The North Carolina House Judiciary 1 Committee approved a bill Tuesday afternoon to send a constitutional amendment to voters that would require interim Council of State vacancies be filled by a member of the prior official’s party.
House Bill 443 proposes asking North Carolinians to approve a constitutional amendment that would restrict the governor to a preselected list of candidates for Council of State vacancies determined by the political party of the departing official. This would apply to all Council of State officers with the exception of the lieutenant governor, for whom there is not a mechanism to appoint an interim replacement.
The bill’s requirements mirror those that the General Assembly created for interim state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals vacancies in Senate Bill 382, the Hurricane Helene relief bill that substantially shifted power away from elected offices held by Democrats passed shortly after Governor Josh Stein’s election.
Under those requirements too, Stein is required to pick from a predetermined list of three potential nominees selected by the previous judge’s political party — a restriction Stein is now suing to block, arguing that it violates the state constitution’s broad grant of authority to the governor to make appointments. The state similarly requires that interim U.S. Senators appointed by the governor are members of the same party as their predecessor.
Rep. Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke), presenting H.B. 443 in the absence of its lead sponsor, Rep. Kyle Hall (R-Forsyth), said this bill proposes a constitutional amendment instead of a statutory change in part to avoid the legislature changing the law for political advantage due to “particular circumstances.”
“It’s a transparent process for replacing people in that you can see who was recommended to the governor and the governor picks from from that group of individuals,” Hall said. “It would maintain at least until the next election, the party affiliation, if you will, of the person that the voters last chose for the office.”
Mark Swallow, a representative with Democracy Out Loud, raised concerns about the bill in public comment, arguing that the state’s constitution should be “more apolitical than political.”
“In considering this as something that’s going to be put into our constitution, our North Carolina constitution, it seems like there should be a very deliberate, very bipartisan type of action,” Swallow said. “We would think this is more of a statute or a bill than a constitutional amendment.”
Gambling proposal draws opposition
More contentious was the debate over House Bill 424, which would legalize betting on card, tile, and dice games in some private spaces such as residences and community clubhouses.
Multiple representatives as well as John Rustin, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council, raised concerns that ambiguity in the bill could expand the scope of legal gambling far more than intended, warning that private enterprises may try to take advantage of loopholes to run what are essentially casinos.
Due to the contention around the bill, members on the panel proceeded to a voice vote, ultimately giving it a favorable recommendation by a 7-3 vote. The constitutional amendment proposal passed by voice vote. HB 443 will proceed to the Committee on State and Local Government for further discussion, while HB 424 now heads to the House Rules committee.
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