Nov.28

electoral-vote.com

Dem 47

   

GOP 53

Cooper Vetoes a Bill That Would Greatly Weaken His Successor

The North Carolina Republican-dominated state legislature has a history of changing state law after a Democrat has been elected governor to hamstring the governor and maintain control itself. This year's edition is a bill that nominally is about aid to victims of hurricane Helene, but is really about taking power from incoming governor Josh Stein (D) and handing it to the legislature. Here are some of the provisions of the "hurricane aid" bill.

• Strips the governor of the power to appoint members of the Board of Elections, gives it to Auditor Dave Boliek (R).
• Bans incoming AG Jeff Jackson (D) from taking positions contrary to the wishes of the legislature.
• Reduces the amount of time voters get to cure errors in their absentee or provisional ballots.
• Makes the Highway Patrol independent, with the governor's choice of commander subject to legislative approval.
• Eliminates two Superior Court judge positions held by judges the legislature does not like.
• Makes the governor replace old Supreme Court justices from a list provided by the departing justice's party.
• Allows donations from corporations, businesses, and unions to fund legal battles for political parties.
• Shifts control of the state Utilities Commission away from the governor.
• Makes it more difficult for the state AG to block utility rate increases
• Prevents incoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green (D) appealing decisions made by the Charter School Review Board.

You can obviously see how the people whose houses were destroyed by Hurricane Helene can't wait until corporations can donate money to political parties for legal battles. The bill does authorize $200 million in loans to people and businesses affected by the hurricane, though.

Outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) vetoed SB 382, the "hurricane relief" bill. He said it is a "sham" that merely moves money from one existing loan program to a different one. Republicans have a supermajority in both the state Senate and state House. They have overridden 11 of Cooper's previous vetoes. However, some of the representatives from the stricken areas are not happy with the bill and may not vote to override the veto. They want a new bill that does more for their communities. The legislature will have to move fast because, starting January 2025, Republicans in the state House will be one seat shy of the votes needed to override gubernatorial vetoes. This will greatly increase the power of incoming governor Stein, forcing the legislature to negotiate deals with him. This is why the Republican legislators want to make hay while the sun is shining on them. (V)