SENATE BUDGET CUTS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL FUNDING: State Senate budget writers have proposed phasing out $26 million in extra funding that the early colleges receive as part of their mission of providing high school students with access to college courses. School leaders across the state are warning that the loss of the supplemental state funding means some early colleges, especially those in rural communities, won’t have enough money to stay open. “If they’re not going to have the supplemental funding, they’re going to have to scale back dramatically or not be able to continue,” said Elizabeth Yelverton, legal affairs and policy manager for the N.C. Association of School Administrators. “There’s a very good chance that a lot of schools will close without the funding.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article231561948.html

SENATE TAKES AIM AT NC SHERIFFS' AUTONOMY: Two months after the House passed a bill requiring North Carolina sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration officials, a revised measure surfaced in the Senate on Wednesday. The new proposal, which now is backed by the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, includes a process for a judge to order whether a person should be held under an immigration detainer but no longer allows people to sue and fines to be levied against sheriffs who don't cooperate. The Senate Judiciary committee also discussed a proposal to allow people to purchase as many handguns as they want during a five-year period with a single pistol purchase permit instead of requiring them to get a permit from their local sheriff before buying each gun.
https://www.wral.com/wednesday-wrap-play-nice-with-ice-or-else/18448407/

CHARTER ADVISORY BOARD INSISTS ON FIVE NEW WAKE CHARTERS: The N.C. Charter Schools Advisory Board voted a second time Monday to recommend approval for North Raleigh Charter Academy and Wake Preparatory Academy to open in 2020. The State Board of Education had sent both charters back to the advisory board for further review because of the last-minute concerns raised by Wake schools. North Raleigh Charter Academy is a K-8 charter school that would be managed by Charter Schools USA, a for-profit company that operates several schools in the state, including Cardinal Charter Academy in Cary. Wake Prep would be a K-12 school in Wake Forest that’s managed by a charter school operator who made millions of dollars building, selling and leasing properties to the schools he runs in Arizona. The state board is required under state law to decide by August whether to approve the two new schools. Last week, the board had voted to approve 10 charter schools to open in 2020, including three in Wake.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article231315848.html

BUDGET SHOULD MAKE NC BETTER, NOT BOOST PARTISANSHIP AND SETTLE SCORES: Sen. Brent Jackson’s impulsive scheme to spend $250 million and move the state Department of Health and Human Services (and the nearly 5,000 who work for the agency) from Raleigh to Granville County is crystal clear evidence of the arrogance of the Senate’s leadership. The propaganda operation in the Senate leader’s office has shifted into high gear. It has sifted out miniscule tidbits in the budget and inflated them into happy talk. Regardless the propaganda, the budget speaks for itself. It is about partisanship, ideological rigidity and revenge. It is not about a better North Carolina. We deserve better. 2020 can’t come soon enough.
https://www.wral.com/editorial-budget-should-make-n-c-better-not-boost-partisanship-and-settle-score...

JIM WOMACK LEADS LIST OF CONTENDERS TO REPLACE ROBIN HAYES: North Carolina Republicans are gathering for their annual convention and regrouping after some electoral setbacks, an absentee ballot probe and legal troubles for the outgoing state chairman. More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the GOP convention beginning Friday in Concord. Delegates on Saturday will choose a successor to Robin Hayes as chairman. Hayes said he wouldn't seek re-election the day before being indicted on charges related to attempts to bribe the state's insurance commissioner on behalf of a wealthy donor. Announced candidates to succeed Hayes include Michael Whatley, Jim Womack and John Lewis. Republican majorities at the legislature are no longer veto-proof after November's elections. A new election also was ordered in the 9th Congressional District after investigations of a political operative working for then-GOP nominee Mark Harris.
https://www.wral.com/nc-republicans-look-to-regroup-pick-leader-at-convention/18437292/