THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A sign for the North Carolina Legislative Building stands outside the General Assembly on Jones Street in Raleigh. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Day 252 of North Carolina’s wait for a state budget included a brief gaveling in of the General Assembly, a $1.4 billion critical needs budget proposal from the governor, and a swift rejection from General Assembly leadership. While the Republican majority Senate was

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square The North Carolina Legislative Building, home to the General Assembly, stands on Jones Street in Raleigh, N.C. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Stalled recovery in Hurricane Helene is blamed on “stifling bureaucracy utterly lacking in common sense and resourcefulness,” say seven Republican members of the North Carolina House of Representatives in a statement directed at first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. This

Alan Wooten | The Center Square An electric substation with high-voltage power lines and equipment stands in North Carolina. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Six months in, the North Carolina Energy Policy Task Force is thinking about tariffs among its identification of nine recommendations. Included is large-load tariffs, says the administration of first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, so that large-load customers like data centers are ensured of

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file image (The Center Square) – Taxpayers in North Carolina have new levels in three areas impacting everyday life. Arguably the most times transacted against least noticed will be at the gas pumps. Starting on New Year’s Day and running to Dec. 31, the motor fuels and alternative fuels excise tax rate is 41 cents per gallon or gallon equivalent, the state Department of Revenue says. Individual and corporate income tax rates are also droppi

By Alan Wooten | From our partners at The Center Square The North Carolina Legislative Building, home to the General Assembly, stands on Jones Street in Raleigh, N.C.  Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Legislators in North Carolina have been called back into session by Gov. Josh Stein to address Medicaid funding. The first-term Democratic leader exercised the gubernatorial authority not used in seven years with the two-year state budget still unfinished

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square The North Carolina Legislative Building, home to the General Assembly, stands on Jones Street in Raleigh, N.C. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – State budget negotiations have stalled between North Carolina Republican leaders in the General Assembly and the calendar year appears headed to an end without a new two-year spending plan. The budget by state law was due July 1 and Wednesday represented Day 114. Lawmakers