Republican state lawmakers could soon strip power from Gov.-elect Josh Stein and other newly elected Democratic state officials, including by shifting oversight of elections from the governor’s appointees to the new Republican state auditor.
The wide-ranging overhaul of executive branch power is tied to the latest bill addressing recovery needs from Helene, the storm that devastated western North Carolina in September. The bill was released Tuesday, minutes before its House vote later in the day, leaving little time for public input on the 130-page bill. It ultimately passed 63-46 Tuesday night (three Republicans joined all Democrats in voting no) and heads to the Senate on Wednesday.
The bill calls for the state auditor to appoint members of the State Board of Elections starting next year. That will be Republican Dave Boliek, who defeated incumbent State Auditor Jessica Holmes. The Democrats’ Council of State fundraising didn’t provide any of its $29 million fundraising to Holmes’ campaign. Boliek would appoint three Republicans and two Democrats to the board starting in May.
Currently, the State Board of Elections is appointed by the governor, who picks three members of his or her party and two members of the minority party. A previous attempt by the legislature to shift the partisan makeup of the board remains on hold pending a lawsuit.
Rep. Lindsey Prather, D-Buncombe, criticized the measure on Twitter/X, saying the bill contains little for the communities impacted by Helene. It would shift $227 million from the state’s rainy day fund to a fund for Helene recovery, but the bill won’t spend that money until a future legislative session.
So I just got access to a 132-page bill I'm voting on today. It's chock full of power grabs and election administration changes. It has some funds for soil and water assistance but ZERO direct appropriations for hurricane relief. Y'all. This is WILD.
— Lindsey Prather (@PratherForNC) November 19, 2024
Gov. Roy Cooper said the bill "fails to provide real support to communities hit hard by Hurricane Helene and instead prioritizes more power grabs in Raleigh."
Rep. Maria Cervania, D-Wake, said voters casting ballots in the state auditor race didn't expect that position would gain oversight of elections. "No state in America places their state board of elections in a state auditor's office," she said. "This is because that election oversight and financial and operational audits of state agency agencies are very distinct."
But Rep. Grey Mills, R-Iredell, said the auditor's office "is the best place for the Board of Elections. Like the Board of Elections, the state auditor has a history of performing very important audits and investigations, just like our state board is charged with doing after every election."
The change to elections oversight isn’t the only dig at Stein and other Democrats who won statewide races this month. The new version of Senate Bill 382 would also:
- Require the governor to fill judicial vacancies from a list of recommendations provided by the political party of the departing judge, including N.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. That would prevent Stein from picking a Democrat to replace a Republican judge who resigns or dies in office. Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, says the bill would also eliminate judicial positions held by judges who ruled against the legislature in previous cases.
- Create new restrictions on the attorney general’s power to participate in lawsuits, namely those where action by the legislature is being challenged in court; Democrat Jeff Jackson won that office to succeed Stein, who at times declined to defend actions by the legislature he considered to be unconstitutional.
- Strip the lieutenant governor of the power to chair committees on energy issues. It would eliminate the state’s Energy Policy Council, which has been chaired by the lieutenant governor. And it would prevent the position from chairing a legislative committee on “energy crisis management,” a committee that only forms during the declaration of an energy crisis. Democrat Rachel Hunt will take over an already weak position of lieutenant governor after the GOP held that office for three terms.
- Make the State Highway Patrol an independent agency separate from the Department of Public Safety, which is part of the governor’s administration. The governor would still appoint the agency’s leader for a five-year term, subject to confirmation by the legislature.
- Prevent the governor from appointing a majority on the N.C. Utilities Commission by giving one of the governor’s current appointments to the state treasurer. The commission regulates public utilities like Duke Energy, and water and sewer systems.
- As Democrat Mo Green takes over from Republican Catherine Truitt as superintendent of public instruction, the office would lose the power to appeal decisions made by the board overseeing charter schools, and oversight of the Center for Safer Schools would be transferred to the State Bureau of Investigation.
In addition to the power shifts, the bill also makes some other budgetary and policy changes, including:
- An extra $50 million in funding for the Rebuild NC program, which says it’s running out of money to finish housing repairs and rebuilding from damage in hurricanes Matthew and Florence more than six years ago.
- An additional $33.8 million to extend grants to childcare centers to make up for the loss of federal funds — money that the centers say they need to avoid closures.
- Eliminates the N.C. Courts Commission
The legislature opened a brief lame-duck session Tuesday in which it began the process to override several vetoes. Those include a massive increase in funding for private school vouchers and a requirement for sheriffs to cooperate with ICE immigration detainers. The House voted to override the vetoes Tuesday while the Senate will hold its voting session on Wednesday.
House Republicans also met Tuesday to elect their leadership for the coming year, including a new speaker to replace Tim Moore, who was elected to Congress. Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, will be speaker next year, with Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus, as the new majority leader, and Rep. Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba, as speaker pro tem.
House Republicans scheduled a press conference at noon Tuesday to announce those leadership picks, but delayed it and ultimately canceled it as the closed-door caucus meeting dragged on longer than expected.
The cancelation of the press conference eliminated an opportunity for reporters to ask questions about the power shift proposals before the House session commenced.
