It's 5050 and welcome in to a Thursday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. We start with some pretty significant news out of the North Carolina General Assembly this morning. The North Carolina House has officially passed the Freedom to Carry NC Act.
This happened Wednesday afternoon along party lines, sending the permitless carry legislation to the governor's desk. In a 59-48 vote, the General Assembly moved one step closer to making North Carolina the 30th state to adopt constitutional carry. The bill allows individuals 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun without an additional permit. Representative Brian Achiva out of the Republican out of Cabarris County said, quote, this bill further ensures that Carolina's Carolinians can exercise their Second Amendment rights, which includes both owning and carrying firearms. The absolute language of shall not be infringed in our Constitution is the strongest prohibition on earth against any government actions that would limit this right.
All Democrats, as well as two Republicans, Representative William Brinson out of Bladen and Representative Ted Davis Jr. out of New Hanover, both Republicans, voted against the bill. Representative Keith Kidwell, the Republican from Beaufort County, praised the legislation, noting that it mirrors his own bill proposal that was introduced in the House earlier this year. The Senate passed its own version and sent it to the House for approval. Kidwell telling his colleagues, quote, This is a very good bill.
Most of you run a bill and it goes over to the Senate and they make changes and send it back. In this particular case, the Senate just took the bill right after I wrote it, took it over there, put their names on it, and sent it back.
So I do appreciate that they enjoyed the bill that much. Kidwell explained that the bill would allow North Carolinians to constitutionally carry a firearm without obtaining a permit from the government to exercise their God-given right to defend themselves. Representatives debated the bill for roughly an hour with Democrats speaking out against the legislation. They pointed to various statistics, such as a Stanford University study that shows permitless concealed carry states face a 13 to 15 percent violent crime increase in the decade after legislation like this has passed. Representative Phil Rubin, the Democrat out of Wake County, pointed to some studies out of West Virginia as the worst example, where he claims that firearm deaths surged 20%.
And gun homicides rose about 48% in the five years after they passed permitless carry, compared to 17 prior years after repealing permit requirements. He told his colleagues, quote, I know there are profound, strong feelings on both sides of the aisle about the best approach for guns, but we don't have to go this far. I think this bill does not help the people that we represent because it's dangerous, it's unnecessary, and it's deeply unpopular. Representative Clark shared her own story of a childhood friend dying by suicide with a legal gun and another friend who was murdered. She urged lawmakers to vote down the bill, arguing that it goes, quote, too far.
Countering what he called cherry-picked statistics, Rep. Kidwell said eighty three percent of states with permitless carry have homicide rates below the national average, while eighty four percent of states have lower violent crime than they did prior to permitless carry. Kidwell told his colleagues, saying, or explained to his colleagues, quote, it's interesting information. Where does this come from? Not some cherry-picked group, not some organization that was already against firearms.
That comes from the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigations. To me, that's pretty amazing that 84% of states have lower violent crime in 2022 than they did before they had permitless carry. While Senate Bill 50, which was passed yesterday, now awaits Democrat Governor Josh Stein's signature, he has suggested a veto. With Stein's expected veto, Republican leadership would need to ensure, and need to secure a three-fifths majority in both chambers to override, a task that was significantly easier for Republicans in the General Assembly during the last session when both chambers held a supermajority. As it stands right now, Senate Republicans hold a supermajority.
But House Republicans are one seat short, meaning that any override effort will require unified attendance and careful vote counting, as any veto override may hinge on attendance numbers and literally one single vote. We've got some additional details on concealed carry this morning and this legislation. You can read those details over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, where it's now 510, News Talk 1110, 993, WBT. There has been a lot of very interesting discussions over the last eight or nine months as it relates to FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency as it relates to hurricane relief and other natural disasters that affect the United States. To get some details on some recent comments from President Donald Trump, Teresa Opaca, CarolinaJournal.com joins us on the news hour.
Teresa, earlier this year, right after just actually a couple of days after President Donald Trump was officially sworn into office, he made his way to Western North Carolina and has continued to express some of his discontent with FEMA as it's operating. We've got some pretty big details this morning out of the President's office. What's the latest that you're tracking? Sure. Good morning, Nick.
Thanks for having me.
So, yeah, President Trump spoke to reporters the other day in the local office and said that his administration plans to phase out FEMA after the current hurricane season, the 2025 hurricane, Atlantic hurricane season. He expressed so much, you know. As you say, discontent. He was pretty disgusted with their response here last year in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. He came out in January, right after his inauguration, and toured the area, spoke to leaders in Asheville.
At that time, he was already saying how, you know, how incompetent they were, what they've done, what they didn't do under the Biden administration.
So he says, you know, This is better left up to governors of each state to let them handle the emergencies. And in his comments to reporters on Tuesday, he said, Well, you know what? And if you can't handle this, you really shouldn't be a governor. That's where his exact words were.
So a lot of changes are on the horizon if this goes through. Teresa, I'm sure many folks listening this morning have a similar mindset that if you're going to take something like disaster relief, it might make more sense to have it controlled more locally than up at the federal government. But I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up some of North Carolina's very checkered past with hurricane relief for years. Teresa, you've been tracking details out of NCOR, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. And as we sit here almost a decade later, there are still hundreds of families without homes.
I would imagine that's probably setting off some alarms across the citizens of North Carolina as they maybe are reading this content this morning over on our website. Yeah, I would imagine so. I mean, yeah, nearly a decade later, people still don't have a home to go to, and NCOR mismanaged millions of dollars in funding. There were so many hearings that were held by government ops subcommittees over the last couple of years. You know, and like what you say.
What is a person who still doesn't have a home when they hear this? What are they wondering? Of course, they're under NCOR and maybe the remainder of the money dedicated to that. But you've got people now in Western North Carolina who were affected by Helene. They're hearing this, you know, you've got to wonder what they're thinking as well.
One of those people who I know vehemently disagrees with this is our own governor, Josh Stein. Last week, there was a hurricane preparedness press conference that he and other officials held. And he had some concerns, he said, about this happening. He says, while he's not against them maybe reorganizing it and doing something a little bit differently, he was opposed to them dismantling FEMA. He came out and said that.
He was totally against it.
Well, and you know, Teresa, it's kind of interesting. We had a report over on CarolinaJournal.com last week looking at a facility in Swana, Noah, that spent over $20 million in the span of just 189 days.
So even now, you know, we look at NCOR in the past, but even now there's being some questions asked by the auditor's office as it relates to current relief and recovery efforts with the money that's being spent for Helene. And we're not even in the process of talking about people having their homes rebuilt yet. We're not far enough down the road for that. Right, right. I mean, you've got those concerns.
You're wondering now if the same thing is going to occur with the governor's new office, Grow NZ, taking a look at that. Auditor Dave Bola keeping an eye out for that. And that story was just unbelievable. You know, so we'll have to just wait and see. And, you know, I think there's going to be better watchdog efforts in our state this time around.
You know, unfortunately, with the chaos of NCOR and now the beginnings with that Swanoa story, I think that people are going to be following this a little more closely. One other thing that Governor Stein, just to backtrack a little bit, his concerns with the cuts to FEMA, he said there was a lot of turnover in emergency management positions across the state and local agencies, particularly in the western part of the state.
So that gives him pause, he said, because they don't have enough experience, people coming in versus Federal government and FEMA having the experience to deal with this situation. But, you know, then again, where does it really lie? Does everything lie to the governor to make sure that he's fully abreast of what's going on in the state? Or are we totally relying on the federal government? That's the question that President Trump kind of volleyed back, saying, governors, if you can't handle this, then why are you in that role?
So time will tell. We'll continue the discussion on FEMA with Teresa Opeka from the Carolina Journal coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. Hello, it is Ryan, and we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps, you know, all the mundane stuff.
That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino-style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses.
So sign up now at chumbacasino.com. That's chumbacasino.com. Necessary VGW Group Void where prohibited by law 21 plus terms and conditions apply. Hello, it is Ryan, and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on chumbacasino.com. I looked over at the person sitting next to me, and you know what they were doing?
They were also playing Chumba Casino. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino is home to hundreds of casino-style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere.
So sign up now at chumba casino.com to claim your free welcome bonus. That's chumba casino.com and live the chumba life. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase. Hello, it is Ryan, and we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we?
Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps, you know, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino-style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses.
So, sign up now at chumbacasino.com. That's chumba casino.com. Necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus.
Terms and conditions apply. It's 5:21. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 11:10-99.3 WBT. Keeping our eyes on the General Assembly this morning.
A bill on the move in the North Carolina House seeks to strengthen criminal history checks for public school personnel across the state of North Carolina, potentially expanding safety measures in schools. Under current law, the way that it currently operates in North Carolina, local boards of education in all 100 counties have discretion over whether to conduct background checks for school employees. Brian Gwynn, a staff attorney and analyst with the legislative research, said during a meeting in the House Education Committee earlier this week, quote, Every local Board of Education must adopt a policy on criminal background checks on whether they require them or not. And if they do, they must follow certain parameters in statute. All or most of them have used that discretion to create background checks.
House Bill 775 proposes to make these background checks mandatory statewide, applying to all new employees in the public school system. Additionally, the bill requires the State Board of Education at the federal level, or at the statewide level rather, to conduct background checks or authorize the State Bureau of Investigation to do so before issuing initial education licenses. While the individual applying for licensure across the state of North Carolina would bear the $38 back cost of the background check, the public school unit could choose to cover the expense for their employee. Critics of the bill argue that this financial burden could deter some applicants. Representative Julia Von Heffern, a Democrat out of Wake County, raised concerns, stating, quote, So basically, a teacher that's applying for licensure throughout the state, this is placing an additional financial burden on them because now they have to pay for a background check through DPI.
And then the school district is possibly doing another background check over their own individual policies. Von Hevren also pointed out the inconsistencies in safety measures between public and private schools, noting that with all taxpayer-funded money that is going to our private schools, they do not require criminal background checks. We want our private schools to be safe as well. Proponents of the legislation argue that this implementation is necessary, is a necessary measure to ensure safety and address gaps in the system. Representative Brian Biggs, the Republican out of Randolph County, defended the legislation, highlighting its value.
He told his colleagues, what happens every time a school system comes out and all of the sudden there's a coach or someone who has a background that didn't get checked? It puts a black eye on our school system. This is something to protect school systems, protect staff, and protect students. $38 is going to be a small price to pay to make sure that we have safety and securities in our schools. The legislation is not intended to add undue burden to the system, but rather streamline the background check procedures and consolidate efforts.
With Representative Biggs adding, We're trying to get clarity again just to make sure that we can help out our school systems. The broader implications of the bill also involve charter school board members and other school-related roles. The legislation outlines mandatory background checks for such positions requiring fingerprinting and consent for processing through the State Bureau of Investigation.
Furthermore, existing statute concerning school personnel background checks would be considered to create a unified framework. We've got additional details on House Bill 775 over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. The headline there, bill would require additional background checks for public personnel. You can read the details at CarolinaJournal.com, where it's now 525, News Talk 1110, 993, WBT. A pretty big announcement earlier this week as it relates to FEMA from President Donald Trump.
He indicates that by the end of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, FEMA will be no more. Continuing our discussion this morning with Teresa Opeca from CarolinaJournal.com. You look at the practicality of something like this, and if this is to go forward, obviously the hurricane season, the Atlantic hurricane season runs all the way through November the 30th.
So this will be a conversation probably as we get closer to the holiday season later this year and into the early parts of 2026. Teresa says, I understand at least some of the early discussions back from a couple of months ago, FEMA, the entity would still exist, but it would essentially become a block grant writing program where states would say, we've had this terrible natural disaster. We need X amount of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars. And that entity would just give the money to the states and then they would be responsible through their emergency management departments to actually make some of this stuff happen on the ground. Yes, I believe so.
I think they were talking about doing that. And I know in this press conference that was held in the Oval Office the other day with Christy Noam, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, she said right now what they're looking at Bare minimum with catastrophic events. I guess you could say Helene was catastrophic, right? If something comes down to being that big of an event, then the federal government would definitely step in to help out. But if it's a I hate to say garden variety hurricane, but if it's something that's not going to be as catastrophic as Helene was, then it would truly be up to the states to handle it.
What they're looking at doing now is something they called a mutual aid among states. The states are going to help out each other. I don't know how that's going to work, but that's something that she was discussing during this press conference. That's one thing that they're going to take a look at in the next couple of months to see what they can make work better as opposed to what FEMA has done in the past. You know, that mutual aid concept is interesting.
And Teresa, when I was reading your coverage, one of the things that jumped to my mind is power utility crews. Every single time that you've either got a blizzard in the northeast or some tropical storm somewhere in the southeast, there's always this discussion of line crews from all across the country that surge in under mutual aid with Duke Energy or some of the other major electrical providers throughout the United States. At least in that element, it's relatively small, but that seems to work out pretty well. And you see these line crews from all over the United States helping people get their power restored after snow or a tropical event. Yeah, and we did see that with Hurricane Helene as well.
We had crews from what Kentucky and other states come in and help. And even on a smaller scale, if you know about volunteer fire departments, they help out with mutual aid. If you know, if it's like a department's on the alarm, maybe it's a two-alarm, four-alarm, fire, whatever the alarm is, they'll call in other fire companies to help fight a fire.
So, even on that smaller scale, just as an example, it does help out. It does work. But, like, yes, we do call in other crews from other states. And if North Carolina is needed, I think they were needed in Tennessee earlier this year when they had some terrible storms, tornadoes, that we went and helped them.
So, yeah, and it does seem to work well.
So, you know, they might have a good idea when it comes to the mutual aid. part of this. And going to some of the comments from Governor Josh Stein, one of the points that he continues to make is that states aren't prepared for this because they don't have big natural disasters every year. Fortunately, here in North Carolina, it's not every year that we have something like a Hurricane Helene. There's almost always some level of tropical weather during the Atlantic hurricane season, but it's not always a huge major storm.
The kind of question in my mind this morning, Teresa, is isn't that what emergency management is supposed to do? Aren't they preparing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and trainings all across the state to be prepared for when something like that happens? They get funded every year, regardless of whether there's a natural disaster or not. Yeah, and I would hope they would. And they did talk about how they are prepared last week.
I know they had. there's the top brass there speaking about that and saying they are getting prepared. They are you know had talked about different websites you can go to. There's a flood map, floodplain map website and all different Websites ready to go and take a look at things and how they are preparing. But when it comes down to this, yeah, you wonder within.
To what extent they're saying that they are, but yeah, it does, you do have some questions when it comes to that. Teresa, this is obviously still a developing story. There's no actual action behind it. This was during a press conference in the Oval Office earlier this week. Things could change.
And I would imagine as we're heading deeper into the Atlantic hurricane season, some of this might be contingent on how this hurricane season actually rolls out before any final decisions are actually made. Oh, absolutely. I mean, like you say, we're going to have to just sit back and see what happens this summer. Hopefully, nothing catastrophic stuff that maybe we can all handle, all the states can handle, but it'll be definitely a good test to see how this plan would work. You've got some additional quotes, some additional coverage as well.
Where can folks get those details? Sure, they can head on over to CarolinaJournal.com. Teresa Opeka joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It is Ryan Seacrest here. There was a recent social media trend, which consisted of flying on a plane with no music, no movies, no entertainment.
But a better trend would be going to chumbacasino.com. It's like having a mini social casino in your pocket. Chumba Casino has over 100 online casino-style games, all absolutely free. It's the most fun you can have online and on a plane.
So grab your free welcome bonus now at chumbacasino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. Necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus.
Terms and conditions apply. It's 5:38. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 11:10-99.3 WBT. Keeping our attention this morning on the North Carolina General Assembly.
The House passed the Power Reduction Act Tuesday. That's a bill that would eliminate the state's statutory goal to cut carbon emissions by 70% by 2030. Supporters say that the policy change could save North Carolinians up to $15 billion in future utility costs and will help meet skyrocketing demands for power. Senate Bill 266 passed both the House Rules Committee and the full House by a vote of 75 to 36 earlier this week, sending it back to the Senate. 12 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, and one Republican, Ben Moss, the Republican out of Moore County, Voted against it.
First introduced as a repeal of the provision within the 2021 energy law that was House Bill 9 of 51, Senate Bill 266 targets the carbon dioxide emission mandate imposed on investor-owned utilities like Duke Energy. That 70% reduction benchmark, based on a 2005 emissions level, was intended to be achieved by 2030, with a net zero emission required by 2050. The new legislation would roll back that timeline-driven target and replace it with a renewed focus on reliability, affordability, and least-cost energy planning. Supporters of Senate Bill 266 say that the 2021 emission mandate pushed under the Cooper administration threatened to saddle families and small businesses with skyrocketing energy costs to meet an arbitrary carbon target. By repealing it, the bill would allow more flexibility in North Carolina's energy mix, enabling the use of natural gas, nuclear, emerging technologies alongside renewables without being restricted by politically driven deadlines.
According to legislative projections, the change could reduce future compliance costs by approximately $15 billion over the next quarter century. The bill also updates regulatory guidance for the North Carolina Utilities Committee. Commission directing it to emphasize affordability, system reliability, and energy security when evaluating utilities' integrated resource plans.
However, there is some significant opposition on this legislation. Environmental groups and those representing the renewable energy industry have sharply criticized the bill, claiming that it undermines the state's response to climate change. They claim it will stall the transition to clean power. They also oppose a little known mechanism called the construction work in progress, which is aiming to determine how utilities recover the costs of building new power plants before they even generate a single watt. First enacted in North Carolina back in 2008 under the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards.
This CWIP, this construction work in progress, allows utilities to begin charging ratepayers for the cost of approved facilities, particularly nuclear and baseload power plants, while construction is still underway. The idea was to soften the financial blow that utilities faced from very heavy and high upfront capital expenses, provided those investments were deemed reasonable and prudent, as well as in the public interest of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The latest version of Senate Bill 266 proposes new guardrails. Chief among them is that the CWIP would be permitted only if the North Carolina Utility Commission determines it would create an overall cost savings to the customer over the lifetime of the facility. It would also require annual reviews of any facility using this work in progress to ensure accountability and cost effectiveness.
According to John Sanders, the director for the Center for Food, Power and Life at the John Locke Foundation, he says Senate Bill 266 in its current form would add more caveats to use of CWIP. Chief among them is that the Utilities Commission must determine that there would be an overall cost saving to the consumer and the customer over the life of the facility, and that the facility be subject to ongoing reviews by the Utility Commissions. It also contains a 2033 sunset for construction work in progress recovery of construction costs for baseload natural gas facilities. The goal backers argue is not to kill investments in new power generation, but rather balance affordability with long-term infrastructure needs. Advocates contend that the reform is part of a broader effort to pivot away from energy policies that are seen as skewed by unrealistic decarbonization goals, favoring instead a least cost strategy that better reflects grid reliability and long-term consumer affordability.
The passage of Senate Bill 266 was labeled a key vote by the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, saying an all-of-the-above approach to energy is needed for growing energy demands. The chamber wrote in a statement this week: quote, as North Carolina, as the North Carolina affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturers, we recognize the importance of this critical policy, especially to a manufacturer. Manufacturing community that requires certainty and predictability in its power 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If we are going to continue attracting economic investment, reliability and affordable energy must continue to be a priority. End in quote there from the chamber.
Critics argue that the current law depends heavily on speculative infrastructure, including offshore wind, and failed to offer a reliable or affordable path to compliance, especially in the light of inflation and increasing demand for electricity. Donald Bryson, the CEO of the John Locke Foundation, said, By repealing the interim 70% carbon reduction mandate by 2030, this legislation removes a key pressure point that would have shoehorned non-dispatchable resources like wind and solar onto North Carolina's grid, regardless of cost or reliability. This is a small Smart, bipartisan step that gives the Utilities Commission more flexibility to pursue a balanced energy mix that keeps power affordable and dependability for ratepayers and businesses alike.
So as we track this legislation, Senate Bill 266 now goes back to the Senate for concurrence and if approved would place a major energy policy decision before Governor Josh Stein. Stein has generally expressed support for environmental and carbon reduction initiatives, though he has not publicly commented a position on a bill like this. Thus far, a veto could set up an interesting political battle within the General Assembly, especially because this does have at least some bipartisan support in the House. 12 Democrats voting with their Republican colleagues. We've got a lot more details on these energy goals, the Carolina carbon plan, and some other details.
For folks that want more details this morning, you can head on over to CarolinaJournal.com. The headline: North Carolina House votes to repeal 2030 carbon mandate, promising a $15 billion in savings. Riley Herps from 2311 Racing here. And you know what grinds my gears? Waiting for coffee.
But instead of counting frappes and lattes, I fire up Chumba Casino. No apps, no fuss, just fun social casino games to pass the time. By the time my coffee's ready, I've already taken a few victory left.
Next time you're stuck waiting, make it entertaining. Play for free at ChumbaCasino.com. Let's chumba. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary.
VGW Group, void where prohibited by law. 21 plus. Terms and conditions apply. Chip chip chip. Looking for excitement?
Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime, play anywhere. Play on the train, play at the store, play at home, play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in.
So what are you waiting for? Don't delay! Chumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, slingo, and more.
Live the chumba life at chumbacasino.com. Necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus. Terms and conditions apply.
It is Ryan Seacrest here. There was a recent social media trend which consisted of flying on a plane with no music, no movies, no entertainment. But a better trend would be going to chumba casino.com. It's like having a mini social casino in your pocket. Chumba Casino has over a hundred online casino-style games, all absolutely free.
It's the most fun you can have online and on a plane.
So grab your free welcome bonus now at chumbacasino.com. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. Necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law. 21 plus.
Terms and conditions apply. Good morning again. It's 5:52. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 11:10-993WBT. Recapping two big stories this morning.
We'll start at the federal level. President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that his administration will eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, following the 2025 hurricane season. Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the decision is aimed at shifting disaster response responsibilities to the states, comparing the move to previous efforts to localize control over education policy at the federal education level. He told reporters, quote, we want to wean off of FEMA. Trump said that claiming that the agency has been costly and ineffective.
He cited his administration's disaster response in North Carolina as an example of a successful state-led recovery and criticized FEMA's past performance, particularly under previous administrations. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam, who now co-chairs the FEMA Advisory Council, did back the president's move. She said that a new FEMA council will be formed to help governors prepare for taking on emergency management duties, including direct disaster funding from the White House, starting as soon as next year. Noam emphasized the administration's focus on pre-positioning resources for the current hurricane season while states build mutual aid agreements and enhance local coordination. NOAA, the National Weather Service, has predicted 13 to 15 named storms for this Atlantic season, with up to five expected to become major hurricanes.
Critics of the plan, including North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, have warned that dismantling FEMA and cutting funds to NOAA would severely weaken the country's disaster preparedness. Stein highlighted concerns about increased costs to states, a drop in federal reimbursement rates, and the loss of FEMA's what he called institutional knowledge, especially in states less frequently hit by disasters. The governor saying, quote, cuts to NOAA and FEMA are a man-made disaster. He urged increased state level savings to offset expected federal shortfalls. As the transition begins, federal officials insist that they are fully prepared for the hurricane, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, which is underway now and runs all the way till the end of November.
In some other news that we are tracking this morning, turning our attention to the state level, the North Carolina General Assembly voted 59 to 48 along mostly party lines yesterday to approve a permitless carry bill, sending it to Governor Josh Stein's desk. The legislation would allow residents 18 or older to carry concealed firearms without a permit, making North Carolina the 30th state to adopt constitutional carry. Republicans in the General Assembly praised the bill as a protection of the Second Amendment rights, with Representative Brian Osheva calling it a safeguard against government overreach. Representative Keith Kidwell, the bill's original sponsor, noted that the Senate passed it without changes, reflecting strong GOP support. Democrats, joined by two Republicans, opposed the measure, citing studies that show that permitless carry is linked to an increase in violent crime.
Representative Phil Rubin, the Democrat out of Wake County, warned of rising gun deaths in states like West Virginia, while Representative Clark shared personal stories to underscore potential dangers. There was about an hour's worth of debate on the House floor yesterday for this legislation, pretty much explicitly just Democrats speaking against the legislation, not a whole lot in terms of Republican retort.
However, Representative Keith Kidwell did counter some of these statistics, saying that FBI data that he has shows that crime rates dropped in most permitless carry states in the years after they adopted the legislation. Governor Stein, the Democrat, has signaled a likely veto. No surprise there. While Senate Republicans can override it, House Republicans can have a veteran. Republicans are one vote short of a super majority, which is three-fifths of the vote in each chamber, making an override dependent on full attendance and unified support within Republican voter or Republican colleagues in the North Carolina House.
We will track this legislation and all of the other legislation we talked about this morning right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour and on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. That's going to do it for a Thursday edition. WBT News is next. Followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3, WBT.
