Gov. Roy Cooper and his wife, Kristin, greet supporters during a rally in Raleigh on Nov. 9, 2016. | AP Photo Court blocks law limiting Democratic North Carolina governor's powers

A North Carolina court on Wednesday temporarily halted a new state law stripping Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of some of his authority, The Associated Press reported.

The Republican-led state Legislature restricted the incoming governor’s power during a special session in December, slashing the number of government employees he can hire and fire by more than 1,000 and requiring Senate confirmation for Cabinet appointments. The power grab, as Democrats have phrased it, sparked a legal challenge from Cooper.


The three-panel court ruled Wednesday that Cooper “is likely to sustain irreparable harm unless a temporary restraining order is issued” to halt Senate confirmation hearings for appointees.

“The immediate and irreparable harm caused by the challenged legislation outweighs any possible harm in preserving the status quo prior to the challenged legislation being implemented,” the court found. “Plaintiff’s selections of the individuals to lead the principal executive departments will not be disrupted in their daily activities to faithfully execute the laws. Should the Advice and Consent Amendment ultimately be held constitutional, the confirmation process may proceed at that time.”

Cooper, a former state attorney general who narrowly ousted incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory, had appointed eight of his 10 Cabinet members before the state legislative session commenced last month. Republicans, however, consider them acting heads who must be confirmed by the Senate to formally head their respective agencies. The first confirmation hearing was set for Wednesday.

Cooper applauded the three-panel court’s decision in a statement, calling for an end to what he framed as “partisan confirmation games.”

“We need to put these partisan confirmation games behind us and get on with repealing HB2, raising teacher pay and getting better jobs for North Carolinians,” he said. “The court is absolutely correct in their decision and should not be intimidated by threats from legislative leaders.”

In a joint statement, Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore blasted what they called “a gross misreading of the Constitution and a blatant overstep of their Constitutional authority.”

The “Superior Court judges attempted to dictate to the legislature when it could or could not hold committee meetings and what it could or could not consider in those meetings,” the statement continued. “This unprecedented move would be like the legislature telling a judge what jurors to pick to decide a case. Judges are not legislators and if these three men want to make laws, they should hang up their robes and run for a legislative seat. Their decision to legislate from the bench will have profound consequences, and they should immediately reconvene their panel and reverse their order.”

Another court hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for Friday.

This article tagged under: North Carolina

Roy Cooper