After losing their bid for the 2024 Governor’s election, Republican legislative leadership carried out a plan to gain more self-serving, political power and undo the results of the election. It came under the guise of Senate Bill 382, “Disaster Relief.” 

Instead of providing swift aid to the victims devastated by Hurricane Helene, the pro-polluting supermajority sought to take advantage of this climate disaster and strip power from the newly elected Governor and Attorney General. Additionally, they sought to set unrealistic deadlines for mail-in and provisional ballots, and unconstitutionally remove checks and balances in our court system. This ploy for unchecked power came under the name “Disaster Relief,” but it was anything but meaningful relief.

“Sham” Legislation Shuffling Money

Governor Cooper quickly vetoed the bill, calling it a “sham,” and pointed out the legislation “does not send money to Western North Carolina but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh.” Instead of dipping into our state’s “rainy-day fund” – a fund designed specifically for emergencies like this – the legislature ignored the crisis and focused on negating the results of the 2024 election.

SB 382 was so flagrantly deceptive that three Republican legislators from western NC voted against it on its first consideration in the House. Caving to pressure from their party, these members fell in line, and the supermajority ultimately overturned Governor Cooper’s veto, passing the bill into law.

Why Do Governor’s, Attorney General’s Power Matter for Clean Energy?

Why do the Governor’s appointment powers matter for the environment? These particular appointments by the Governor are vitally important for climate action as they select the leaders for the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC) – the commission in charge of making sure our utility companies follow the law, don’t overcharge us, and meet our climate goals. Our state constitution gave these appointment powers to the Governor; but because their candidate for governor lost, pro-polluters in the legislature stripped this power away from the Governor and gave it to the Treasurer (newly elected Republican Brad Briner). Previously, the legislature reduced the number of commissioners from seven to five and gave the Republican Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader appointment power for two of the five remaining seats. This intentionally shifts the NCUC majority appointments to currently Republican-held offices.

Additionally, this legislation stripped the ability of the Attorney General to contest rate hikes from utility companies at the NCUC. This particularly “[interferes] with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers,” as Governor Cooper pointed out in his veto. At a time when we need our leaders to lower our bills and address climate change, the supermajority showed once again that they side with greedy corporate polluters. The irony is, that instead of addressing the repercussions of a climate disaster, the legislature took advantage of the situation and consolidated power to continue their pollution schemes, which could further exacerbate future natural disasters. 

Democracy Concerns

The power-hungry leadership also included in S.B. 382 several changes to our election and court systems. S.B. 382 stripped the Governor’s power to appoint and fill the State Board of Elections, as well as appoint the chair of each County Board of Elections. The bill gave all of these powers to the State Auditor, a seat held by an ally of the pro-polluting majority. No other state in this country grants this power to the State Auditor, and the legislature did not provide any justification for this unabashed political move. 

S.B. 382 drastically reduced the time frame for County Boards to count provisional ballots from nine days to three days, which could compromise the accuracy and thoroughness of vote counts. This bill also reduced the time from nine to three days for voters to fix voter photo ID, voter registration, and mail-in ballot deficiencies so their votes will be counted. In sum, S.B. 382 condenses the vote-counting process, jeopardizing voter confidence in safe and secure elections.

If these legislators stood by their convictions, they would have gone through the correct process. They would not have attached these changes to Hurricane relief. They would have filed it as separate bills and provided time for members and the public to give their input. Instead, they politicized hurricane relief, rammed their changes through a conference report, and only released it to members and the public an hour before voting. This process demonstrates that they prioritize their personal political agendas more than they do the safety and well-being of North Carolinians.

Courts

Finally, S.B. 382 removes two judges elected by the people and replaces them with two judges appointed by the legislature. This follows an unconstitutional trend by legislative leadership to appoint certain judges outside the electoral process.

We – along with 26 other opposing organizations – wrote:

“Courts should be the guardians of our democracy, yet this bill threatens judicial independence. The intent is to make the courts more amenable to a gerrymandered legislature. Judges and Justices should not be political tools used to protect the power that is within this legislative branch. This blatant attempt to circumvent the separation of powers erodes the conditions for free, fair, and secure elections.”

Know the Score: See the 2024 Scorecard

To see how your legislators scored, and to learn more about the 2024 bills and votes, see the full 2024 Scorecard.