Catch up here with the NC Sierra Club's latest news and blog posts. If you want to read more on a given topic, click the keywords at the bottom of any post.
Still no budget, still no adjournment at NCGA
August 30, 2019
The N.C. General Assembly continued its long session this week with no sign of adjournment in sight and without a state budget passed. Instead of a full budget, the legislators voted on so-called mini-budgets, which are bills with things like raises...
House de-fangs Duke rate-making bill, Cooper vetoes billboard bill
August 23, 2019
Good news on environmental bills this week! The House amended the controversial Duke Energy multi-year rate-setting bill, removing its most contentious parts and instead calling for a study of various rate-setting changes. And the billboard bill got...
Farm Act clears House, environmentally harmful sections intact
August 21, 2019
The state House today voted 63-48 to pass the Farm Act, a bill that ostensibly supports North Carolina's farmers, but includes giveaways to industrial hog operations that endanger the environment and public health.
Senate Bill 315 will now be...
House approves revised bill to study modern utility ratemaking tools
August 20, 2019
The N.C. House passed an amended version of the S 559, Storm Securitization/Alt. Rates, revising a section that would have allowed Duke Energy to seek permission for multiple years of rate increases in one request. That section has instead been...
'Billboard protection act' heads to Cooper's desk
August 9, 2019
The "billboard protection act" is heading to Gov. Roy Cooper's desk after the House approved Senate changes to the measure. Cassie Gavin explains what may happen next.
House OKs Senate version of billboard bill that could harm scenery, safety
August 7, 2019
The N.C. House today voted 60-54 to accept Senate changes to a bill that would promote the interests of the billboard industry at the expense of trees, local government authority and scenic beauty.
House Bill 645, “Revisions to Outdoor Advertising...
Budget battle keeps things quiet at legislature
August 2, 2019
It's quiet - too quiet - in Raleigh as the N.C. General Assembly is caught in a parliamentary wrestling match over Gov. Roy Cooper's budget veto. Meanwhile, environmentally important bills that are being followed by the N.C. Sierra Club are also in...
Report: 'No convincing evidence of need' for Mountain Valley Pipeline extension
August 1, 2019
Today, a coalition of water and environmental justice advocates released a study conducted by the Applied Economics Clinic (AEC), showing Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP) “has not provided convincing evidence” of a need for the MVP extension....
Billboard bill, Farm Act inch forward at the legislature
July 26, 2019
The spotlight at the General Assembly this week was on the fight over gerrymandered districts. But, Cassie Gavin writes, some unappealing environmental bills moved forward through the process at the same time.
Senate supports billboards over scenic highways with passage of H645
July 23, 2019
The state Senate this evening passed a measure that would limit the ability of local governments to determine how to control billboards and would allow more cutting of the public’s trees along highways to increase billboard visibility. The measure...