North Carolina House Republicans on Wednesday launched another attempt to rein in the governor’s powers during state emergencies, citing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s wide-ranging actions to restrict commerce, schools and mass gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

On the one-year anniversary of Cooper’s first executive order involving COVID-19, several legislators filed a bill that would require the governor to get support from a majority of the Council of State for a statewide emergency declaration lasting longer than 30 days. The 10-member Council is composed of the governor, lieutenant governor and other statewide elected officials. Republicans currently hold six of the Council seats.

Cooper has issued dozens of orders related to the coronavirus since March 2020, some of which kept restaurants, bars and schools closed for months and still mandate mask wearing in public. The orders led to protests and many lawsuits, most of which Cooper won after defending his actions in the name of public health.

“The current law that granted these emergency powers was simply not written with today’s challenges,” said House Majority Leader John Bell, a Wayne County Republican and bill co-sponsor. “There needs to be more bipartisan input and checks and balances. Simply put, no one person should have the unilateral authority to shut down schools, businesses and entire livelihoods, especially for over a year.”

Lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to overturn portions of Cooper’s orders with their own legislation. Last July, he vetoed a bill similar to the one filed Wednesday. That proposed legislation was more restrictive, limiting a governor’s emergency declaration to just 48 hours unless it received the “concurrence” of the Council of State. Wednesday’s bill allows declarations without the council’s formal backing to expire in seven days.

While state law already requires a governor to run some orders past the Council of State, Cooper’s attorneys have said he can act unilaterally when local governments can’t respond effectively. A Superior Court judge agreed with Cooper in a lawsuit filed last year against him by then-Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican.

 

Photo via the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

 

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