Earlier this month, along with the State Health Plan (Plan) Board of Trustees, we approved, for the sixth straight year, no premium rate increases for State Health Plan active members for the 2024 benefit year, which begins January 1, 2024.

I also had a great conversation with the NC State Firefighters’ Association about how, through working alongside the Firefighters’ & Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension at the Treasurer’s office, the NC Fire & Rescue Commission has reached 100% funding for the first time in over a decade.

I also spoke at the first annual School Bus Safety Media Day this week. School bus safety is unfortunately becoming a bigger problem in a world of distracted driving. I have a deeply personal story about school bus safety that I will tell later, but know that this issue is as close to my heart as anything else I’ve experienced in my life and no parent should experience.

We need executive leadership to bring North Carolina to its full potential. And I’ll always be trusted to conserve while supporting our hard-working heroes.