CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two of North Carolina's most prominent lawmakers were in Charlotte Monday to discuss legislative priorities for the General Assembly this year, including the introduction of sports gambling and increased access to health care.
Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore joined a panel at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance in Uptown to discuss efforts to address rising child care costs, housing and transportation issues and the job market for North Carolina.
On the issue of rising child care costs, Berger mentioned a pilot program in the North Carolina state budget known as Tri-Share, which splits the cost of child care into thirds to help parents struggling to keep up. Under the program, child care costs would be divided into thirds that are paid by the government, employers and the parents. The new program is being rolled out in three regions statewide, including Cleveland County.
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Additionally, Moore and Berger discussed wanting local leaders to focus on roads when it comes to talks about transportation funding, saying the city of Charlotte needs to put less emphasis on things like bike lanes and another light rail line and more emphasis on road quality. They said in order to gain support from the state, car transportation should be the main goal.
"The top priority has to be roads, it has to be roads. That's where the traffic issues have to be dealt with," Moore said. "A lot of these other things are great to be able to do, but it has to first and foremost be roads."
It comes as Charlotte leaders want a sales tax increase to pay for the city's transportation plan. The commissioners and the General Assembly would have to sign off, and state lawmakers say this will only happen if roads are the key to Charlotte's transportation plans.
Geraldine Gardner leads the Centralina Regional Council, supporting communities around the region with their mobility goals.
With more than 1.8 million new people expected in the region by 2050, she said it'll take a combined focus to make traffic bearable.
“We have to do both. At the rate that we’re growing, we simply can’t build our way out of it, in terms of building more road capacity," Gardner said. "We need to be providing alternative modes of getting around this region."
Moore and Berger also touted the benefits of mobile sports betting, which begins next month statewide. The pair said they hope it brings great benefits to North Carolinians, as the state has followed the lead of many others in legalizing sports gambling.
If you are concerned about your gambling or worried about a friend, you can call the NC Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-877-718-5543. You can also contact the National Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Moore, who is finishing up his final term as North Carolina House Speaker, is running for North Carolina's 14th Congressional District. That seat is currently occupied by Democrat Jeff Jackson, who believes he was drawn out of the district in new maps approved by the Republican-controlled legislature. Jackson announced he will now run for state attorney general in a bid to replace Josh Stein, who is running for governor.
Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
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