Jeff Jackson in State of North Carolina secondary Archives


On Government Reform: Keep governor's strong non-political elections board

Legislative Summary: SB 68: Consolidate the functions of elections, campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics under one regulatory agency by creating the Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement.

Analysis by Election Law Society: SB 68 was created by the Republican-led General Assembly, put in place "just as a Democrat was elected governor, so as to weaken the governor's appointment powers over the elections board." Several counties are encountering problems with getting new voting machines.

Veto Message: Similar legislation to this was held unconstitutional. This legislation will undermine NC's ability to conduct fair, legal elections that maximize voter participation.

Legislative Outcome: Vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper on Apr/21/17; Veto Overridden in Senate 33-15-2, Roll Call #94 on Apr/24/17; State Sen. Jeff Jackson voted NO; Veto Overridden in House 75-44-1, Roll Call #317 on Apr/25/17.

Source: Election Law Society on North Carolina voting record SB 68 Apr 24, 2017

On Environment: Opposed weakening environmental/health regulation

Legislative Title: SB553: Regulatory Reform Act:

Analysis by N.C. LCV: SB 553 earned modest bipartisan support after some of the most environmentally objectionable provisions regarding landfills and electronic waste recycling were removed.

Veto Message: Provisions in the legislation allowing trash receptacles in exit corridors could pose a fire safety risk for residents and emergency responders. Also, this legislation could allow septic system permits to be issued that circumvent state septic system rules which can hurt public health and threaten clean water. Both of these provisions threaten public health and safety.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 78-31-11, Roll Call #804 on Aug/29/19; Vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper on Sep/20/19; Veto Sustained in Senate 28-21-1, Roll Call #663 on Jan/14/20; State Sen. Jeff Jackson voted NO.

Source: WBTV-3 on North Carolina legislative voting record SB 553 Jan 14, 2020

On Crime: Second Chance Act: expunge misdemeanors & under-age crimes

Summary by Dummit-Fradin Law (6/25/20): Before, only one non-violent, non-DWI misdemeanor conviction could be expunged if at least 5 years have passed. The Second Chance Act will allow for more than one non-violent misdemeanor conviction to be expunged after 7 years, and expands the list of offenses eligible for expungements for convictions that occurred when a Defendant was under 18 years old.

Summary by NC Justice Center:Nearly 1 in 4 North Carolinians has a criminal record; this landmark piece of bipartisan legislation provides clean slate relief for thousands of people with criminal records to have their records expunged. NC's "revolving door" criminal justice system has devastated communities around the state, and disproportionately impacts Black communities & other people of color.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 119-0-1 on Jun/10/20; passed Senate 47-0-3 on Jun/16/20; Sen. Nickel co-sponsored & voted YES; signed by Gov. Cooper on Jun/25/20.

Source: NC Justice Center on North Carolina voting records S561 Jun 16, 2020

On Crime: Second Chance Act: expunge misdemeanors & under-age crimes

Summary by Dummit-Fradin Law (6/25/20): Before, only one non-violent, non-DWI misdemeanor conviction could be expunged if at least 5 years have passed. The Second Chance Act will allow for more than one non-violent misdemeanor conviction to be expunged after 7 years, and expands the list of offenses eligible for expungements for convictions that occurred when a Defendant was under 18 years old.

Summary by NC Justice Center:Nearly 1 in 4 North Carolinians has a criminal record; this landmark piece of bipartisan legislation provides clean slate relief for thousands of people with criminal records to have their records expunged. NC's "revolving door" criminal justice system has devastated communities around the state, and disproportionately impacts Black communities and other people of color.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 119-0-1 on Jun/10/20; passed Senate 47-0-3 on Jun/16/20; State Sen. Jeff Jackson voted YES; signed by Gov. Cooper on Jun/25/20.

Source: NC Justice Center on North Carolina voting records S561 Jun 16, 2020

On Drugs: Drug courts give leverage to helping addicts get clean

Another community member also asked how Jackson planned to address drug addiction. Jackson said one of the ways he has seen help with that is offering more drug courts. "It helps people every single day. You have real leverage to help people get clean when the leverage is if you don't, you get convicted of this crime. That is a great intervention point. And it really works. Not every time, but it has a good success ratio."
Source: The Wautauga Democrat on 2022 North Carolina Senate race Jul 1, 2021

On Drugs: Sky doesn't fall when taking regulatory approach on cannabis

[On marijuana]: "We have roughly 30,000 criminal charges every year for people who have less than six pennies worth of cannabis," Jackson said. "There's no good reason for that. Seventeen states have proven to us the sky doesn't fall when you take a regulatory approach. Crime doesn't go up, the use of harder drugs doesn't go up, tax revenue goes up and the arrests for misdemeanors that follow people for the rest of their lives go down."
Source: Richmond Daily Journal on 2022 North Carolina Senate race Jun 4, 2021

On Environment: Opposed weakening environmental/health regulations

Legislative Title: SB553: Regulatory Reform Act:

Analysis by N.C. LCV:SB 553 earned modest bipartisan support after some of the most environmentally objectionable provisions regarding landfills and electronic waste recycling were removed.

Veto Message: Provisions in the legislation allowing trash receptacles in exit corridors could pose a fire safety risk for residents and emergency responders. Also, this legislation could allow septic system permits to be issued that circumvent state septic system rules which can hurt public health and threaten clean water. Both of these provisions threaten public health and safety.

Legislative Outcome:Passed House 78-31-11, Roll Call #804 on Aug/29/19; Vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper on Sep/20/19; Veto Sustained in Senate 28-21-1, Roll Call #663 on Jan/14/20; State Sen. Jeff Jackson voted NO.

Source: WBTV-3 on North Carolina legislative voting record SB 553 Jan 14, 2020

On Government Reform: Voted for shielding death investigation records from public

Legislative Summary: SB 168: An act making technical, conforming, and other modifications to laws pertaining to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Veto Message:SB 168 includes a provision to change the handling of public records by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner which could have the unintended consequence of limiting transparency in death investigations.

Analysis by WBTV-3:Cooper vetoed Senate Bill 168 which closed a loophole that makes law enforcement records public if they are in the possession of the medical examiner. Protesters have expressed concerns that limiting public access to the death records could hide actions that happen in police custody. Some have said the lack of transparency would only serve to increase police distrust.

Legislative Outcome:Passed Senate 43-0-7, Roll Call #877 on Jun/26/20; State Sen. Jeff Jackson voted YES; Passed House 109-1-0 on Jun/25/20; Vetoed by Gov. Cooper on Jul/6/20.

Source: WBTV-3 on North Carolina legislative voting record SB 168 Jun 26, 2020

On Government Reform: Sustain veto keeping strong non-political elections board

Legislative Summary: SB 68: Consolidate the functions of elections, campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics under one regulatory agency by creating the Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement.

Analysis by Election Law Society: SB 68 was created by the Republican-led General Assembly, put in place "just as a Democrat was elected governor, so as to weaken the governor's appointment powers over the elections board." Several counties are encountering problems with getting new voting machines.

Veto Message: Similar legislation to this was held unconstitutional. This legislation will undermine NC's ability to conduct fair, legal elections that maximize voter participation.

Legislative Outcome: Vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper on Apr/21/17; Veto Overridden in Senate 33-15-2, Roll Call #94 on Apr/24/17; State Sen. Jeff Jackson voted NO; Veto Overridden in House 75-44-1, Roll Call #317 on Apr/25/17.

Source: Election Law Society on North Carolina voting record SB 68 Apr 24, 2017

On Gun Control: NRA is a morally, financially bankrupt organization

[On the National Rifle Association]: "The majority party in the state legislature is simply a wholly owned subsidiary of the NRA," Jackson said. "I consider the NRA to be a morally and financially bankrupt organization." Jackson told the crowd that he thought it was time for North Carolina to have a U.S. Senator who did not care what the NRA thought.
Source: The Wautauga Democrat on 2022 North Carolina Senate race Jul 1, 2021

On Health Care: More funding for mental health including in schools

Jackson also mentioned how cuts to mental health care were not helping to decrease gun violence. Jackson said that his hope is that coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conversation around mental health will change and funding for the field will be prioritized.

Jackson said specifics that he thought would help were more counselors, psychologists and nurses in schools.

Source: The Wautauga Democrat on 2022 North Carolina Senate race Jul 1, 2021

On Immigration: No blanket amnesty, but bring people out of shadows

[On immigration]: "No one is calling for blanket amnesty," Jackson said to the crowd about illegal immigration, "but there has to be a way to bring people out of the shadows, and all we're talking about now is a system that would make sense for them. But you've got a bunch of folks that are going to use that as a political target every single time. That's what they want. They don't want to solve the problem. They want the fight. They want the culture war."
Source: The Times-News on 2022 North Carolina Senate race Apr 27, 2021

On Technology: Broadband internet access is most important infrastructure

The biggest issue facing rural counties is broadband internet access, which he called "the most important piece of infrastructure" in North Carolina. "I think there is a heightened sense of (broadband) coming through the pandemic given how much harder life became for people who didn't have high-speed internet and the stories that we read about students who didn't have it and the hurdles they had to jump through to do their classwork," Jackson said.
Source: The Transylvania Times on 2022 North Carolina Senate race Jul 26, 2021

The above quotations are from State of North Carolina Politicians: secondary Archives.
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Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023