House Republicans say that’s proof more independence is needed. The director is nominated by the governor but is subject to General Assembly confirmation.Ĭurrent SBI Director Bob Schurmeier told a House committee this week that Cooper’s office attempted to interfere in his hiring decisions and sought his removal.
State law already gives the SBI a level of independence, but it still reports directly to the governor. Other bill language would turn the State Bureau of Investigation into a standalone department that would no longer be housed in the Department of Public Safety, which is a Cabinet agency. With the other initiatives, Arp said, “the state is going down a failed energy policy that raises rates and reduces reliability.” Dean Arp, a Union County Republican, said that the state should focus on carrying out a landmark 2021 law that directs the state’s electric public utilities to reduce C02 emissions by 70% by 2030 as compared to 2005 levels. Rulemaking is still happening, the Division of Air Quality said Thursday. While unlikely, the language could scuttle Medicaid expansion if no budget could be approved.Īnd the measure also would block state government from setting standards related to new vehicles sales that would mandate sales or purchases of “zero-emission vehicles.”Ĭooper signed an executive order last fall telling state environmental regulators to propose a “clean trucks” program that would require van, bus and commercial truck manufacturers to sell more zero-emission vehicles in the state.Īnd the Environmental Management Commission - for which the governor appoints a majority of members - agreed in 2021 to develop rules that would lead the state to join a 12-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that involves a “cap-and-trade” program for CO2 emissions. The measure requires that a state budget law must be enacted for the coming year before the formal acceptance and implementation of expansion, which has been among Cooper’s top legislative priorities for years.
More recently he’s signed budget bills, saying the good inside outweighed the bad.īut Cooper’s calculus surely will be challenged this year because of what’s contained in a bill that he signed to great fanfare on Monday, intended to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. Since taking office in 2017, Cooper has vetoed final spending plans that the Republican-controlled General Assembly has sent him, with mixed results.
Roy Cooper, his administration or his allies will dislike. This year should be no exception, as the budget proposal from House Republicans unveiled this week that would spend almost $30 billion next fiscal year and almost $31 billion the following year contained several items that Democratic Gov. (AP) - North Carolina state government budgets usually include policy directives that give any governor heartburn.
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