstitutional?

State lawmakers are focused on keeping U.S. courts away from the influence of foreign law. But does banning all foreign law go too far?

As North Carolina Weighs Fracking, Questions Loom on Wastewater

Once a well is fracked, where does the waste go? Coastal communities in North Carolina are worried they’ll become dumping grounds.

NFL Plays Offense to Get Public Money for Stadiums

Why are so many teams asking taxpayers to build new pro football stadiums this year?

Lawmakers Chew on Weighty Issues: ‘Whose shad fry is the best?’

Photo Slideshow: Lawmakers call time out to weigh delicious legislation.

Interview: A Southern Medicaid Director’s Perspective on Health Care Reform

North Carolina’s Medicaid chief has been around the program long enough to know that expanding the program isn’t the only way to deliver health care to the uninsured.

Which State Will Be Next to Allow Fracking?

Hydraulic fracturing continues as a hot-button issue across statehouses, as lawmakers consider how much scrutiny to apply to oil and gas drillers looking to tap shale deposits stretching beneath 31 states. New York, Illinois, California and North Carolina are home to some high-profile debates.

North Carolina State of the State Address 2013

RALEIGH, North Carolina Feb. 18 Following is the prepared text of Gov. Pat McCrory's (R) 2013 State of the State Address:

Republicans Reassess Social Issue Strategy

Political pressure and last year’s elections have led Republican lawmakers to rethink their approach to controversial social questions.

Virginia Weighs an End to Its 31-Year-Old Uranium Mining Ban

In Virginia, home to one of the world’s largest deposits of uranium, state lawmakers must decide whether to overturn the state’s 31-year-old ban on mining.

Issue to Watch: Collective Bargaining

While this year’s legislative battles in the states over collective bargaining rights are likely to be more restrained than previous years, the legislation put forward would still have a significant impact on employer-labor relationships, if passed.

Issue to Watch: Renewable Energy

Here is a look at states considering major action on renewable energy policy.

GOP Lawmakers Look to Abolish Income Taxes

Republican lawmakers in several states are taking aim at something no state has done in more than three decades: eliminate income taxes.

Report: Death Penalty Becoming “Irrelevant”

This year marked more decline in the usage of the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Republicans Win Big in North Carolina Governor’s Race But Struggle Elsewhere

Despite heavy spending by outside groups in nearly a dozen races for governor, the partisan mix of Democrats and Republicans leading states appeared to change only slightly as a result of Tuesday’s elections.

In Iowa and Florida, Judges Survive Expensive Ouster Attempts

Three justices in Florida and one in Iowa held off conservative efforts to remove them from office. In Michigan and North Carolina, conservatives retained power on the Supreme Court following expensive campaigns.

Should State Education Chiefs Be Elected?

Thirteen states choose their top education official in a partisan campaign. Some people think that makes little sense, but it’s very hard to change.

Democrats Play Defense in Governors’ Races

The race for New Hampshire governor has the hallmarks of the biggest gubernatorial races this fall: heavy involvement from outside groups, a national contest stealing the spotlight and messages that echo themes from this year’s presidential campaigns.