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North Carolina is a state divided. Its incoming governor and attorney general are Democrats, but its legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. And true to North Carolina headline-grabbing politics, there's a knockdown, drag-out fight about who gets to control the levers of power before anyone is even sworn in.In the waning hours of Republicans' hold on government in North Carolina, they are proposing bills aimed at significantly curbing Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper's power. In a last-last-minute special session, Republicans introduced a series of bills late Wednesday that would:
— Require the governor's Cabinet appointments to be approved by the state Senate.
— Limit the number of members the governor can appoint to powerful board of trustees at the University of North Carolina school system and the state Board of Education.
— Significantly cut the number of positions who work directly for the governor, from 1,500 (a number Republicans approved when they had a Republican governor) to 300.
— Divide members of the Board of Elections, typically appointed by the governor, between parties in a way that gives Republicans control during election years.
Two bills also aim to change the state courts' partisan makeup. They would:
— Make North Carolina just the sixth state in the nation with a partisan state Supreme Court elections, as opposed to a nonpartisan one. (The last state to make its top court elections partisan was Pennsylvania in 1921.)
— Add an extra layer to appeals cases so that all cases have to go through the full court of appeals, which is controlled by Republicans.
Obviously, Cooper won't be there to veto all this; the man he defeated, Gov. Pat McCrory (R), is still governor for a few more weeks.
Read more @: A coup? A power grab? Theres some serious political drama in North Carolina right now
Wow this is some pretty messed up stuff. Its clear that the Republicans in North Carolina are trying to using this special session to limit the incoming Democratic governor. Now I agree with calling a special session for that hurricane relief, but that should be the only reason they are convening a special session.