A bill to significantly restrict the North Carolina governor’s office could further reduce the power of the incoming Democrats, including Gov.-elect Josh Stein, before they even take office.
The legislation, which has passed the state Legislature, would direct some funding to disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene but also limit the authority of offices set to be controlled by Democrats in the new year. The timing is critical, with a current GOP supermajority in the Legislature that will be broken up come January.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is almost certain to veto the bill, raising the question of whether the GOP supermajority will override his move. But that doesn’t seem like a sure things, as the bill has also drawn some opposition from within Republican ranks.
Here are five things to know about the legislation:
What does the bill say?
The legislation’s top-line item is providing a third round of relief for the parts of western North Carolina that Hurricane Helene ravaged in late September. The storm caused record damage in the state, estimated at more than $50 billion, and killed more than 100 people.
The bill allocates $227 million from the state’s savings reserve for the relief fund to respond to the hurricane, but that’s considerably less than the first two rounds provided, and it also addresses several other aspects of the law unrelated to storm relief.
However, critics argue the aid is a smokescreen for the bill’s real purpose, which is to erode the top state executive’s powers.
The most prominent change is taking additional power away from the governor’s office, along with the office of the attorney general. The Legislature already limited the governor’s power earlier this........