RALEIGH, N.C. _ North Carolina legislators returned to work Friday on a pair of controversial bills that would deprive the incoming governor of a substantial part of his power to make appointments, and reshuffle the regulation of lobbyists, ethics complaints and elections.
Less than an hour into the House's morning session, dozens of protesters began chanting and were cleared from the gallery. They continued to shout outside the House chamber, and law enforcement officers began clearing the area. The protest was a smaller but highly vocal repeat of Thursday's protests.
The House began discussing Senate Bill 4 in the morning, with Democrats disputing the Republican claims that it would create a bipartisan commission merging the current State Board of Elections, State Ethics Commission and the lobbying functions of the Secretary of State's office.
Democrats said it couldn't be called bipartisan because they weren't involved in creating the proposal. Republicans call it bipartisan because it would create a state board and county election boards comprised of members equally split between the parties. It would also deprive the incoming Democratic administration of control of those boards; currently, the administration can appoint three of the five state members and two of the three members on each county board.
Democrats also argued that the bill is far-reaching and should be discussed in more detail in the long session next year. Republican sponsors said the ideas in the bill have been discussed in the legislature for years, and that this is a good time to make the changes because there is no impending election.
The bill would also give Gov. Pat McCrory the authority to make a one-time appointment to fill a vacancy on the state Industrial Commission for a six-year term plus the unexpired portion of the commissioner's term. Normally, a vacancy replacement only fills out the remainder of a term.
It would also identify state Supreme Court candidates by party in primary elections.
The day began relatively quietly after a raucous Thursday marked by loud protests and arrests by people who say the Republican General Assembly is overreaching and trying to nullify the results of the November election that made Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper as the next governor.
On Friday, the House gallery was crowded and at one point applauded the remarks of Rep. Graig Meyer, a Hillsborough Democrat, prompting a warning.
Meyer called it "a blatant political move by a party that must be afraid of voters so they hang on to what power they have."
A short time later, protesters in the gallery began shouting and were cleared. The public was barred from the area outside the House chamber and from the gallery.
The Senate began reviewing another piece of legislation, House Bill 17, in committees and was expected to vote on it in the afternoon. The bill requires legislative approval of the governor's choices for Cabinet positions, and restricts other appointments.
