Budget Passes House with Veto-Proof Majority

The North Carolina House voted 72-41 Thursday afternoon to pass its version of the state budget, with nine Democrats joining with the Republicans in approving the plan. The House will conference with the Senate next to try to reconcile differences and put together a bill to send to Gov. Roy Cooper (D). The budget passed the House with a veto-proof majority. That was the case with the Senate’s version of the budget back in June, as well. Read more.

• SB105/2021 Appropriations Act (Updated bill text): https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2021/Bills/Senate/PDF/S105v6.pdf
• SB105/2021 Appropriations Act (Bill Summary as of 8/10/21): https://dashboard.ncleg.gov/api/Services/BillSummary/2021/S105-SMSV-75(CSSVxfr-30)-v-4

NC Lawmakers Adopt Rules for Next Phase of Redistricting

NC lawmakers tasked with redrawing congressional and legislative district lines based on 2020 census data will closely follow criteria used in 2019. That is when North Carolina's Republican-majority General Assembly had to replace maps declared to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered with excessive partisan bias. For the 2019 redraw, the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly followed state court guidance and did not use past election outcomes and partisan data to create new district lines. This time around, however, the GOP-led Joint Redistricting Committee took a historic step according to committee Co-Chair Rep. Destin Hall.

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ICU Nearing Capacity in Triangle

Data released this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and compiled by the New York Times shows ICU beds in short supply in the Triangle. WakeMed, Duke Health Raleigh, Rex, Duke Regional, Duke University and University of North Carolina hospitals report capacity directly to the DHHS. Four of the six show 95 percent or more of ICU beds occupied in the past week. Rex and UNC hospitals reported 80 or more percent of ICU beds occupied. Both Duke University Hospital and Duke Health Raleigh Hospital reported no available ICU beds as of Thursday. The number of people hospitalized for the virus has tripled in just three weeks.

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