Where did legislators rank on North Carolina’s environmental priorities in 2018?

NCLCV releases its latest scorecard assessing the 2017 and 2018 sessions

RALEIGH, N.C.—A day before early voting begins, the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters released its latest annual scorecard taking a comprehensive look at where every legislator stood on the environmental issues most important to voters during the 2017 and 2018 sessions.

Read the full scorecard here. Included are each legislator’s scores, and their votes on the bills we scored; a report card for Gov. Roy Cooper’s term thus far; explanations of the issues at play over the last two sessions; and an examination of the proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall, through an environmental and voting rights lens.

“The last two years have been marked by the General Assembly’s failure to solve the GenX crisis, leaving thousands of North Carolinians’ drinking water poisoned. On GenX, hog waste, coal ash, continuing rollbacks of common-sense health protections, and the wind energy ban, they have prioritized corporate polluters instead of the people,” said Dan Crawford, NCLCV director of governmental relations. “Luckily, we have a governor who is doing what he can to steer North Carolina in the right direction.”

Overall, Gov. Cooper earned an ‘A’ for consistently championing environmental policies that protect communities, strengthen the economy, and improve North Carolinians’ lives. Despite being limited by the General Assembly’s deregulation agenda, Cooper has made progress on several environmental fronts, and has used his executive authority, legal action, and the veto to check the legislature when necessary.

“We hope voters will arm themselves with these scores when they go to the polls,” said Carrie Clark, NCLCV executive director. “Once they know their legislators’ values, they can hold them accountable at the ballot box.”