(The Center Square) – Directions on curriculum measured age appropriate and access in public libraries to materials considered harmful to minors are in a proposal at the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Parental Rights for Curriculum and Books, also known as House Bill 595, adds to state law a section for age-appropriate instruction for students; a human growth and development program for fourth and fifth graders; and says reproductive health and safety education shall not happen before seventh grade.

The bill authored by Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston, and filed Monday additionally has sections on instructional materials and clarification of “defenses for material harmful to minors.” Public library access for minors is in a fourth section.

Gender identity instruction, a buzzword of recent election cycles, is prohibited prior to students entering the fifth grade. The proposal extends that to prior to the entering seventh grade.

The bill would require parental consent to learn about some elements associated with sex education – infections, contraception, assault and human trafficking.

State law allows schools the option to adopt local policies on parental consent for the reproductive health education.

(The Center Square) – North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Tuesday took a swipe at the Trump administration for moving too slowly on releasing federal funds for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

“We want to get as many of these dollars out as quickly as we can,” Stein told other state leaders Tuesday at the monthly Council of State meeting. “We desperately need the federal government to respond commensurate to the way it has responded to other major natural disasters in recent history in the United States. We’ve not gotten that yet.”

Although Congress appropriated disaster relief money late last year, some federal departments haven’t allocated those funds to the states, Stein added.

“We want to get these funds because when you get the funds, you can start spending the funds,” Stein said. “That’s exactly what we want to do is to help people get back on their feet. As quickly as possible.”

The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication of obtaining a response from the White House.

The state began its 27th week of recovery this past weekend. Estimates by Stein’s administration on damage in the state is up to or exceeding $60 billion.

Stein had praise however, for the North Carolina Legislature acting quickly this year to provide hurricane relief funds.

“I was really pleased that the first bill that came to my desk was the Hurricane Helene Relief Bill – $524 million,” Stein said. “Obviously this is just a drop in the bucket of the needs, but it’s enough for us to get started on a number of very important programs including the housing repair and reconstruction program.”

The governor said the goal is to have “hammers and nails” this summer.

“We’re going to work our tails off to make sure that happens,” Stein said. “We need people to go out there and do the work.”

The governor described a recent visit to Fairview.

“That community was absolutely the epicenter of the pain and suffering,” Stein said. “Of the 106 lives lost, 13 were in that community, 11 from one family.”

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler thanked all the volunteers who have helped the state clean up after the devastating storm.

“This job is way too big for government and too expensive,” Troxler said. “But the response from the people, the nonprofits and faith-based organizations has been amazing. We’ve got to pick the pace up. Government can’t do it but the people can. If we stay at it, we will get this done.”

(The Center Square) – A Monday executive order from President Donald Trump seeks to establish a new government office to assist companies looking to invest more than $1 billion in growing their business in the U.S. 

Burdensome government regulations impede both domestic and foreign business expansion, according to the order, and the office, designated the “United States Investment Accelerator,” is meant to help with that.

“It is in the interest of the American people that the Federal Government dramatically expand its assistance to companies seeking to invest and build in the United States,” the order reads.

The office is to be housed within the Department of Commerce and will help investors of more than $1 billion “navigate… regulatory processes efficiently, reduce regulatory burdens” as much as possible and make “national resources” more accessible “where appropriate and consistent with applicable law.”

The order also stipulates the office is to “facilitate research collaborations with our national labs and work with state governments in all 50 states to reduce regulatory barriers to, and increase, domestic and foreign investment in the United States.”

The order also tasks the office with overseeing the CHIPS program established under President Joe Biden and “negotiating much better deals” than his administration. 

A number of companies have committed to a combined total of more than $3 trillion in American investment since Trump took office in January, including Apple for $500 billion and the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer for $100 billion. 

Trump has said the administration has secured verbal commitments from others putting total private investment at $5 trillion “very soon.”