Politics & Government

State House members passed a GOP-backed bill that would require state residents show a photo ID before being allowed to vote.  The bill, previously approved by three legislative committees, allows several forms of identification to verify voters.  Democrats and civil rights groups who oppose the bill say new requirements amount to attempts at voter suppression. 

Republican David Lewis, chair of the House Elections Committee, says the bill ensures fairness.

State lawmakers in the Senate have passed a bill that would give local jurisdictions the option to publish legal notices online rather than in local newspapers.

Currently, local governments must publish legal ads from zoning notices to new ordinances in newspapers. The measure would affect county and city governments in ten counties, including Wake, Guilford and Mecklenburg.

State lawmakers in the Senate have approved a bill that would change how leaders of the Wake County school board are elected.

Senate Bill 325 would scrap the current boundaries for board seats. It would also move board elections from odd to even-numbered years, when voters choose their representatives in Congress and the General Assembly.

House lawmakers have passed a bill that would revamp teacher tenure in North Carolina. The measure has bipartisan support and passed 113 to 1.

Governor Pat McCrory wants a new method of funding transportation projects in order to spur economic growth.  He says the way the state has approached transportation projects has not favored areas that need an economic boost.

"We have struggled to keep pace with the needs of our growing areas and to bring jobs to our most economic-challenges areas of this state.  So right now it's time to think differently," McCrory says.