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North Carolina Open Thread [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-07-06

Welcome. This is a weekly feature of North Carolina Blue . The platform gives readers interested in North Carolina politics a place to share their knowledge, insight and inspiration as we take back our state from some of the most extreme Republicans in the nation.

Please stop by each week. You can also join the discussion in four other weekly State Open Threads . If you are interested in starting your own state blog, weekly to occasionally, I will list your work below.

Colorado: Mondays, 7:00 PM Mountain

Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern

North Carolina: Sundays

Missouri: Wednesday Evenings

Kansas: Monday Evenings

Please jump the fold for more, I hope you find this story collection useful.

North Carolina First Lady Anna Stein joined social justice advocate Kerwin Pittman on Wednesday to unveil the state’s second mobile Recidivism Reduction Center, expanding an effort to support people leaving prison as they transition back into society.

The center is run by Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services (RREPS), the nonprofit Pittman founded after his own experience with incarceration. In just 70 days, the group’s first mobile center has served more than 3,000 people in three cities — a pace Pittman said reflects both the urgency of the need and the effectiveness of the model.

“Too many people have fallen through the cracks and aren’t given a second chance,” Pittman told attendees. “We’re here to change that.”

The mobile centers — housed in customized RVs — provide case management and a suite of wraparound services, including job placement, housing assistance, mental health support, and help obtaining important documents like identification. The goal is to reduce recidivism by meeting people’s basic needs in the critical days and weeks after they leave prison. <More>

Stein also rejected an expansion of the state auditor’s investigative powers and changes to charter school rules.

Governor Josh Stein vetoed three bills Wednesday afternoon, including an expansion of the state auditor’s powers and a controversial reduction in emissions standards sought by Duke Energy.

In a slew of bill actions, Stein issued three vetoes and signed seven other bills passed by the General Assembly. The decisions bring Stein’s veto total for the term to seven, after he previously rejected bills on the permitless carry of concealed firearms, immigration enforcement, and environmental policy changes last month. That’s roughly on pace with the previous legislative session — by this point in 2023, Governor Roy Cooper had vetoed eight bills, though all were ultimately overturned.

So far, none of Stein’s vetoes have been overridden, as the legislature has a very narrow path to do so. Though Republicans hold a veto-proof, 30-20 supermajority in the state Senate, they are one seat short of the 72 votes needed in the 120-seat House, meaning any veto override would require either support from a House Democrat or absences. <More>

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein on Thursday vetoed three Republican-sponsored bills that seek to ban diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools, universities and state government, calling the legislation a distraction from more pressing issues facing the state.

He also vetoed House Bill 805 — a catchall bill that includes a collection of conservative social agenda priorities, including provisions that target transgender individuals and provide parents with expanded rights to challenge school library books.

The DEI bills — Senate Bill 227 targeting K–12 education, Senate Bill 558 focused on UNC System schools and community colleges, and House Bill 171 aimed at state and local government agencies — had all passed along party lines in recent weeks. Each sought to bar DEI offices, training programs, and what Republicans called “divisive concepts” related to race and gender from public institutions.

In a news release announcing the vetoes, Stein accused lawmakers of fueling “culture wars” and neglecting urgent state business.

“At a time when teachers, law enforcement, and state employees need pay raises and people need shorter lines at the DMV, the legislature failed to pass a budget and, instead, wants to distract us by stoking culture wars that further divide us,” Stein said in a statement. “These mean-spirited bills would marginalize vulnerable people and also undermine the quality of public services and public education. Therefore, I am vetoing them. I stand ready to work with the legislature when it gets serious about protecting people and addressing North Carolinians’ pressing concerns.”

The One Feather will now provide weekly legislative updates on various pieces of federal legislation of interest to members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The bills are shown in the order in which they were introduced following the new bills for the week.

New this Week

S. 2160 (A bill to reaffirm and clarify the federal relationships of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan as a federally recognized Indian Tribe). This Senate seeks the same as H.R. 3255 (Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians Restoration Act of 2025.

Introduced: June 25, 2025 by Sen. Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.)

Action: The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. There is not a scheduled hearing in that Committee for this bill as of press time.

Bills we’re currently watching (12 total)

H.R. 226 (Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act. This House bill would place 76 acres of land in eastern Tennessee into trust for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Included in that land are the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, the Chota Memorial, and the Tanasi Memorial sites.

Introduced: Jan. 7 by Rep. Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (R-Tenn.)

Action: This bill was passed in the House by a voice vote on Feb. 4. It was received in the Senate the next day and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. There are no scheduled hearings in that Committee for this bill as of press time. <More>

Look for this to be a weekly feature.

On June 20, Gov. Josh Stein vetoed Senate Bill 153, the North Carolina Border Protection Act, which now awaits a potential overturn. Section 6 of the bill would specifically prohibit UNC System schools from hindering law enforcement in obtaining information on students' citizenship or immigration status.

The bill also outlines stipulations for state agencies to further comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In his veto message, Stein wrote that S.B. 153 would make the state less safe. If the bill becomes law, he wrote, it would take state law enforcement away from their existing duties by forcing them to act as federal immigration agents.

After Stein's veto, the bill was first sent back to the N.C. Senate, where it now awaits a vote on whether to uphold his decision. Stein’s veto could potentially be overridden with a three-fifths majority vote from both the Senate and the N.C. House of Representatives. <More>

Thanks for stopping by, wishing you a safe and powerful week.

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