New Helene relief bill would also strip powers from governor, AG

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Tuesday, state lawmakers put forth a new bill, SB 382, that provides hundreds of millions of dollars in Hurricane Helene relief funding -- but ties that money to Republican legislative priorities. A draft of the omnibus bill was first made public on Tuesday morning and could see a vote as soon as Tuesday evening.

SB 382 provides an additional $227 million in relief funds from the state's savings reserve, tying that money to sweeping legal changes aimed at stripping certain powers away from the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general. Those changes include transferring the power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections from the governor to the state auditor, and in doing so, giving the state auditor the opportunity to appoint a 3-2 Republican majority. Dave Boliek was just elected state auditor following 16 years of Democratic control in the position.

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"I think the main thing to know about this bill is basically they're trying to do everything that they want to do before the end of the year at once and in one bill," said Mitch Kokai, Senior Policy Analyst at the conservative-leaning John Locke Foundation.

The bill also changes North Carolina's elections, requiring voters to fix issues with their provisional ballots by noon on the Friday after Election Day -- a span of two and a half days -- down from the 10-day window currently accepted. SB 382 also strips power away from the attorney general, including limiting the AG's ability to participate in out-of-state lawsuits.

"To me, this is democracy at its worst," said Bob Phillips, Executive Director of liberal-leaning Common Cause NC. "Bills should be thoughtfully debated. There should be public input. There should be full transparency in this proposal that we've seen today for the first time this morning, that will be voted on later today, has none of that."

By filing SB 382 before they lose their legislative supermajority, Republican lawmakers ensure they'll have the votes required to override Gov. Roy Cooper's expected veto of the bill. The 132-page bill only had hours in the public eye before it went to the floor for debate.