GOP lawmakers aim to limit NC governor's power in long-term emergencies

RALEIGH -- Should North Carolina’s governor be able to issue a state of emergency that lasts a year? Or more than a month? A bill working its way through the North Carolina General Assembly would curb some of the governor’s powers.

House Bill 264, called the “Emergency Powers Accountability Act,” would require the governor to seek concurrence from the rest of the elected officials on the Council of State for any statewide emergency declaration that lasts more than 30 days. A similar bill, Senate Bill 312, was filed Tuesday in the Senate.

This isn’t the first time Republican lawmakers have tried to use legislation to force Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to get agreement from the rest of the Council of State, which is majority Republican, for some executive orders. In the summer of 2020, several bills tried to allow businesses to reopen earlier than Cooper’s orders permitted, and some included language requiring the governor to get agreement from the rest of the Council of State. Cooper vetoed them all.

The Judiciary Committee approved the House bill Tuesday and sent it to the Rules Committee, which could be its last stop before a vote by the full House.

Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article248778990.html
(Raleigh News & Observer)