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Loyalty program subject to terms and conditions. Subject to change. Visit Lowe's.com slash shipping terms for details. It's 5055 and welcome in to a Monday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FMWBT. We start off this morning with a pretty interesting hearing that took place in the North Carolina General Assembly last week.
That was ahead of lawmakers' expected return today. We'll get into some of those details as we go through the program on this Monday morning. And some continued and growing frustration with North Carolina e-courts and the e-court technology system across the Tarheel State. North Carolina lawmakers last week pressed the administrative office of the courts and the director there, Ryan Boyce, on December the 11th for detailed answers about cost overruns, system performance, and long-term efficiency tied to the state. State's e-court technology rollout.
The hearing was conducted by the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety, and it highlighted frustrations over slowdowns, unclear financial savings, if any at all, and heavy reliance on one single vendor. The exchange underscored the legislature's concerns about government spending, vendor accountability, and whether taxpayers are getting any tangible value from one of the largest IT projects in state history, not only in terms of time, but in terms of cost.
Some of the growing concern was about the general slow nature of the e-court application, which is used all over the state, from the Tennessee Mountains to the East Coast, Virginia to South Carolina, all up and down North Carolina. Senator Buck Newton, who is the Republican from Wilson County, said, quote, I've watched an assistant DA lose connection to e-courts and have to start the process all over again. That was his opening comment in back and forth questioning. He also added that while the state has invested roughly $2 million in courthouse Wi-Fi infrastructure and upgrades, that is continuing to be a major problem. Boyce acknowledged the issues, candidly saying, quote, it's not really a Wi-Fi or a network issue.
It's really a vendor problem. And I agree with you. The application is frankly too slow. He added that the state has tried to hold Tyler Technologies, that is the group that is responsible for the North Carolina e-court system, financially responsible for some of these concerns, acknowledging that the process of improving the performance has been gradual over time. time.
Lawmakers noted that slow software impacts court efficiency across the state. Magistrates, clerks, prosecutors, and private attorneys report heavy workloads, disruptive efforts, duplicative efforts rather, and system delays. With Senator Newton saying everybody that is a player in the system, all of them are saying that they are drowning and they need more help. Boyce explained that the challenges stem from a shift to a unified statewide system, noting that this is the first time that we've ever provided support to all judicial stakeholders. Under the old mainframe era system, which was created all the way back in the 1950s, the North Carolina administrative of courts primarily supported clerks and provided limited, and I mean limited functionality for district attorneys.
The new system consolidates case management, e-warrants, citations, and other services. Into one single platform, creating broader support responsibilities for every party, from district attorneys, again, the clerks that have been using some level of technology now for quite some time, and private attorneys and lawyers that are operating with the court system. One of the major concerns and questions remains about how expensive said system is, as State Representative Reese Pertle, the Republican from Rockingham County, focused on fiscal accountability, saying, When we started the Odyssey project, what was the projected cost versus the final cost? Was it under budget, over budget? Did we have to put more monies into this project?
It was noted that preliminary figures for this with the original 10-year case management contract with Tyler Technologies was a whopping $85 million, a 2022 add-on to add e-warrant support. added 30 million dollars to the system and an e-citation system runs at roughly two and a half million dollars a year annually so this is a major expense a very expensive system that the state has implemented or is in the process maybe might be more accurate to say implementing and it is not necessarily held up to a more than one hundred million dollar investment that the state has already planned so far state representative purtle pressed further saying you don't have any of these numbers referring to the latest cost savings presentation that took place as it was admitted that the information is still being compiled the individual being questioned in boys said I've asked our team to start pulling that together and you'll have that before a budget submission in the absence of defined cost saving data it remains unclear to the state legislature whether the e-court's rollouts is delivering measurable efficiency gains Or simply shifting costs to local offices while increasing the reliance on a single vendor. The committee also explored looming federal accessibility requirements under the ADA. That's the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is nothing new, however, it is something that is not consistently but somewhat often changing, and there are modifications made to make sure that whether state or federal or even local government entities are helping those out that are suffering from disabilities.
As Boyce said, that the upgrades to the Judicial Branch website to be ADA compliant could run in the ballpark to $200,000 to $300,000. emphasizing that the changes were mandated without federal funding to lawmakers. The administrative of courts has also launched an online jury excusal portal designed to make it easier for citizens to request exemptions or deferments when they presumably would get a letter in the mail requesting their service as a juryman. Newton praised the initiative but questioned why adoption has been uneven, with the response being that clerks have to opt into the program. Boyce explained that the issue is procedural rather than a technology problem.
saying under statute the chief district court judge in char is the one that is in charge of jury excusals with some smaller counties still preferring to handle those requests by phone or letter with newton saying constituents frequently ask about an easier way to manage jury service noting that now i know that they can do that online i'm going to refer them to the online portal only 45 counties currently offer the portal residents in other counties must check in with their court each in each county to request an excusal either by phone or mail pertle pressed boys on staffing concerns noting that while aoc has retired mainframe era positions it is still requesting additional support staff to manage the statewide system saying that throws me off a bit where does the rubber meet the road was the question asked during the hearing boys clarified that retiring the mainframe Eliminates old positions, but new responsibilities created by the e-court system requires different staffing allotments across the state court system. He acknowledged that vendor-related slowdowns have only exacerbated some of those pressures at courthouses all across North Carolina, saying, quote, at the end of the day, the vendor is responsible for increasing that speed on the back end. There, of course, are growing concerns over cybersecurity challenges with any technology product. This is not something that is inherently unique to the e-court system across North Carolina. During the hearing, the lawmakers were warned of escalating cybersecurity threats, many of those being driven by artificial intelligence, with the call coming out that the e-court system alone faces some 15,000 technologies.
Different attacks per day, noting that those attacks are increasing and on the rise because of artificial intelligence. It was noted that rising cybersecurity costs, hardware replacement, and inflation all add into the long-term financial demand of the e-court system. Despite acknowledgement of the system's potential, lawmakers made it clear that patience for vendor delays and incomplete financial metrics is a growing problem, with Newton suggesting establishing some sort of statutory performance benchmark for Tyler Technologies. Again, that is the group that is responsible for the e-court system in North Carolina, with State Senator Pertle emphasizing that the administrative of courts must provide hard numbers before the next budget cycle. The e-courts project represents one of the largest modernization efforts in North Carolina government, consolidating decades of paper-based processes.
Into a digital framework intended to increase efficiency, transparency, and access to justice.
However, the results at this point, I think, many would argue. Have probably been split in terms of some of the growing frustration with the delays and some of the issues with the North Carolina e-court system. You can read more from this committee hearing that took place in Raleigh last week. Those details this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. The headline there: NC Lawmakers Press Judicial Officials on e-courts.
It's five as the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is kerrygold butter. Carrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result?
A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerry Gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Kerry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. 22 on the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 11. Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM.
WBT was inevitable. Taking a look at the temperatures across the state this morning as the Arctic blast continues across the state of North Carolina. Our coldest temperatures statewide in our major cities this morning brings us to Boone, where it is a brisk 3 degrees, 12 degrees in Andrews, 13 in Asheville. The warm spot this morning is on the east coast of the state. No surprise there.
23 degrees out at Hatteras, 20 in Beaufort, 18 in Wilmington, as cold temperatures will persist across the state over the next couple of days ahead of a little bit of a rebound as we head closer to the Christmas holiday. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. There's been a growing trend over the last couple of years, not only in North Carolina, but across the nation, of families, parents pulling their children out of a traditional public education and looking at alternatives, whether we're talking about public charter schools, private school, or the rise of homeschooling. We've got some interesting legislation being introduced in Washington, D.C. by Representative Mark Harris.
He is a member of our Republican. Those details this morning. Katie Zender, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Katie, tell us a little bit about this legislation introduced by Representative Harris. Hi, good morning, Nick.
Thank you for having me on. Yeah, so early last week, Representative Harris, who represents North Carolina's eighth congressional district, introduced a bill that closes a loophole in some existing legislation that allows universities to discriminate against homeschool graduates if they want to. And it just kind of sets up these universities, it allows for these universities to set up more hoops for homeschool students to jump through. And so What this bill would do is, it would actually amend the language in the Higher Education Act of 1965. It actually amends the language, which is in Section 484D of the Higher Education Act, and that subsection says, it currently says.
Um, the language says who are not high school graduates.
So, what this legislation would do is actually strike through that and insert the words. From non-traditional settings.
So you can see how that language there is kind of ambiguous and allows for colleges and universities, if they want to, to kind of discriminate against high school or homeschool graduates and set up more hoops for them to jump through if they want to. And so Representative Harris said in a press release, he said, no student should ever face discrimination or disadvantage. During the college admissions process, simply because they were homeschooled. He said, yet many universities still treat homeschoolers as second-class applicants by requiring excessive documentation and additional testing. With nearly 3 million homeschooled students across America, it's long past time to end this discrimination and guarantee every student a fair shot at higher education.
And, you know, Katie, a lot of this can be attributed back to some of the events over the last five or six years with, of course, a lot of schools, most, if not every single school being shut down, at least temporarily in early and mid-2020 during COVID-19. A lot of families maybe saw some of the writing on the wall. Maybe they had the chance for the first time ever to really peek into their children's classroom as remote learning was taking place. And many families decided that they, in fact, were going to pull their kid out of whatever school they were in, bring them home and go through that homeschooling process. It's been very lucrative for a lot of families to do a lot of high-quality education.
And then you're bringing up this concern over discrimination, which is a major problem. Right, that's right, Nick.
So we've seen a growth in homeschoolers, you know, not only in North Carolina, but across the nation, especially, you know, because of COVID, you know, a lot of students, you know, did decide to homeschool their students. I mean, at first it wasn't, you know, really a choice for them, but I think, you know, as they got into the pandemic and saw some of the pitfalls of the public school education system, like they decided that was a way that they wanted to educate their children. And yeah, so we've seen that growing trend. And the president of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, which is an association that Um take some cases where, you know, Homeschoolers face discrimination or different things, but he said the Homeschool Graduation Recognition Act, which is the name of the bill, will eliminate ambiguity, prevent ongoing misinterpretation, and ensure equal treatment for homeschool graduates by clarifying that homeschool graduates meet the definition of high school graduates for federal student aid purposes. HSLDA strongly supports this legislation.
And Harris was talking to Fox News recently, and he kind of expounded on this a little bit. He said that some universities, quote, inflict unwarranted requirements on homeschoolers. In fact, some universities even require homeschoolers to take the GED, which is that's very derogatory. I mean, that's basically saying, you know, your education isn't good enough for us. We consider you a high school dropout, so we're going to make you take this test to prove that you're educated.
That's very demeaning and derogatory. Harris even pointed to the example of Molloy University, and I'm sure there's many. universities like this, but Molloy says they require their homeschool applicants to obtain a letter from a local school district official to confirm that they have received an education, quote, substantially equivalent to that of a graduate from the district high school, or the students can take and pass the GED.
So again, to have to get a letter from a local school district official that says, you know, you meet our requirements, again, that's very derogatory and demeaning to homeschool students. And at one point, I don't have the exact quote in front of me, but Harris had told Fox News, like, we don't need to be treating these students like second-class citizens. or second-class applicants. And yeah, he made some very strong, strong points on that because I went and checked out Malilla University myself and it's even linked in the article. It says right there on their homepage or on their applications admissions process, this is what homeschool applicants have to do.
And yeah, it's just very demeaning and derogatory to homeschool students. I spoke with Dr. Bob Lupke, who's the director of the Center for Effective Education here at John Locke. And he said that Harris's bill is a good first step at ensuring colleges cannot discriminate against homeschool students. He said homeschool students have the same standing and rights as any other applicant in the college admissions process.
And this bill makes that makes that happen and is one of the reasons why we should support it. There's a lot of additional coverage on this this morning, including that full piece of legislation. As Katie just mentioned, some of the links from Molloy University and others that kind of lay out this case as to why something like this does need to be brought forth in Washington, D.C. You can read some of those additional comments and details this morning by visiting our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Katie Zender joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour.
It's 5:35. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FMWBT as we turn our attention this morning to the North Carolina General Assembly as what is expected to be the last couple of days of the GA in the calendar year 2025. And questions do remain this morning whether the full North Carolina House will be in session, as there remains multiple pieces of legislation that are waiting override votes from the North Carolina House, a couple of bills dealing with a DEI, that's diversity, equity, and inclusion. One of those in public education, another in higher education, and a third within state agencies and local government agencies. Those three veto overrides have been on the calendar for months in the North Carolina House.
Another high-profile piece of legislation, Senate Bill 50, also known as the Freedom to Carry NC, also known as Constitutional Carry, has passed the Senate, was overridden in the Senate, and has been waiting that veto override in the North Carolina House for quite some time now. The House calendar, as of right now, reads reconvening at 10 o'clock this morning. It is not immediately clear whether it will be a skeleton session, which is what we have seen in the past, where just a couple of lawmakers are there to inspect the journal and conduct the required and mandatory business of the House, or if all lawmakers will be back in Raleigh. The Senate is also set to convene at 10 o'clock this morning. As well.
However, taking a look at their dashboard and their calendar, no legislation as of right now existing on the Senate calendar. We will keep an eye on that throughout the day today. If any breaking news updates do take place, I encourage you to head on over to our website, CarolinaJournal.com. And if you're not following us on a variety of social media channels, whether that be Facebook, X, or Instagram, head on over to our website, CarolinaJournal.com. You'll see in the upper left-hand corner links to all of our major social media platforms.
A great way to stay up to date with statewide news, especially that breaking statewide news around the clock or social media channels, those links over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, where it's now 5:38. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. There's been a lot of policy over the last couple of years on higher education across the United States of America. We've got an interesting story this morning. A recent letter sent from Democrat Governor Josh Stein to the Trump administration, more specifically U.S.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon. To walk us through some of that this morning, Donna King, CarolinaJournal.com, joins us on the news hour. Donna, this letter is to deal with some sort of cap at nursing graduate student programs. What exactly is going on here? Sure, sure.
It sort of feels in the weeds, but what we did see was the department, the U.S. Department of Education, has designated a few professions as not, as no longer being labeled professional degrees.
Now, this designation doesn't necessarily mean they're dissing the nursing industry or the engineering industry, but what it really means is that the professional in quotes designation means that you can borrow up to $200,000 for graduate programs in that field. It's a lot of money, a lot of student debt, and it can create a situation where tuition rises at the level that people can borrow. And so you end up with a cycle of folks who are borrowing up to $200,000 for a graduate program to then get a job that may not help them pay it off.
So what the Department of Education says is, all right, there are going to be a list of, say, six or eight professions, I believe nursing is one of them, that will no longer get that professional designation, which means that you can only borrow up to $100,000. For a graduate program in that field.
So, what has ended up happening, though, is folks in nursing programs, a lot of educational institutions, lobbying groups, those kinds of things, have all said, we need to roll that back. You're going to keep making it too expensive to go to nursing school. People need to be able to borrow as much as it costs to go, which in this case would be up to $200,000.
So, Josh Stein. Was siding with that group, wrote a letter to McMahon saying, urging them to reverse this federal plan to cap the amount that nursing graduate students can borrow.
So he's saying you're going to make it harder, especially in North Carolina, to hire nurses, to get more nurses, to get people in the industry when we have an aging population and lots of retirees moving here. But the letter kind of misses the mark. First, This wouldn't affect 95% of nursing students. This is what McMahon's office says: that 80% of folks who are in nursing don't go get a graduate degree. They graduate undergrad, they get their certifications, and they go straight to work.
So it doesn't impact the majority of people who are in nursing programs, and it does not impact the ability to go. It really all it does is a limit how much you can borrow to do it. And what they think, what they are hoping this does is make education programs, graduate programs, come more in line with an affordable outcome for folks who then would be taking out these big giant loans and having to pay them back over time.
So they said this is really about getting student debt under control, not necessarily diminishing the value of certain degrees.
Well, and you bring up the student death thing, and obviously, we're focusing here on a nursing degree in the nursing graduate program this morning. But overall, Donna, this has been a growing concern in the United States for, I don't know, maybe the last decade or so, maybe five years, depending on how you shake it out, that there are a lot of degrees, even here in North Carolina, throughout the UNC system, that you can spend a whole boatload of money on to graduate and either not make a whole lot on the career or not be employable at all. Depending on what degree you ended up getting, this has been a growing concern for higher education for quite some time. Absolutely. And that's what we're seeing.
Even, you know, years ago, there were researchers warning that some of these professional designations aren't improving your ability to be hired. They aren't improving your education. What they really are doing is they're only intended to unlock higher levels of loans, more expensive loans that you can get. It doesn't really have anything to do with your qualifications, your certification means you're allowed to borrow more. And what that does is it drives up the actual cost because a lot of times tuition matches how much people can afford to borrow and, in some cases, not afford to borrow.
And it also doesn't really apply. This rule would not apply to those, for example, who go through a community college program, who are other levels of nursing care. If the majority of folks who aren't who go into nursing are not in graduate school, it really does not impact them.
So, you know, that is kind of what this issue is. There's a lot of information about this on CarolinaJournal.com. Plus, we have Josh Stein's letter to McMahon. If you want to hear, see that argument and what they say. But it really Is one of those stories where, on the surface, you say, why would nurses not be considered professional?
That seems crazy, but it really is, the truth is in the details of that kind of story. And this seems like it would kind of be on par and on brand with some of the rhetoric that we've heard from President Donald Trump about higher education, about degrees, about, you know, he talks a lot about bringing back American manufacturing and things like that, Donna. Many professions that do not require a $200,000 worth of student loan debt. Many of these things, you know, North Carolina's community college system is constantly ranked as one of the top in the nation, and there are a lot of nursing students coming directly out of the community college system.
So this seems to be pretty on brand with what Trump has kind of been saying both since he's been now back in office and what he was saying during the campaign. Absolutely. And that's the issue that we really have. We have a major labor shortage in things like healthcare. And there are other levers that we can pull to unlock some of the labor shortages that we have.
The SAVE Act is a great example. You and I have talked about that before, where advanced practice nurse practitioners who do have advanced degrees, where they could have their own practice, things like that, things that are really going to bring healthcare policy into the modern era.
So there are other ways to address this, and allowing students to borrow up to $200,000 for these programs may not be one of them.
Well, and you mentioned something earlier, and I know this is an issue in certain areas. It tends to be kind of the more growing metro areas, Donna, is there is a major nursing shortage in a lot of places across North Carolina. And I would assume probably similar situations around the country as well. Oh, for sure. North Carolina is drawing a lot of retirees, which means that we're going to need a lot more healthcare professionals.
And we still have certificate of needs on the book that really limit where they can work, where these resources can happen. And so enabling healthcare professionals to practice up to their full scope of their training really would do a lot to get more people in those rooms, in those offices, and treating people and getting more access to health care rather than worrying about how much they're able to borrow from it.
So unlocking the potential of our healthcare labor shortage and those who are in the industry in the first place, that would go a long way toward improving the situation. Donna, you mentioned this full letter from Stein to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon and some of the additional commentary. Where can folks get that? Absolutely.
Head over to CarolinaJournal.com. And if you need to go in the search, it's pretty easy. You can search that Stein Disputes Federal Loan Cap on grad-level nursing students. Again, you can get those details at CarolinaJournal.com. We appreciate the information this morning.
Donna King joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter, and cookies with just the right texture. and one ingredient you cannot compromise on is kerrygold butter. Carigold butter is crafted with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland.
The result? A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Carry gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched, and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.
So, this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, Reach for Kerry Gold. It's the butter of choice, and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes will thank you. Good morning again. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT, continuing our coverage this morning in what is expected to be a very busy election cycle as just a few weeks from now, we flip the calendar over to 2026. Last week here on the Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, we reported on an endorsement from President Donald Trump to the leader of the North Carolina Senate in Phil Berger Jr.
The post, just a little bit of it, read as follows from President Trump. State Senator Phil Berger is an American First Patriot who is doing an incredible job representing North Carolina's 26th congressional district. Adding on that Sam Page, who is running in the primary against Berger, the president writes, Sam Page is great. He has been a longtime supporter, but I really want him to come work for us in Washington, D.C., rather than further considering a run against Phil. Both are such outstanding people.
Well, in the last couple of days, we have gotten a reaction from Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page and that endorsement from President Donald Trump on his opponent and the job offer, the job request in Washington, D.C. In that truth social post, the president again offered his full endorsement to Berger while also expressing his support for Page in a different capacity. It was not made immediately clear what position Page was being offered in D.C.
However, he did take to social media to say he appreciated the president's offer, with Page posting on social media, I appreciate President Donald Trump's kind words and his offer to have me join him in Washington. The president knows the strength of my support. I chaired sheriffs for Trump and served as the North Carolina state chairman while Phil Berger was attacking him and even letting his team call the MAGA movement a, quote, death cult. Page doubled down in his commitment to unseat Berger, claiming that the Senate leader has a history of working with Democrats across North Carolina, adding on in his statement, as sheriff, I partnered with the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration. Phil Berger weakened our immigration law by siding with Democrats.
He also teamed up with Governor Roy Cooper to repeal protections for women and girls in bathrooms and lockers. And he blocked legislation that would have stopped drag queen performances for minors. Trump's efforts to get Page out of the race does not appear to be a solo effort. In recent weeks, WRAL News reported that state senator Amy Gailey, the Republican from Alamance County, visited Page's home over the Thanksgiving weekend to deliver a letter urging him not to challenge Berger. You can read some additional coverage on this story by visiting our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com.
It would appear, at least as of right now, and yes, things can change, but it would appear that Rockingham County Sheriff, Republican Sam Page, is staying in the primary battle against Phil Berger, and it's not long before things will kick off. The 2026 primary election starts with early voting. Listen to this: February 12th is when early voting begins, and of course, will conclude on Election Day, which will be March the 3rd. Again, additional coverage, and we'll be watching this. Other primary races across the Tar Heels State as we head into 2026.
All that continued coverage over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. An interesting hearing taking place in the North Carolina General Assembly last week as lawmakers had some pretty pointed questions for the administrative office of the courts and the director there, Ryan Boyce, on details about cost overruns, system performance, and long-term efficiency, all tied to the state's massive $100-plus million dollar transition to e-court technology. This meeting took place as the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety met in Raleigh on December the 11th, and they highlighted frustrations over slowdowns, unclear financial savings, as well as heavy reliance on a single vendor. And the back and forth exchange really highlighted the legislature's concerns about government spending, vendor accountability, and whether taxpayers are getting any sort of tangible value from one of the state's largest IT projects in our history. State Senator Buck Newton described a situation in which district attorneys and others working within the e-court system have slowdowns to the point where they lose connection and have to restart a process all over again, acknowledging that roughly that more than $100 million has been set to be implemented for the e-court system.
With the office of the administrative office of the courts noting that they are fully aware of the slowness and unreliability of the e-court application, noting that they are doing everything in their power to hold Tyler Technologies, that is the group that has got this multi-tens of millions of dollar contract with the state of North Carolina, hold them financially accountable, and noted that the process, while it's been taken a little bit longer than they had hoped, it is slowly and gradually improving. The back and forth with lawmakers dealt with cost overruns, more than $85 million. For a 10-year contract was awarded to Tyler Technologies. An additional $30 million contract was awarded to them to add e-warrants to the e-court system. And some of the other systems within the program cost more than $2.5 million a year annually to administer for the state of North Carolina.
So we're talking about well over $100 million. And many folks across the judicial system, whether we're talking about those in local courtrooms or private attorneys interfacing with the legal system in North Carolina, have not been shy with their concerns and criticisms. You can read some additional details about this hearing that took place in Raleigh as part of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety by visiting our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com.
Well, that's going to do it for a Monday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FN News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT News.
