Bringing The World Home To You

© 2024 WUNC North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
91.5 Chapel Hill 88.9 Manteo 90.9 Rocky Mount 91.1 Welcome 91.9 Fayetteville 90.5 Buxton 94.1 Lumberton 99.9 Southern Pines 89.9 Chadbourn
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lawmakers Start Short Session

Lawmakers got off to a running start today as they began this summer's short legislative session.

Jessica Jones: It was a busy day at the General Assembly today, where members of the House and the Senate formally began what's known as the short session. It's generally expected to last six weeks, but Republican leaders say their goal is to finish sooner than that. House lawmakers introduced a bill to pay victims of the state's eugenics program 50 thousand dollars each for their pain and suffering. The sterilization program was disbanded in 1974. Meanwhile, legislators filed another measure that would provide more than 200 million dollars worth of funding for a gap in Medicaid funds. And Senator Bob Rucho is sponsoring a controversial bill filed today that would legalize natural gas fracking within two years, despite concerns among Republicans the bill goes too far. And a measure that would allow Las-Vegas style gaming on the Eastern Cherokee Indian reservation gained early approval in a committee.

Jessica Jones covers both the legislature in Raleigh and politics across the state. Before her current assignment, Jessica was given the responsibility to open up WUNC's first Greensboro Bureau at the Triad Stage in 2009. She's a seasoned public radio reporter who's covered everything from education to immigration, and she's a regular contributor to NPR's news programs. Jessica started her career in journalism in Egypt, where she freelanced for international print and radio outlets. After stints in Washington, D.C. with Voice of America and NPR, Jessica joined the staff of WUNC in 1999. She is a graduate of Yale University.
More Stories