Episode Details

North Carolina state lawmakers are in the midst of the 2026 legislative session and, as had been expected, several important proposals are advancing that could impact everything from alcohol sales to the state constitution.
On the alcohol front, it appears that the recent ongoing trend to move the state away from longstanding blue laws continues as the demands of retailers and producers seem to slowly be overcoming the objections of religious conservatives and other alcohol opponents. And recently, as part of a wide-ranging two-part conversation with NC Newsline government and politics reporter Brandon Kingdollar, we dug into precisely what’s under consideration and what the competing sides are saying.

In Part One of our recent extended conversation NC Newsline government and politics reporter Brandon Kingdollar, we examined the ongoing debate at the General Assembly over our state’s regulation of alcohol sales and how proposals to liberalize and privatize the process and move away from older, more restrictive regulatory schemes appear to be making headway.

In Part Two of our chat, we turned our attention to a series of constitutional amendments that Republican leaders are moving to place on the fall ballot that deal with an array of subjects – some of them potentially hugely impactful and some more symbolic that appear to be designed mostly to help drive conservative voter turnout.

Click here for the full interview with NC Newsline government and politics reporter Brandon Kingdollar.