Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would shift power away from incoming Governor Josh Stein and other newly elected Democrats.
Cooper called the legislation passed last week a "sham" because it's billed as a disaster relief measure but does little for western North Carolina's Helene recovery. He said the bill is unconstitutional because it would take away the governor's power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections and Utilities Commission.
"It does not send money to western North Carolina but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh," Cooper said. "This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments away from the next governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission, and Commander of the N.C. Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General's ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers."
He also said the bill blocks the expansion of better unemployment benefits to people who lost their jobs due to natural disasters. A provision in the bill says that the governor's power to declare a state of emergency does not allow him to suspend state laws governing the unemployment system. Cooper issued an executive order last month that temporarily increases the maximum unemployment benefit of $350 per week to $600, citing the impacts of Helene. All nine other members of the Council of State, including Republicans, voted in favor of the temporary change.
Republican lawmakers want to shift election oversight to the state auditor after GOP candidate Dave Boliek won that office. They say the elections board hasn't worked fairly under a Democratic majority.
"We have tried on multiple occasions to put forward the idea that we need to have balance on the board that is responsible for counting votes and making decisions about elections, and the Democrats have said, 'no, no, no, hell no,'" Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters last week. "And so we just decided that it was time for us to go ahead and take action."
The bill also reduces the power of the attorney general, lieutenant governor, and superintendent of public instruction, positions won by Democrats in this past election.
The legislature will return to Raleigh next week to vote on overriding Cooper's veto. The fate of the bill could hinge on three House Republicans from mountain counties who voted against the measure last week. One of them, Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, told Blue Ridge Public Radio that he couldn't vote for the bill because the "disaster relief" title was inaccurate, and the complex nature of the legislation meant he couldn't explain the action to constituents.
And while some House Democrats have voted with the GOP on veto overrides — including a recent bill expanding private school voucher funding — none of them voted in favor of the power shift bill.
Other elements of Senate Bill 382 would:
- 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, said the bill would also eliminate judicial positions held by judges who ruled against the legislature in previous cases, although Berger denied that those judges were being singled out. Cooper said in his veto message that provision "plays politics by taking away two judges elected by the people and adding two judges appointed by the legislature."
- 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.
- 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.
- Fund 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.
- Eliminate the N.C. Courts Commission
- Transfer $227 million from the state’s rainy day fund for future Helene recovery projects. Republicans cautioned against spending too much state money now until more details of federal aid become clear.
