When the General Assembly reconvenes next year, State Rep. John Bell (R) will serve a fourth term as House majority leader. The majority leader since 2016, Mount Olive native Bell resides in Goldsboro and represents portions of Wayne, Johnston, and Greene counties in House District 10. He defeated opponent Carl Martin in the 2020 November election.

“We have new members that are coming into the general assembly,” said Bell. “We had our first caucus meeting and had a victory celebration. Now it’s time to get to work.”

The 2020 Election did not utilize voter identification held up in state and federal court. The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that the state legislature had the authority in 2018 to place two Constitutional amendments on the ballot, one capping income tax and the other calling for voter ID.

“Had Voter ID been in place, we would have had a smoother election,” said Bell.

The new year will start with impacts and division on how to handle reopening schools during the COVID pandemic. Bell discussed his own struggles with remote learning.

“It’s impossible to teach a kindergartener how to read online,” said Bell. “The cure cannot be worse than the disease.”

He expressed his concerns about the impacts remote learning has had on children, especially those whose parents chose the remote only option.

“If we don’t move forward with opening our schools, we will have kindergarteners who are starting school and have never been inside a classroom. We’re going to have some challenges that are long-lasting in educating our children,” said Bell.

Education is not the only divide within North Carolina. Governor Cooper recommended that NC increase the state unemployment benefits by extending the maximum number of weeks from 12 to 24 and upping the maximum benefit to $500 a week.

“The governor supports everyone staying at home and getting a paycheck,” said Bell. “We know our unemployment system can’t handle that.”

Bell went on to explain that, “What we’re seeing now in businesses are some folks are refusing to go back to work because being on unemployment is so lucrative. That’s a problem in itself.”