Cooper, Stein files lawsuit over SB 382, day after veto override makes measure law
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General and Gov.-elect Josh Stein suing state lawmakers over Senate Bill 382.
The bill allocates more money for Hurricane Helene relief but also strips away power from incoming Democrats on the Council of State.
In the newly filed lawsuit, Cooper and Stein are suing House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger along with the commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Col. Freddy Johnson.
Stein, the outgoing attorney general, and Cooper, another Democrat leaving office shortly after eight years on the job, focused their lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court on a provision that would prevent Stein from picking his own commander of the State Highway Patrol. If that portion of law is allowed to stand, Johnson, the current commander appointed by Cooper more than three years ago could be poised to stay in place through June 2030 - 18 months after the expiration of the term Stein was elected to.
The lawsuit said the provision would give Johnson, an exclusive five-year appointment. It also would prevent the governor from ensuring state laws are faithfully executed through his core executive and law enforcement functions since the commander would be effectively unaccountable, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit seeks to block the General Assembly's restriction on the appointment while the litigation is pending and to ultimately declare the provision in violation of the North Carolina Constitution.
In a statement, Cooper and Stein said they are taking legal action to stop the legislature's "unconstitutional and dangerous power grab," saying the new bill, which became law when the Republican-controlled General Assembly overrode Cooper's veto, threatens public safety and fractures the chain of command during a crisis.
The Highway Patrol has been an agency under the Cabinet-level Department of Public Safety, with the leader of troopers picked to serve at the governor's pleasure. The new law makes the patrol an independent, Cabinet-level department and asks the governor to name a commander to serve a five-year term, subject to General Assembly confirmation.
ABC11 reached out to the Republican leaders named in the lawsuit for their responses. Through a patrol spokesman, Johnson did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed.
NOTE: Video is from a previous report and will be updated.
