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Articles by Becki Gray
Testimony before NCGA Senate Committees on HB 951, Energy Solutions - The Locker Room
I testified in support of HB 951, Energy Solutions for North Carolina this week before both the Senate Ag/Energy/Enviro Committee and the Senate Rules Committee. Here are my prepared remarks: Energy policy. This is confusing, complex and complicated stuff. Stakeholders, shareholders, special interests bargain for months. Energy policy has deep implications for economic growth, impacts every business and every family across North Carolina.
HB 951, Modernize Energy Generation: what's it going to cost? - The Locker Room
How much will it cost? A proposed committee substitute for House Bill 951, Modernize Energy Generation was introduced and discussed in the NC House last week. It’s a 47 page complicated, dense proposal to modernize NC’s energy generation and make substantive changes to generation, ratemaking and investments in energy infrastructure. The plan was worked out over months of closed door stakeholder negotiations. The John Locke Foundation was not included in those negotiations.
SB 349, Increase Housing Opportunities is a good idea. Here's what I had to say about it. - The Locker Room
I spoke in favor of SB 349, Increase Housing Opportunities this afternoon in the Senate Finance Committee. Here’s what I said: With the new census numbers in and as Apple’s recent announcement reminds us, North Carolina has been an attractive and affordable alternative for businesses and people to move. You (legislators) have done this with tax reform, with broad regulatory reforms, and since 2015 with reforms to land-use regulations.
SB 455, Decriminalize non-Statutory Offenses is a good idea - The Locker Room
North Carolina’s criminal code is a mess. The sheer number of criminal laws and regulations are inaccessible and haphazardly organized so as to make it virtually impossible for regular citizens to know, understand and comply without breaking the law as they go about their everyday life, jobs and businesses. Citizens can, and are often subject to, or prosecuted and punished for, unintentionally breaking a law they did not even know existed.
A special education savings account may be just the thing to address learning loss for NC students - The Locker Room
We know learning loss from months of remote learning is real. We don’t know how deep and how wide that loss is yet. We know many students are suffering from failing grades and the despair and loss of confidence failing brings. The students we worry the most about in the best of times, low income and special needs kids, suffer the most. We know that the sooner we address the problem, the better.
Congressman Coble's Brains N' Eggs - honorable service for 30 years and a Friday afternoon recipe - The Locker Room
Fifteen term US Congressman Howard Coble announced this week that he will not run for a sixteenth term in 2014. Those who know Congressman Coble know him as a gracious gentleman and statesman who knows every mascot at all the high schools in District 6. He has been a great supporter of agriculture and was opposed to overly burdensome regulations on the tobacco industry. He has been in favor of drug testing for federal employees.
Broadband Tops List Of Legislative Priorities For Upcoming Session
By: Becki Gray The General Assembly will convene its biennial session Jan. 13. They’ll talk about how to get the economy back on its feet, address a learning gap in education, improve access to quality health care at an affordable price, put together a tax and spending plan and begin the centennial redistricting process. But perhaps the most immediate and bipartisan issue they will address is broadband connectivity.
The Voters Have Spoken, Now Let’s Get To Work
By Becki Gray The 2020 election is over. Thankfully and finally. Maybe. Not everyone is happy, and the process may not be perfect, but it works better than any alternative.
What I'm watching election night - The Locker Room
After months of anticipation, piles of money spent, endless TV commercials watched and too many visits from candidates to count, the 2020 election is finally here. Several of my colleagues and I will be offering election return coverage on North Carolina News Network and their flagship station WBTF 680 AM as the returns come in. I’ll be on from 10:30 until it’s over. I’m watching everything, all the races are important and interesting in their own way.
Candidate Question: Do you have education data on discipline, crime, teacher pay, benefits? - The Locker Room
Of course we do! And it comes from the public school reports.
Cooper’s Post-COVID-19 Plans Should Worry All North Carolinians
By Becki Gray Gov. Roy Cooper owns this. He owns the coronavirus response and everything that will follow. Cooper has refused to confer with the Council of State, vetoed the General Assembly’s efforts to get businesses safely opened and people back to work, relied solely on his administration’s data and science, blamed President Trump and the republican General Assembly when convenient, and taken credit when it fit his political agenda.
Moving the goal posts, running out of patience; Cooper's Pandemic Phases - The Locker Room
In late May, Cooper issued a report, Staying Ahead of the Curve, on NC’s progress in dealing with the corona virus. The report states, “North Carolina has taken aggressive action to to save lives…..And we have flattened the curve….we have slowed the rate of acceleration.” And asks, “where do we go from here?” He laid out a three phase plan to reopen our state.
The Impending Creep Of Unionization Into North Carolina
By: Becki Gray In February 2019, after months of negotiation, Western North Carolina’s Mission Hospital was sold to HCA Healthcare, the nation’s largest for-profit hospital company. HCA Healthcare owns 184 hospitals across the U.S. and United Kingdom. Mission is its first hospital in North Carolina. After the sale, complaints from residents were filed in the attorney general’s office, and, on Feb. 25, Josh Stein sent a letter to HCA outlining concerns.
Candidate question: What are the benefits of Medicaid transformation to current Medicaid recepients? - The Locker Room
The benefits of Medicaid transformation have focused on the issue from the cost/government perspective. What are the tangible net benefits to actual current Medicaid recipients? JLF’s Health Care policy analyst, Jordan Roberts answers: Managed care ideally will create a new insurance product for the Medicaid enrollees. The enrollees will now have the option of a much wider network than they would otherwise have on traditional FFS Medicaid.
Candidate Question: What is the appropriate balance between state and federal regulations on business and the economy? - The Locker Room
Here’s the question: What is the appropriate balance of federal and state regulatory requirements on business and the economy? Thank you Jon Sanders for a great answer: Burdensome regulations have a proven effect of hindering economic growth, and that’s not just bad for businesses, it’s bad for job-seekers and also for state and local revenues. Regulations need to be light and nimble. Policymakers should have a “First, do no harm” approach to regulations.
Veto/Override Review; Short Session Edition - *Updated with roll call votes on overrides - The Locker Room
****UPDATED JULY 9****** Wrapping up the 2020 Short Session, NCGA adjourned about 3:00 am on June 26 sending a flurry of bills to the Governor to sign. Since they did not adjourn sine die, and technically remain in session, the governor had 10 days from when he received a bill to sign or veto it. If he did nothing, the bill became law without his signature. He signed seventy three and let one go into effect without his signature (HB 77 – cleaning up DOT budget and making governance changes).
Veto/Override Review; Short Session Edition - The Locker Room
Wrapping up the 2020 Short Session, NCGA adjourned about 3:00 am on June 26 sending a flurry of bills to the Governor to sign. Since they did not adjourn sine die, and technically remain in session, the governor had 10 days from when he received a bill to sign or veto it. If he did nothing, the bill became law without his signature. He signed seventy three and let one go into effect without his signature (HB 77 – cleaning up DOT budget and making governance changes).
Proud to be an American? I asked my family for help with an assignment and learned a few lessons myself. - The Locker Room
We got an assignment this week from JLF’s CEO to make some comments on social media about why we’re proud to be an American. It seemed like an easy task – talk about liberty, freedom, and opportunity in 140 characters. Done. Next. But I stopped to consider what I wanted to say, and my thoughts kept going to memories of my mother, a child of German immigrants growing up in the Depression, a member of the greatest generation.
Proud to be a American? I asked my family for help with an assignment and learned a few lessons myself
By: Becki Gray We got an assignment this week from JLF’s CEO to make some comments on social media about why we’re proud to be an American. It seemed like an easy task – talk about liberty, freedom, and opportunity in 140 characters. Done. Next. But I stopped to consider what I wanted to say, and my thoughts kept going to memories of my mother, a child of German immigrants growing up in the Depression, a member of the greatest generation.
Proud to be a American? I asked my family for help with an assignment and learned a few lessons myself. - The Locker Room
We got an assignment this week from JLF’s CEO to make some comments on social media about why we’re proud to be an American. It seemed like an easy task – talk about liberty, freedom, and opportunity in 140 characters. Done. Next. But I stopped to consider what I wanted to say, and my thoughts kept going to memories of my mother, a child of German immigrants growing up in the Depression, a member of the greatest generation.
Free Markets Drive Innovation, Which Is Key In Attacking, Defeating Virus
By: Becki Gray Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic include the importance of keeping money in savings to cushion an economic shutdown. Accurate and transparent data, we’ve learned, is critical. Restrictions to freedom must be temporary. Emergency calls for innovation, whether that’s receiving health care through telemedicine, learning and working online, or expanding opportunities by lifting long–held restrictions.
Stressed Over The Pandemic, Yet Prepared For What Comes Next
By: Becki Gray From flattening the curve to trending, tracking, and tracing. From PPE shortages, to months–long lockdowns and millions of unemployment claims. To stretching our constitutional rights to go along with months of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Through all this one thing is certain: The COVID-19 pandemic has created a tremendous amount of stress, falling upon our medical system, families, employees, businesses large and small, and students.
Candidate Question: What is the status of Association Healthcare Plans? - The Locker Room
What is the status of association health plans in North Carolina? JLF’s Health Care Policy expert, Jordan Roberts has the answer: During the 2019 legislative session, the North Carolina General Assembly passed an association health plan bill with bipartisan support. Governor Cooper did not sign or veto the bill, and after ten days, the bill became law.
Candidate Question: How is the NC Opportunity Scholarship awarded? - The Locker Room
Q: How is the NC Opportunity Scholarship awarded? If it is awarded in a need-basis, can you explain? Answer (courtesy Dr. Terry Stoops, JLF’s VP of research and director of studies) : Eligibility for an Opportunity Scholarship is determined using federal free and reduced-price lunch guidelines. If the household income qualifies the child to receive a free or reduced-price lunch, then the child is eligible for full coverage of tuition and fees up to $4,200.
Giving Us Time To Realize What’s Really Important
By: Becki Gray Carolina Journal Months now into the COVID–19 quarantine, we’re still probably some time away from a new normal, however that looks. But the forced quarantine and slowdown has given us time to see opportunities, reflect on what’s important and learn lessons worth carrying forward. Family has taken on a new significance in all our lives.
Kicking off a new feature - Candidate Questions - First question: Is Medicaid expansion a good idea? - The Locker Room
Since 2008, the John Locke Foundation has provided candidates for the General Assembly and state-wide offices research, data and information to address NC’s most pressing public policy challenges. Our 2020 Policy Solutions Guide is a much valued and trusted resource. We’ve also held policy briefings, numerous individual and small group discussions and many conversations on the phone and by email.
Carolina Journal Radio No. 885: Debate continues about pace of N.C. reopening - Carolina Journal
As North Carolina grapples with the impact of COVID-19, debate has turned to when and how to reopen the state’s economy. While many are calling on government officials to ease restrictions tied to the pandemic, some worry that a reopened economy could lead to major health-related problems. Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, analyzes the debate.
Update on Criminal Law Reform efforts - The Locker Room
With everyone’s attention on COVID-19 for the last several weeks, you may have missed an important meeting of the General Statutes Commission. This is a group of dedicated legal and policy experts who research and correct NC Statutes. Session Law 2019-198 directed them to make recommendations to clean up NC’s criminal code. After several meetings and a review of reports submitted, it was clear the problem was even bigger than anticipated and some kind of relief or additional direction was needed.
COVID-19 response and recovery calls for a balanced solution. - The Locker Room
As you would expect, John Locke Foundation’s policy recommendations in response to COVID-19 outbreak and in discussions on how best to recovery once the crisis is over, have focused largely on free market solutions. We believe that offering help to people who have lost jobs and businesses shut down because of government orders is a good idea in the short run and that getting people back to work, businesses back in business and the economy back up and running should be paramount as we recover.
Policy briefs and recommendations for policy makers and thought leaders as North Carolina responds to COVID-19 - The Locker Room
As North Carolina faces the COVID-19 crisis with it’s impact on our economy, families, jobs and every aspect of our lives, the John Locke Foundation responds by looking at policy concerns, offering suggestions and solutions. All five of our COVID-19 policy documents have been released and are available on our website. For your convenience I’ve them included here with a brief summary of recommendations for your consideration. Details are available in the briefs.
People of North Carolina, don’t despair: We have a budget
Don’t despair North Carolina, despite continuing cries the state is without a budget — even after months of consternation, frustration, accusations, political wrangling, and dead–end negotiations. We do, indeed, have a budget. Granted, it’s not one either side — the governor and General Assembly — necessarily wanted, but it works. And it will continue to work until they’re more inclined to work together. For now, the budget we have is legal, fully funded, and leaves a surplus of $2.4 billion.
Boar's Head tradition of years ago a reminder of what's important today. - The Locker Room
When I was student at Queens College (now Queens University of Charlotte) one of my favorite holiday traditions was the annual Boars Head Dinner that originated in 1933. Several weeks ahead of the event the president of the college sent a fancy invitation to the students. On the prescribed evening, the dining hall was transformed into a holiday wonderland with candle light and greenery. We all dressed up.
Is this letter to DHHS Secretary the break in the budget stalemate? - The Locker Room
NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Senator Donald G. Davis 5th District Office: 300 N.SalisburyStreet 523 Legislative Office Building Raleigh, North Carolina 27603-5925 Phone: (919)715-8363 Fax: (919)754-3159 Email: Counties: Pitt andGreene October 4, 2019 Dr. Mandy K.
Opinion | Indiana Medicaid model not good for NC
In 2007, the federal government granted Indiana and then-Gov. Mitch Daniels a waiver to administer Medicaid to an expanded population.Indiana launched the Healthy Indiana Plan in 2008 with a five-year federal waiver. HIP was to be the nation’s first consumer-directed health plan for low-income residents. The intent was to encourage personal responsibility and accountability. But it has not worked as planned.
Redistricting calls for leadership. Luckily we’ve got it. - The Locker Room
Macro photo of tooth wheel mechanism with LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK, SUCCESS, COMPANY, GROWTH and BUSINESS concept letters As the legislature hunkers down to re-draw some of the House and Senate districts to comply with the recent Common Cause three-judge decision which claimed “extreme” partisan gerrymandering, new maps will solve the immediate problem but they won’t solve the underlying problems with redistricting. What’s next? Real reform. Several redistricting bills have been filed this session.
Opinion | What’s at stake without a budget?
Try as they might, the General Assembly has had a hard time garnering the needed votes from the Democratic caucus to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. Try as he might, the governor has had a hard time persuading the General Assembly to give in to his Medicaid–expansion–or–nothing demands. It’s been a long hot summer on Jones Street.
We deserve representation over blind political allegiance
What’s at stake without a budget? Try as they might, the General Assembly has had a hard time garnering the needed votes from the Democratic caucus to override Gov.Roy Cooper’s veto. Try as he might, the governor has had a hard time persuading the General Assembly to give in to his Medicaid–expansion–or–nothing demands. It’s been a long hot summer on Jones Street.
House Committee considers proposal to extend broadband access in underserved areas. - The Locker Room
The House State and Local Government Committee met this morning to consider the latest version of HB 431, FIBER NC, an act to foster infrastructure for broadband expansion and resources in NC by authorizing counties and cities to install and lease broadband infrastructure to increase adequate broadband services to attract investment in local economies, provide educational and career opportunities, modernize farming technologies, and to provide for improved health care.
Education spending is like a trip to the dental hygienist - The Locker Room
While we wait for a break in the budget impasse, teacher pay increases are on hold, increases in education spending is on hold. In addition to insisting NC increase Medicaid spending by $6 billion over the first two years, increase total Medicaid spending by 28% and increase the state budget by 8%, the Governor says he wants more money spent on education. His arguments remind me of a recent visit to my dental hygienist. No matter how much I floss, it will never be enough.
Partisan gerrymandering is OK for me but not for you. - The Locker Room
Painful but worth a listen to former #ncga election law, redistricting committee staffer and lawyer working on legislative maps in 1991, 2001 and 2017, Bill Gilkeson’s testimony in the partisan gerrymandering case.
JLF’s Becki Gray assesses N.C. budget stalemate
Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, discusses the ongoing stalemate over North Carolina’s 2019-21 state budget. Gray offered these comments during the July 9, 2019, edition of Spectrum News’ “Capital Tonight.”
Finding solutions to the problem of unaffordable health insurance - The Locker Room
The House Health Committee is scheduled to consider HB 655, Health Care for Working Families, tomorrow morning. First, kudos to the leadership for bringing this issue forward and to members for participating in the discussion. The governor is strongly in favor of Medicaid expansion. Many progressive House and Senate members have expressed support for Medicaid expansion, while most Republicans have opposed it. Polls have been mixed.
Veto override consideration is up in the House. Here's why an override is important. - The Locker Room
The General Assembly returns to Raleigh today. On the House calendar is an override consideration of the Governor’s veto of the 2019-20 $24 billion budget. Because the budget is a House bill, the override vote starts in the House. In addition to all the Republicans voting to override, they would need seven democrats to meet the 3/5 of members voting and present threshold for an override to succeed.
17 things in conference budget that protect and promote freedom
There will be parades, speeches, picnics, and gatherings across North Carolina this month to celebrate freedom. The General Assembly will be wrapping up its work, at least for the meantime, this month. In many of the public policy debates this session, it seems to me freedom is in peril. We saw it in the budget debate with the governor and others, who are insisting more government spending and control is better, even necessary, they argue. But it quickly becomes apparent nothing would be enough.
JLF’s Becki Gray analyzes N.C. state budget dispute
Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, discusses the debate between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Republican-led General Assembly over North Carolina’s new state budget. Gray offered these comments during the June 28, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”
JLF experts discuss developments in UNC, Vidant dispute
John Locke Foundation Senior Vice President Becki Gray and Chairman John Hood assess the latest news in the dispute between the University of North Carolina and Vidant Medical Center. Gray and Hood offered these comments during the June 14, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”
New craft beer law could be first of many needed alcohol reforms
Lawmakers have offered several proposals to repair the broken, outdated way the state governs alcohol through the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control system. About a dozen bills, in fact, are moving through the General Assembly, and one, House Bill 363, the Craft Beer Distribution and Modernization Act, is now law. H.B. 363 allows breweries that sell fewer than 100,00 barrels — up from 25,000 — to self-distribute and market their products without being required to use a wholesaler.
JLF’s Becki Gray discusses House, Senate budget cooperation
Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation senior vice president, answers host Tom Campbell’s question about the N.C. Senate budget plan. This exchange took place during the May 31, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”
Alcohol reform may be coming to N.C., and it’s about time
The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control system — created in 1937 in the wake of the repeal of Prohibition — for the past 80-plus years has remained mostly static. But this may soon change, as lawmakers have offered several proposals to repair the broken, outdated system. But what’s interesting this session, despite the many past attempts to reform the system, is that the proposed changes by lawmakers are simple and workable.
JLF experts discuss GOP primary in North Carolina’s 2020 Senate race
John Locke Foundation Senior Vice President Becki Gray and Chairman John Hood answer questions about the Republican primary in North Carolina’s 2020 U.S. Senate race. Gray and Hood offered these comments during the May 24, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”
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