Democratic candidates for governor of North Carolina have beaten the Republican nominees three times in a row, and ever since Roy Cooper's reelection victory in 2020, Phil Berger and Tim Moore (at the time) took revenge by seizing power from the governor (and in many cases giving it directly to themselves), like taking the state Board of Elections and giving it to a wholly new guy because he was handy and loyal. The Republican bosses in the General Assembly also took appointments to the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina for themselves. They had some dull axes to grind into bright, gleaming steel. Now they're after Josh Stein. Bryan Anderson alerts us that there's a measure moving in the NC House, H 144, that would put a Constitutional amendment on the ballot to "strip Gov. Josh Stein of his ability to appoint 11 members onto the State Board of Education. In lieu of gubernatorial appointments, the state’s Republican-controlled legislature would draw 14 districts for voters to elect state education board members to four-year terms. The state’s lieutenant governor and treasurer would also continue on the education board. The state superintendent of public instruction would also serve as chair of the board." Why? Apparently, General Election ballots are not long enough already.
Other proposed amendments to NC's constitution that are coming down the track:
H 1089 proposes to send it to the voters to put a limit (undefined) on county property tax rates, a measure that is bound to be popular and is absolutely a ticking time bomb that will cripple the finances and public services of some counties.
S 1080: Another one that's cotton candy for conservatives, a measure lowering the ceiling on personal income tax to 3.5%. Anderson: "In 2018, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment capping personal income taxes at 7%. But this time around, Democratic leaders and some prominent Republicans worry the bill could hamstring future legislators. Stein has said he worries the tax cap would put the state 'in a financial straight jacket.' Republican former House Speaker Pro Tem Skip Stam said the ballot measure 'needs a lot of work' and 'makes no more sense than a liberal version that required a minimum level of income taxation'.”
S 1081: The Right to Farm amendment. There's already a "right to farm" law on the books. Is this a potential future wedge against local zoning?
S 1082: An anti-union "right to work" amendment, even though NC workers already have the right not to join no effing worker orgs.
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