This week at the legislature, Senate confirmations continued as committees in both chambers received informational presentations and voted on bills.
Confirmations
Senate committees are continuing the process of confirming Governor Cooper's Cabinet members despite the matter being the subject of a pending lawsuit. This week the Senate confirmed Erik Hooks to be Secretary of Department of Public Safety and Jim Trogdon to be the Secretary of the Department of Transportation. Senate committees also issued subpoenas to two other acting secretaries to appear before them— Machelle Sanders, Department of Administration, and Tony Copeland, Department of Commerce. In addition, the Senate also confirmed Darrel Allison to fill the vacant seat on the UNC Board of Governors. Allison is the founding president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina and is a North Carolina Central University trustee.
Cooper veto (HB100)
Governor Cooper issued his first veto this week, objecting to a bill that would require that the political party of a judicial candidate be listed on the ballot. The bill will now be sent back to the General Assembly where a three-fifths majority from both chambers would be required for the veto to be overridden. With 74 seats in the House and 35 in the Senate, the GOP has a supermajority.
Bathrooms and Basketball (HB328)
In the wake of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) and Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) decisions to relocate championship tournaments outside of North Carolina in response to HB2, some House members are now questioning the tax-exempt status of these organizations. Representative Mark Brody (R-Union) has introduced a bill that would require the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate to file a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against both the NCAA and ACC, questioning their tax-exempt status.
Bills Filed