http://www.wral.com/senate-gop-seeks-to-sweep-oversight-boards-/12066869/

Quote :

"Senate Republican leaders are moving quickly on a proposal to fire all current members of key oversight and advisory boards. Introduced in Senate Rules Committee Tuesday morning, Senate Bill 10 would effectively fire all members of the Utilities Commission, Environmental Management Commission, Coastal Resources Commission, Lottery Commission and Wildlife Resources Commission. Gov. Pat McCrory and Republican lawmakers would then be able to reappoint board members who agree with their philosophy"

Quote :

"Another provision would have added two justices to the North Carolina Supreme Court, appointed by McCrory, which would essentially allow the governor to stack the court without an election"

Quote :

"Sen. Josh Stein, D-Wake, said the Utilities Commission has done a good job with difficult issues. "What have they done to deserve being fired?" he asked ... After the meeting, Stein called the proposal a "power grab" that's "breathtaking in its scope," noting that many of the boards in the bill's cross-hairs were created to protect consumers, injured workers and the environment. "They're going after everything so they can put their stamp on it," Stein said. "Commissions are supposed to be independent; they're not supposed to be ideological. "

2/5/2013 1:12:52 PM

I thought is was SOP to replace all appointed positions with "your people" when elected. Wasn't this Andrew Jackson's MO?

2/5/2013 2:12:51 PM

lol holy shit

2/5/2013 3:00:22 PM

Quote :

"Wasn't this Andrew Jackson's MO?"

I heard about this guy doing it 200 years ago, it's normal.

LOL

2/5/2013 3:45:12 PM

Quote :

"The Imperial Senate regulatory oversight committees will no longer be of any concern to us. I've just received word that the Emperor [Pope] has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic checks and balances have been swept away."

- Grand Moff Tarkin

2/5/2013 4:11:32 PM

The expertise some of these committee members have, especially in dealing with issues related to only NC is amazing. So you know for a fact some of them don't lean in the direction of your world view? Fine, some targeted cuts is well within your rights as the winners of the election.

but to just dismantle it totally? Its over the top and kinda bush-league IMO. Like the more this session drags on the more I'm realizing how "in-over-their head" a bunch of these state legislators are. Some pretty scary half-assed leadership.

2/5/2013 4:16:29 PM

Quote :

"the more this session drags on the more I'm realizing how "in-over-their head" a bunch of these state legislators are"

Haha, since they only reconvened on the 30th, I think this is maybe day 5? If this is feeling long right now, wait until several more months of this have gone by.

2/5/2013 4:22:10 PM

How long before they start regulating medical clinics that provide abortions out of existence? That must be on the Day 10 agenda.

2/5/2013 4:25:53 PM

Cool so Mr. Duke Energy, Pat McCrony, will get his people in the Utilities Commission and they will approve Duke's rate hikes. On top of that the fox will guard the hen house when it comes to fracking and the environment. Shame on all who voted these nutjobs in!


Absolute power corrupts absolutely


[Edited on February 5, 2013 at 4:46 PM. Reason : .]

2/5/2013 4:44:44 PM

It doesn't even make sense to me though. The Utilities Commission was way easy on Duke/Progress after the stunt they pulled - and I'm pretty sure they are getting a rate hike soon anyways. The EMC is going to allow fracking with some regulation (which I'm sure will be reasonable). The EMC just relaxed rules about groundwater around coal ash ponds for Duke Energy.


I may be missing something, but none of these commissions are exactly stamping out private (or quasi-private) businesses, even though I'm sure thats what the senate majority would have us believe. But it isn't enough, they want to go even further. . . .. I just hope they know what they are inviting

[Edited on February 5, 2013 at 4:54 PM. Reason : inb4 the Dems did it too!!!!!!]

2/5/2013 4:53:52 PM

There are more GOP donors that McCrory would like donating to help him out in 2016. He's making them happy by giving them these positions where they can do as they please to benefit their interests.

It's pretty simple.

2/5/2013 5:16:58 PM

Quote :

""They're going after everything so they can put their stamp on it," Stein said. "Commissions are supposed to be independent; they're not supposed to be ideological. And I fear they're trying to politicize state government in a way that will hurt North Carolinians.""

Does anyone really believe this? Commissions are driven by ideology like everything else in any political system. Disagree with the policies, but don't pretend to be shocked when the pendulum swings the other way.

Welcome to representative democracy. You asked for this.

2/5/2013 5:46:22 PM

actually if you look at the history of the commissions, they have been pretty evenhanded and bipartisan (atleast to my knowledge). They don't make rules they just make recommendations. Its the results you would expect from a panel made up of scientists, business owners and municipalities (oh yeah some lawyers lol).


This bill actually has some good elements to it. Right now people on the commission are appointed by whomever the standing governor is. This bill would allow some to be appointed by the gov and some to be appointed by the senate.

it just doesn't explain the firing

2/5/2013 6:31:04 PM

The court stuffing is pretty egregious. That takes balls. Imagine if Obama or a democratic governor did that. Wow.

2/5/2013 10:03:16 PM

Its pretty god-damn disgusting.

This is what 200 years of two-party/single-party-majority legislature does. You get a system designed to allow the party in power to do whatever the fuck they want.

2/6/2013 9:41:52 AM

Quote :

"I thought is was SOP to replace all appointed positions with "your people" when elected. "

2/6/2013 10:34:02 AM

In the last couple of weeks we've had a lot of state personnel come into the elections office to switch their voter registration from DEM to either UNA or REP but it looks like that isnt gonna save them from the chopping block. They are running scared now.

2/6/2013 10:40:14 AM

If you think this doesn't go on at every level of government, to the most egregious extent that the law allows, and on both sides of the aisle then you are kidding yourself. I'm not saying I agree with it or it's how it should be but acting like one party is above this and the other is not is a joke.

2/6/2013 12:01:51 PM

The ridiculousness of this Bill is just astounding. For starters, it’s arguably unconstitutional, not to mention costly, and unjust. Further, it’s just blatantly unwise. This bill proposes removing all Commissioners at one time. Lets just look at the Industrial Commission (this is the entity that deals with Workers Compensatin, for those of you who don’t know). This Bill would fire EVERY Commissioner on April 15. That’s years of institutional knowledge of the Workers Compensation Act, Judges who have worked with lawmakers to ensure fair rules and statutes. Without their knowledge of the orderly process, there will be chaos, not efficiency.

The delay in processing claims will be astounding. As these new appointed Commissioners have to go through and learn the ins and outs of the Workers Compensation Rules, we’ll be further and further from getting decisions on cases. The delays will hurt the business community, insurance companies, and the injured workers. Finality in litigation is necessary to ensure continuity, and you can have no finality in this situation. Cases pending before the Commissioners must be decided within 60 days, or they’ll have to be reheard by brand new Commissioners just getting their feet wet in a complex system of law. They’ll have to hear oral arguments, review transcripts, legal briefs, research their cases, and then write a decision. How far back will this be pushed so that these new Commissions can fully comprehend the legal issues involved?

The current composition of the Commission, which is already scheduled to change, resulted from a collaboration of business and workers and passed by a near-unanimous legislature to protect jobs. Are we really going to overturn this bipartisan effort to throw in partisan and inexperienced hacks?

Shortening the IC terms will make it harder to attract top people into these positions, as will the unprecedented firing of the current Commissioners. These are men and women who have done their jobs well. If we reward these Commissioners with a pink slip and “get out” notice in 60 days for a job well done and remove them without fault, what good candidate will step forward to replace them?

Quick turnovers in the Commission level will decrease efficiency, decrease continuity and predictability. The panels in place now are fair and competent. This Bill would take that away.

Firing an entire board of well-qualified judges before their term is up, just so the governor can appoint whomever he wants is counterintuitive to efficiency, transparency and just plain unjust.

Aside from the impact on Workers Compensation, this would gut other administrative Commissions in the state, and do away with 12 Special Superior Court Judge positions which are integral to the expedition of justice. If you think the courts are slow now, just wait until they remove these judges! Not to mention the tax payer money that would go towards litigating the constitutionality of this bill.

The State Senate is scheduled to vote on this bill today at 2:00.

Quote :

"The expertise some of these committee members have, especially in dealing with issues related to only NC is amazing. So you know for a fact some of them don't lean in the direction of your world view? Fine, some targeted cuts is well within your rights as the winners of the election. but to just dismantle it totally? Its over the top and kinda bush-league IMO. Like the more this session drags on the more I'm realizing how "in-over-their head" a bunch of these state legislators are. Some pretty scary half-assed leadership."

This is pretty true. These Committee members (in the Industrial Commission realm at least) are highly specialized and experts in their fields. To take that away would be a staggering blow.

Quote :

"Actually if you look at the history of the commissions, they have been pretty evenhanded and bipartisan (atleast to my knowledge). They don't make rules they just make recommendations. Its the results you would expect from a panel made up of scientists, business owners and municipalities (oh yeah some lawyers lol). This bill actually has some good elements to it. Right now people on the commission are appointed by whomever the standing governor is. This bill would allow some to be appointed by the gov and some to be appointed by the senate. it just doesn't explain the firing"

Yes, and no. I agree that these Commissions are evenhanded and bipartisan for the most part. However, they are involved in the Rulemaking process. For instance, the Industrial Commission proposes the rules, then they have to be independently reviewed and approved. This is done in conjunction with representatives on both sides of the table. These are also real Judges making real decisions on cases. Their decisions are either final and enforceable, or they can be reviewed by the Court of Appeals. Their impact on the court system is likely larger than you envision.

[Edited on February 6, 2013 at 2:06 PM. Reason : ]

2/6/2013 1:48:14 PM

^Thanks! I really only have experience with the Environmental Management Commission, Coastal Resource Commission, and to some degree the Utilities Commission and Wildlife Resources so that filled me in a lot on the Industrial and perhaps on the influence the various commissions have on final rules/laws.

The points about efficiency are huge. I always wonder if its purposeful. That way when things start to screw up, people of a certain ideological persuasion can say "SEE GUYZ, GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WORK, ITS TOO INEFFICIENT. . . . . . .TOLD YA SO." But in reality its manufactured - this certainly wouldn't be the first instance of the folks attempting that sort of thing.

2/6/2013 4:32:17 PM

^^^

Ummm no, the 2 sides aren't equal and opposite. The previous administrations didn't stuff the courts.

2/6/2013 5:18:09 PM

I think that provision for the state supreme court has been dropped thank goodness, but it's scary that it was even written up.

2/6/2013 5:37:16 PM

As was said in the title of the thread, this started as a State Senate bill. Now it's the House's turn.

http://www.wral.com/boards-bill-revamped-in-house/12159304/

Quote :

"The original House version of the bill would also have exempted the Utilities Commission from the overhaul, but House Majority Whip Mike Hager, a retired Duke Energy engineer, successfully amended the bill to put the agency back in."

That translates in a direct profit for the now merged Duke-Progress Energy since the Utilities Commission is the government oversight panel charged with deciding how massive the rate increases they can get away with as a monopoly.

2/27/2013 4:25:56 PM

At least they are being blunt about their "we're just going to go ahead an eliminate anyone who might even consider advocating for the environment or have a background based in science" attitude about this. The sad part is most people either won't know or if they do know will simply feel compelled parrot "Yeah! You show those tree-hugging hippies! McCrory's going to make us all customers, y'all!"

2/27/2013 4:34:11 PM