NC Highway Patrol is its own Cabinet agency now. Gov. Stein won’t appeal court ruling
After Democratic Gov. Josh Stein won the gubernatorial election in November 2024, General Assembly Republicans passed a bill, and overturned then-Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, that shifted power away from the governor.
Senate Bill 382 was both about taking power and allocating money for Helene recovery, a controversial move in the waning days of the year, and the legislative session. One provision that ended up in court involved the State Highway Patrol.
Effective July 1, the Highway Patrol was moved out of the Department of Public Safety, which is a Stein Cabinet agency, and made its own separate agency, still within Stein’s Cabinet.
Good Sunday morning to you and welcome to our Under the Dome newsletter that focuses on the governor. I’m Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.
This past week, Stein said that he’s letting the June ruling of a three-judge panel go, and won’t appeal the trial court’s decision.
The Wake County Superior Court judges ruled that Stein “failed to demonstrate, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the General Assembly’s act is unconstitutional.”
“I brought this lawsuit to ensure that our public safety leaders are accountable to the people of North Carolina, as required by our state’s Constitution,” Stein said in his announcement that he won’t appeal.
Under the change, Stein won’t be able to remove Johnson, though he did not intend to, either.
“Making a commander of the State Highway Patrol unremovable for any reason would threaten public safety, and I am relieved the court did not endorse such a result. I continue to have confidence in Col. Freddy Johnson’s ability to lead the State Highway Patrol effectively, and I look forward to continuing to work with him to keep people safe,” Stein said.
Johnson was already commander of the Highway Patrol, appointed by Cooper in 2021. His new five-year term began July 1, the day the Highway Patrol launched as its own agency.
“Today marks an important day in both the history of our agency as we proudly celebrate the 96th anniversary of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the beginning of a future that I believe only builds on our strong commitment to public safety,” Johnson said in a statement on July 1.
“Since our founding in 1929, the Patrol has stood as a symbol of dedication, integrity, and unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of all North Carolinians. I am personally looking forward to what the future holds with this exciting change and know that our success is a certainty thanks to the people that collectively make-up our state’s largest law enforcement agency,” Johnson said.
It’s also worth noting that the N.C. State Capitol Police is a separate agency under Johnson’s direction.
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The General Assembly is expected to come back on July 29 for veto override votes. The House has all of Stein’s vetoed House bills on its calendar for that day. The Senate, as of Friday, had all its vetoed bills in the Rules Committee. Senate rules say that the Rules Committee chair informs the minority party leader 24 hours before a veto override vote is added to the calendar.
I have a breakdown of how veto override votes work in North Carolina, and what’s at play. From what “taking a walk” means to a 2019 dramatic override vote on the budget, you can read more about it in my story that was posted Friday.
And catch up on more North Carolina politics news by listening to our Under the Dome podcast, which posts every Tuesday morning.
Politics reporter Avi Bajpai contributed to this newsletter.
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