Weekly Recap: Catch up on the news you missed from 2/19-2/25
North Carolina lawmakers advanced gun bills and a measure legalizing medical marijuana. Republican House Speaker Tim Moore is also OK after his security vehicle was hit by an intoxicated driver.
It was an active week in the North Carolina General Assembly, with lots of measures advancing through the legislature. A pair of gun bills cleared the House floor, including a repeal of the state’s pistol permit law. On the Senate side, lawmakers renewed an effort to legalize medical marijuana.
The week was also marked by a highway car collision on Thursday night.
Here’s a look back at the week that was in North Carolina politics:
The narrowing pathway to repealing pistol permits
On Feb. 16, the Republican-controlled Senate voted along party lines to eliminate a requirement that prospective pistol owners receive approval from their local sheriff before acquiring a pistol.
This past week, the House also passed a pistol permit repeal. But the House vote didn’t play out as expected.
Rep. Michael Wray, a Northampton County Democrat, was the lone Democratic sponsor of the permit repeal. However, he decided on Wednesday to vote against the bill, quashing GOP hopes of veto-proof support that would be needed in the event of a likely veto from Gov. Roy Cooper.
Asked after the legislative session about his apparent flip, Wray looked confused. When a reporter showed Wray’s name listed as a bill co-sponsor, the Democrat said he changed his mind on the issue after speaking with a local sheriff who had encouraged him to oppose the permit repeal effort. He didn’t answer further questions about how he may vote on potential overrides of Cooper.
🐘The GOP’s next move
Republican House Speaker Tim Moore said after Wednesday’s vote that he was considering having his chamber take up a more expansive Senate bill. In addition to the pistol permit repeal, Senate Bill 41 included a statewide safe storage awareness campaign and allowance for concealed handguns in churches located on school property under certain circumstances— ideas supported by a number of Democrats in the House.
The House has passed three separate bills: The pistol permit repeal, concealed handguns in churches and safe storage awareness. The Senate could take them up individually, but Moore thinks Republicans may be more likely to enact a pistol permit repeal if the House takes up the Senate’s 3-in-1 gun bill.
“We may in fact just take up the Senate bill because it takes care of all three of those issues in one bill, and that may pass better,” Moore told reporters on Wednesday. “It’ll just be a matter of polling the body.”
Six House Democrats had supported the concealed handguns in churches legislation and 44 Democrats in the chamber voted for the safe storage initiative. To override vetoes from Cooper, Republicans would need one Democrat to cross party lines.
🐎Dems on board?
Rep. Shelly Willingham, an Edgecombe County Democrat who has staked out a reputation as someone willing to reach across the aisle, told me after the session that he would likely oppose a bundled Senate bill.
“If there’s something that I voted against and that’s in the bundle, then that complicates things,” Willingham said. “If they have those three [concealed handguns, permit repeal and safe storage initiative] in that package, then I’m going to have to do some soul searching. But more than likely, if they did that, I would probably not support it.”
Without Willingham, Moore would likely need support from Wray or Reps. Kanika Brown, Tricia Cotham, Garland Pierce or Amos Quick, as they were the only other Democrats to support concealed handguns in more churches.
If Republicans can’t get a single House Democrat to support a bundled bill, they could encourage the Senate to advance the three separate House bills, which could result in the safe storage initiative and concealed handgun bills becoming law while the pistol permit repeal fails.
🌿Medical marijuana 2.0
A renewed effort to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for North Carolinians with qualifying medical conditions advanced through two committees.
On Tuesday, the measure cleared its first legislative hurdle, followed by a second committee vote on Wednesday.
The legalization effort led by state Sen. Bill Rabon, a Brunswick County Republican, now goes to the chamber’s Rules Committee before a vote on the Senate floor.
But the real challenge lies in the House, which was responsible for the bill’s death last year. Moore, the Republican House Speaker, expressed an openness to the measure, but he also wants to ensure a system isn’t created for a backdoor to recreational use of marijuana.
Under Senate Bill 3, or the “NC Compassionate Care Act,” North Carolinians who want to prescribed marijuana must demonstrate to a qualified physician that they suffer from any of 14 debilitating conditions, though an 11-member Compassionate Use Advisory Board could add new debilitating medical conditions onto the list.
🚨A scary scene for Moore
On Thursday night, Moore was riding in a security vehicle after an evening of events in Wilson. While on his way back to Raleigh, his car was struck from behind multiple times by an intoxicated driver.
While Moore was initially concerned he may have been deliberately targeted, it appeared James Brogden, the 38-year-old Goldsboro resident who ran into him, was under the influence.
After Moore’s driver turned on his blue lights, Brogden fled the scene and proceeded down the highway for about four additional miles before finally pulling over, according a State Highway Patrol report.
While Moore was startled, he was uninjured. Dan Gurley, an adviser to Moore, and Rep. David Willis, a Union County Republican, were also in the vehicle with Moore and uninjured.
Emergency personnel responded to the scene and took Brogden to a hospital for further evaluation. After being released from the hospital, Brogden was put in jail at the Wake County Detention Center, where he was charged with misdemeanor speed to elude arrest, failure to heed blue lights and siren, hit and run, driving while impaired, failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision, resisting a public officer and damage to property. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 17.
📖5 essential reads
Going forward, I’d like to highlight some good journalism outside of Anderson Alerts that I’d encourage folks to take a look at.
Here are five pieces that stood out to me this week:
A Prescription for Rural Hospitals (Jim Morrill // The Assembly)
Vinyl chloride is not just an Ohio problem. More than 5 tons are emitted into the air in North Carolina each year. (Lisa Sorg // NC Policy Watch)
Child reports being sexually assaulted on school bus. Her mom says CMS did nothing. (Nick Ochsner // WBTV)
NC auditor flouted state rules she pushed to enforce (Lucille Sherman // Axios)
What it's like to watch a Carolina Hurricanes game with North Carolina's governor (Jeremy Markovich // North Carolina Rabbit Hole)*
*Not from this week, but I have to re-up in light of NHL Stadium Series in Raleigh
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