Making its marque

They came primed, these Republicans, who returned to Raleigh all riled up. Two years after capturing control of the General Assembly, they now had a GOP governor and, even if they hadn’t had him, they held veto-proof majorities in each house. Their day, after more than a century of mostly sitting in the shadows, had finally come, and it would be a new day for the state, too, their conservative agenda reshaping social and economic policies. As the session wore on, the primary opposition came not from the rival Democrats inside the Legislative Building but from protesters outside it, their numbers growing each week. Long before adjournment, the question would arise: How would all this — the legislation that was passed, the protests and the arrests it evoked, the national attention that turned on North Carolina — affect the state’s reputation as a place to do business. On the pages that follow, a group of veteran political observers present their views.

Measures that matter most

Top 10 pieces of legislation that get down to business

Changing direction

Charting a new course for North Carolina’s economic development

Three that really count

Bills that weren’t controversial, just substantial

Creating a new brand

How the state comes up with on that sells itself