RALEIGH — In July, Council of State news included the governor’s continued “education emergency,” an extension request for a pipeline project, updates on the N.C. Mountain State Fair, a lifetime achievement award, a cracked roller coaster, and a meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The North Carolina Council of State (COS) is an administrative body of 10 elected officials who are heads of their departments. Council members include the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, commissioner of labor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.
Gov. Roy Cooper continued to display his “education emergency” banner on his official website. He also kicked off his annual school supply drive while touting his increased education spending within his proposed budget. Lawmakers have already dismissed most of Cooper’s budget proposals as “reckless.” The governor issued his 14th veto of the session on House Bill 219: Charter School Omnibus. Overrides for the bill and four others have already been scheduled for Aug. 7.
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who also serves as chairman of the North Carolina Energy Policy Council, issued a statement regarding an extension for the completion date of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate project.
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline Expansion in North Carolina has the potential to secure our regional energy infrastructure by establishing redundancy in our natural gas supply,” Robinson said. “This additional pipeline will promote sustainable growth across our state as citizens look to power their homes and businesses. As recently as 2021, North Carolinians suffered when the Colonial Pipeline was taken offline due to a ransomware attack. My primary concerns for North Carolina’s ratepayers are always the security and affordability of utilities, and the MVP Expansion addresses both.”
Robinson’s remarks follow a letter from Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and 28 other state senators to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting approval for an extension on the end date for the project.
Attorney General Josh Stein and 31 other attorneys general joined a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to “tackle anticompetitive practices in the agriculture industry that raise prices and limit choices for customers and producers in order to protect citizens and keep grocery, meat, and poultry prices affordable. Along with other state attorneys general, Stein also traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the fentanyl crisis.
State Auditor Beth Wood indicated she will run for reelection despite her legal issues following a hit-and-run last December in which she left the scene.
An audit report published by Wood’s office reported the N.C. Department of Public Instruction had changed certain vendor information without proper documentation which resulted in an improper disbursement of over $165,000 to a fraudulent bank account. Another audit report cited issues with the monitoring of $635 million in federal recovery funds by the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office known as NCPRO.
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt appeared in a panel for a House Congressional Committee hearing on the topic of learning loss due to school closures on July 26. She described the state’s “unique” success in aiding districts in spending federal pandemic relief funding through the Office of Learning Recovery which she established in 2021.
Truitt also promoted the Center for Safer Schools’ annual “RISE Back To School Safety Summit to be held from July 31-Aug. 2, 2023, at the Gastonia Conference Center in Gastonia. The summit will offer training on issues such as bullying, suicide and critical incidents, as well as child abuse prevention, gang awareness, human trafficking, School Risk Management Plans and suicide prevention. To RSVP and for more information, contact [email protected].
Early in July, Commissioner Mike Causey named Angela Hatchell as senior deputy commissioner of the Agent Services, Consumer Services and Regional Director divisions.
Near the end of the month, Causey, in his capacity of State Fire Marshal, presented three Rockingham volunteer firefighters with the Order of the Guardian Award.
Causey also toured tornado-damaged areas in Nash County and a special Victim Assistance Center staffed by representatives from Causey’s assisted victims of the storm with insurance information.
Labor Secretary Josh Dobson worked with Carowinds Amusement Park on an issue with one of its coasters. Earlier this month, a park-goer’s video of coasters rocketing over a cracked support beam on the park’s Fury 375 coaster went viral nationwide and prompted the immediate closure of the ride. Dobson said it will be some time until the situation is resolved, and the park has been transparent in its efforts to rectify the situation and to keep patrons safe.
The North Carolina Mountain State Fair competition entries are now open per a release by Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler’s office. Deadlines to register for general exhibits and livestock competitions are set for Aug. 25. More information on the Mountain State Fair can be accessed at:
wncagcenter.org/p/mountainstatefair/competitions.
The Notary Public Administrators (NPA) Section of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) presented Secretary Elaine F. Marshall and former North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger with the first annual NPA Achievement Award at NASS’s Summer Conference. In addition to being the inaugural awardee, the Award itself will be known going forward as the Jaeger-Marshall NPA Achievement Award.
On July 25, it was reported that Marshall’s husband, Tommy Bunn, who left a significant mark on the state’s agricultural sector, had passed away at the age of 79.
Troxler issued a statement on Bunn’s passing offering condolences to Marshall and her family.
“North Carolina farmers and our agriculture industry have lost a great champion with the passing of Tommy Bunn,” Troxler said. We have been friends for over 30 years through our work in the tobacco industry and agriculture and I greatly respected his insights, experience and advice on ag policy and the future of the industry.”
