NC Capitol Wrap

A proposed $3.1 billion bond package to pay for school and highway construction and maintenance got preliminary approval from the House. More bills to reopen more businesses amid the pandemic are cropping up – this time it's amusement parks and wedding venues. And lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit state or local government from halting any July 4th fireworks displays or parades because of the pandemic.

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Lawmakers stripped the governor of some appointments to the board overseeing the Department of Transportation in a measure that would bail out the agency. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen told lawmakers that a great way to limit the spread of coronavirus is by wearing masks, an issue that has become fairly partisan at the legislature. Dozens of prominent attorneys have told state leaders that Confederate monuments outside the State Capitol pose a constitutional problem. And a state bill would allow the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to regulate the sale of ice cream, jello and other foods that contain alcohol.

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GOP lawmakers are pushing another bill to reopen businesses during the pandemic – this one for bowling alleys and skating rinks. The Senate approved a "mini budget" bill on teacher pay and rolled out one for the Department of Health and Human Services, which would allow the agency's headquarters to remain in Wake County. Finally, two criminal justice reform measures, giving judges more leeway in drug sentences and making it easier for people to expunge old, nonviolent felony charges, are headed to the governor.

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Legislative Republicans rolled out the first of what are expected to be several "mini budget" bills, this one on teacher pay for the coming year. Lawmakers also passed a measure that would waive the required road test for a driver's license for some teens during the pandemic. And a key Senate committee says it's time to allow hospital patients to once again have visitors.

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Lawmakers are doubling down on efforts to lift pandemic-related restrictions, sending a bill to Gov. Roy Cooper that would reopen bars and gyms days after he vetoed a bars-only measure. Jacksonville, Fla., appears to be the front-runner to grab at least part of the Republican National Convention from Charlotte because of restrictions on mass gatherings. And a "bipartisan" elections bill is anything but as Democratic senators fuss over voter ID provisions.

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The Senate passed a measure that would allow gyms and bars to reopen, despite Gov. Roy Cooper's pandemic-related restrictions. Meanwhile, the Cooper administration ordered an Alamance County racetrack closed for repeatedly defying restrictions and becoming "an imminent hazard" for coronavirus spread. Cooper also formed a task force to find ways to eliminate racial inequity in policing and the courts.

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A Republican-backed bill that would allow bars to reopen during the pandemic by using outdoor seating could set up a veto fight with Gov. Roy Cooper, who ordered bars to remain closed until late June. Meanwhile, the House overwhelmingly passed a series of changes to help with the fall elections as people deal with the virus. Also, the back and forth between the Cooper administration and GOP officials continues over how to hold the Republican National Convention in Charlotte safely during the pandemic.

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Several pandemic-related changes to voting by mail and in person during the fall elections are headed to the full House, while the full Senate will consider measures that would allow bars to reopen and restaurants to expand with outdoor seating. Meanwhile, the beleaguered chief of the state unemployment system was unexpectedly replaced.

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State Auditor Beth Wood described budgeting problems at the Department of Transportation to a Senate committee, and the Senate's initial budgeting for the coming year drops a suggestion to move the Department of Health and Human Services headquarters to Granville County. Meanwhile, former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer ends his controversial run on the UNC Board of Governors.

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The coronavirus pandemic has left the state budget with a massive hole that lawmakers will have to fill in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, they also must fix problems at the state Division of Employment Security that have left thousands of people waiting weeks for jobless benefits.

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