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Today marks the first day of North Carolina’s 2024 Legislative “Short” Session. The primary focus of this year’s session will be making adjustments to the two-year budget that was passed last year, but state lawmakers are likely to consider much more. It could be over as soon as the first part of July, or legislators could stay in until late summer or early fall. Republicans still hold a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

Last year was packed with important legislation, and we made significant strides in protecting life, promoting educational freedom, solidifying parental rights, and protecting children from harm. While this year is supposed to be a short session, we still anticipate seeing action on issues like:

• Further expansion of the state’s school choice Opportunity Scholarship Program;
• Proposals to expand gambling in the form of commercial casinos and adding tens of thousands of video lottery terminals across the state;
• Resumed efforts to legalize marijuana for “medical” purposes; and
• Criminalizing the sale of tianeptine, also known as “gas station heroin.”

If you are interested in learning more, John Rustin shares helpful insights in our most recent Weekly Update video.

What Today Looks Like for Our Staff

John, Jere, and Sharon are starting the session off strong, spending time down at the General Assembly (or the GA as we call it) and reconnecting with legislators. Adamo and Tom are spending the day with a group of high school students leading a Salt & Light Student Seminar. They will also be heading down to GA this afternoon, where they will meet with the legislators from the students’ districts. AnnaScott is bouncing back and forth between everything, capturing pictures and videos, so you can follow our day on Instagram.

How You Can Get Involved

Our government works best when citizens like you get involved! Here are a few ways to get started:

• Contact your legislators through NC Family’s Action Center! We have Action Alerts for the issues of “medical” marijuana and gambling expansion, and we encourage you to contact your legislators and urge them to vote against these issues as they come up.
• Pray for our elected officials. AnnaScott Cross published an article with four ways you can pray for your legislators.
• Stay informed! NC Family offers a variety of materials to keep you up-to-date on all of the important legislation and goings-on. Make sure you are subscribed to our email list and follow us on social media!