Laura Wiley

Anger on the right

markjohnson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:19:27 -0500

RIGHT RALLY: Conservatives rallied at the state capitol over the weekend to protest federal health care legislation. (N&O)

WILEY OUT: Rep. Laura Wiley, a High Point Republican, said she won't run for reelection. (News & Record)

PROSECUTOR PROBE: The SBI is investigating undisclosed issues involving Joel Brewer, district attorney for Person and Caswell County. (Times-News)

Tip: know what you are forwarding

bniolet — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:44:07 -0400

E-mail Lesson #27: If you are going to forward a YouTube video, watch it first.

An administrative aide to state Rep. Laura Wiley learned the hard way, after she sent out a video critical of President Barack Obama featuring pictures of German SS officers at Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp, Joe Neff reports.

The email, sent from a General Assembly e-mail account, eventually landed in the inbox of Adam Searing, the director of the Health Access Coalition at the N.C. Justice Policy Center.

Searing, an advocate for affordable and universal health care, said he was offended for professional and personal reasons.

"My great uncle on my mom's side — Everett Peterson — died on Omaha Beach on June 6th 1944 in Normandy fighting those guys in the photos," Searing said. "He didn't die so that 65 years later somebody could equate the evil he fought and defeated with a policy proposal to expand health coverage."

More after the jump.

Bill calls for 'he or she' in laws

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:15:55 -0400

A bill would make state statutes gender-neutral.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, said he filed the legislation after an earlier bill of his was criticized for a masculine pronoun.

That bill, which named the head of the State Board of Education, was held up when Republican state Rep. Laura Wiley objected to its use of the word "him" when describing Gov. Beverly Perdue.

It was then rewritten to be gender-neutral.

"Bottom line, this bill would do that for the entire state," Stevens said.

The new proposal calls for the state General Statutes Commission to recommend any changes in pronouns to the state constitution or laws by 2010.

An existing state law already says that any reference to a "he" should be read as "he or she" for legal purposes.

Recent House bills

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:04:48 -0400

Some recent House bills of note:

H.B. 433: Change Corporate Income Tax, Rep. Harold Brubaker

H.B. 442: Parental Involvement in School Discipline, Reps. Martha Alexander, Susan Fisher, Rick Glazier and Earline Parmon

H.B. 443: Increase Class Size in the Public Schools, Reps. Paul Stam and Laura Wiley

H.B. 453: Increase Cig. Tax/Proceeds to MHTF, Reps. Verla Insko, Beverly Earle and Alexander

H.B. 494: Superior Court Judge May Perform Marriage, Reps. William Wainwright, Dan Blue and Garland Pierce

H.B. 504: Tax Credit for Energy-Efficient Homes, Reps. Fisher, Pricey Harrison, Bruce Goforth and Ruth Samuelson

Harrison held up over a 'he'

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:57:14 -0500

Bill Harrison's job may be held up by a pronoun.

The Cumberland County schools superintendent can't start his new position as chairman of the State Board of Education until a state law is changed to allow more than one public school employee to serve on the board at a time.

The Senate passed the necessary bill last week, but when the House took it up in committee, they noticed something amiss.

The governor must send "the names of the persons appointed by him" to legislative leaders for confirmation, the bill read.

Rep. Laura Wiley, a High Point Republican, pointed out that Gov. Beverly Perdue is a woman.

"I looked down and said, 'Hmmm, that needs to change,'" she said. "We need to start using gender neutral language."

The education committee made the change and reported a substitute bill. But since they weren't concurring on the Senate version of the bill, it has to go back to the other chamber.

And since the Senate has left for the weekend, Harrison can't start just yet.

Wiley said that wasn't her intention, but she hoped the hold-up might at least make Senate leaders more aware.

More House bills of note

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:15:00 -0500

Some more House bills of note:

H.B. 285: Salary Increase for Substitute Teachers, Reps. Cullie Tarleton, Marian McLawhorn, Maggie Jeffus and Laura Wiley

H.B. 287: Extend Ethics Law to City/Co. Officials, Rep. Cary Allred

H.B. 288: Remove Cap on the Number of Charter Schools, Rep. Allred

Recent House bills

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 09:43:48 -0500

Some interesting recent House bills:

H.B. 223: No High School Graduation Project Required, Reps. Jimmy Love and Angela Bryant

H.B. 232: Scholarship Loan for Rural Social Workers, Reps. Larry Bell, Rick Glazier, Marvin Lucas, Marian McLawhorn

H.B. 257: No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency, Reps. George Cleveland, Mark Hilton, Tim Moore and Laura Wiley

House bills filed on second day

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:15:30 -0500

More bills were filed this morning in the House:

H.B. 7: Victory Junction Gang Camp License Plate, Reps. Harold Brubaker, Pat Hurley

H.B. 8: Prohibit Cell Phones in Prison, Rep. Garland Pierce

H.B. 9: No Texting While Driving, Pierce

H.B. 10: Garnish Wages to Satisfy a Judgement, Reps. Tim Moore, Laura Wiley

H.B. 11: Regulation of Golf Carts in Grover, Moore

H.B. 12: Bioptic Lenses/Drivers License Tests

H.B. 13: Horn in the West Funds, Rep. Cullie Tarleton

H.B. 14: Chiropractic Services/Insurance, Tarleton

H.B. 15: Military Family Assistance Centers/Funds, Tarleton

Dole announces county coordinators

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:26:09 -0400

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has announced her county coordinators.

The Salisbury Republican's 100 grassroots coordinators will organize neighborhood walks, hand out campaign literature and set up yard signs for her campaign.

"Senator Dole has traveled to all 100 counties in North Carolina at least twice," said campaign manager Marty Ryall in a statement.

The list includes Republican state Reps. John Blust of Greensboro and Laura Wiley of High Point; Phil Berger, Jr., son of the state Senate minority leader; and Yancey County Sheriff Kermit Banks.

Wake County's coordinators are LaRinda Huntley-Kaplan, Suzan Maddox and Laura Neely; Mecklenburg's is Linda Jones; and Guilford's are Blust, Wiley, Dena Barnes and Kumar Lakhavani.

A full list after the jump.

Hackney appoints ethics committee

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:28:43 -0500

House Speaker Joe Hackney has appointed the six-member committee that will look into allegations against Rep. Thomas Wright.

According to an announcement from Hackney's office, the committee will have the same House members as the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee, which is also looking into Wright.

The two committees are needed because of the nature of the allegations and the relevant laws in place at the time. (For more on that, visit the Tavern.)

Rep. Rick Glazier will chair the committee and House Minority Leader Paul Stam will be vice chair.

The other members are: Reps. Marvin Lucas, Bill McGee, Edith Warren and Laura Wiley.

Glazier, Lucas and Warren are Democrats; Stam, McGee, and Wiley are Republicans.