The North Carolina legislature rejected a proposal from Governor Roy Cooper to increase funding for the state Department of Environmental Quality to enable it to hire scientists to work on water pollution issues. Instead, the legislature voted to cut the Department’s funding by $1.8 million, which critics say will lead to job losses.

The North Carolina legislature appointed Jim Womak to the state’s Oil and Gas Commission. Mr. Womak was appointed to a seat reserved for a “representative of a nongovernmental conservation interest” but has no experience in conservation.