Paul Newton (politician)
Paul Newton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 36th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Fletcher L. Hartsell Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 2, 1960 North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Melanie |
| Children | four |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BS, JD) |
| Occupation | former executive (Duke Energy) |
Paul Robert Newton (born June 2, 1960) is am American politician and Republican member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing the 36th district.[1][2]
Political career[]
Newton was an executive at the utility company Duke Energy before retiring.[3][4] As a member of the state Senate's energy committee, Newton opposed natural gas production limitations in North Carolina.[3]
In 2021, amid nationwide Republican efforts to Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election, Newton proposed legislation that would prevent counties from counting valid mail-in absentee ballots postmarked before or on election day unless they were received by the polling places by 5 p.m. on election day. Newton argued that it was "suspicious" for valid absentee ballots to be counted after election day.[5] In the 2020 elections, 11,000 ballots arrived in the three-day grace period after election day and were counted; under Newton's proposal, they would have been thrown out.[5]
In 2021, as co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Newton sponsored a proposal to reduce the state income tax rate from 5.25% to 4.99%.[6]
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in North Carolina, Newton was one of five Republican state senators asked Governor Roy Cooper to allow the Coca-Cola 600, a NASCAR race, to be run at Charlotte Motor Speedway, although without a crowd of fans.[7] The following year, Newton sponsored a "liability shield" bill to provide a limited form of immunity to businesses, government agency or nonprofit against lawsuits arising from COVID-19 transmission on their premises.[8]
References[]
- ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
- ^ "Meet the candidates: NC Senate District 36 Paul Newton". The Independent Tribune.
- ^ a b Gary D. Robertson, Experts: 1 pipeline each for NC natural gas, fuel a concern, Associated Press (May 18, 2021).
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, NC Senate nixes environment chief, but Cooper rehires her, Associated Press (June 3, 2021).
- ^ a b "'Obstacles in voters' way': Three state bills could drastically change North Carolina's election laws". The Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, NC Senate Republicans to pitch more state tax reductions, Associated Press (March 22, 2021).
- ^ GOP senators ask NC governor to allow racing at Charlotte, Associated Press (April 19, 2020).
- ^ Gary D. Robertson, N.C. lawmakers push reopen bills, virus liability protection, Associated Press (June 16, 2020).
External links[]
- Living people
- North Carolina Republicans
- 1960 births
- North Carolina state senators
- 21st-century American politicians