The Kernersville News picked up Carolina Journal Associate Editor Barry Smith‘s recent article about the state Senate’s “Protect Commerce” bill, which critics label as an anti-whistleblower measure.

N.C. Senate Republicans promoted in their daily press emails several CJ news articles in the past week highlighting legislative business. Smith documented the state House’s tax reform plan, the Senate budget’s proposal for a new fee targeting drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles, and the Senate’s omission of funding for eugenics compensation. Associate Editor Dan Way reported on the facts surrounding Medicaid expansion’s impacts on the uninsured, along with House committee debate over an opportunity scholarship bill. Contributor Duke Cheston detailed North Carolina community colleges’ efforts to improve their remedial courses.

The Senate GOP promoted John Locke Foundation President John Hood‘s columns on the House tax reform plan, faulty liberal arguments about education “privatization,” and the impact of state tax policy on economic growth. Speaking of Hood, the New Bern Sun Journal referenced the JLF president’s weekly syndicated column while responding to a letter.

In other news, Becki Gray offered a legislative update this week to the New Hanover County Republican Club. The Fayetteville Observer‘s blog “The People’s Business” quoted Mitch Kokai in an article about constitutional amendments up for consideration in this year’s session of the General Assembly. Kokai recently discussed “The Conservative Mind” during a presentation for college students participating in a weeklong Institute of Political Leadership Program at William Peace University.