Under the Dome: House GOP overrides veto, elects incoming speaker and votes to shift power
Good morning and welcome to the Under the Dome newsletter. I’m Emily Vespa.
Tuesday was a whirlwind in state politics as lawmakers returned to Raleigh for the General Assembly’s penultimate session before it adjourns in December. Here’s what to know.
House Republicans overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a budget bill that requires sheriffs to cooperate with immigration authorities and funds private school vouchers, report Avi Bajpai and T. Keung Hui. They also elected Caldwell County Rep. Destin Hall as the incoming speaker to succeed Rep. Tim Moore, who was elected to Congress. And besides the Senate’s veto override vote on the budget bill, which could happen as early as Wednesday, GOP lawmakers revealed there’s still more to come.
Sprawling legislation released publicly Tuesday evening, and quickly advanced to a vote in the House, proposes far-reaching changes to the balance of power in the executive branch. The provisions in the 131-page bill would strip powers from the incoming governor, attorney general and state superintendent of public instruction — all Democrats.
Specifically, among other things, the bill would:
Give Republicans a majority on the State Board of Elections. Kyle Ingram reports that the governor currently appoints the five state board members, including three who are allowed to be of his own party. The bill would take that power away and bestow it upon the incoming state auditor, Dave Boliek, who will be the first Republican to hold the office in 16 years.
Hasten the timeline for some post-election processes — a change State Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said in a statement “may make it impossible for the county boards of elections to adequately ensure every eligible ballot cast is counted, especially in high turnout elections.”
Prevent the incoming attorney general, Democrat Jeff Jackson, from taking positions contrary to that of Republican legislative leaders on state laws challenged in court. Jackson would also be blocked from taking a position in court that could lead to a state law being struck down. Avi Bajpai and Adam Wagner have the details.
After Cooper was elected governor — beating out then-Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican — in 2016, legislators took up a similar effort to roll back powers granted to the state’s top office.
The bill also addresses disaster recovery needs, which will likely dominate the start of Hall’s speakership in 2025, reports Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan. Hall said Tuesday that he’s “fully committed to doing everything that we can to rebuild Western North Carolina.” He lambasted Eastern North Carolina recovery efforts in the wake of hurricanes Florence and Matthew, which was the subject of a Monday legislative hearing where lawmakers questioned the state recovery leader over accounting errors, reports Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi.
KEY NC RACES HEAD TO RECOUNT
The North Carolina Supreme Court race is headed to a recount after Republican Jefferson Griffin — who led Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs by roughly 10,000 votes on election night before he fell behind late last week as provisional ballots were counted — requested it Tuesday, reports Kyle Ingram.
Griffin, who trails Riggs by 625 votes, on Tuesday filed election protests challenging over 60,000 ballots across the state, according to the North Carolina GOP.
Several other state races will also have recounts, including a contest for a House seat that, if results stand, appears to have broken the GOP supermajority. Recounts must be finished by Nov. 27, when the state board will certify election results.
STATE AUDIT: CHARLOTTE SPORTS COMPANY MISSPENT STATE FUNDS
A Charlotte sports company misspent $6.2 million in state grant funds, a state agency audit released Tuesday found. Dan Kane reports that some of the grant money, which was part of $25 million state lawmakers in 2021 allocated to the company to attract Olympic athletes, was spent on alcoholic beverages, fines on payroll back taxes and a donation to a nonprofit political organization.
WHAT ELSE WE’RE WORKING ON
A federal grand jury that recently demanded records pertaining to $50 million in state funds for dredging and affordable housing projects summoned six North Carolina county commissioners to testify, reports Dan Kane.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation knew an Asheville stretch of I-40 would flood two days before Hurricane Helene hit thanks to its flood warning system, allowing it to act quickly and close roads, reports Richard Stradling.
Caitlyn Yaede explains why the post-election process known as the canvass takes so long.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator testified about the agency’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton to two congressional committees Tuesday. Read more from Danielle Battaglia.
Today’s newsletter was by Emily Vespa. Check your inbox tomorrow for more #ncpol.
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