Raleigh, N.C. – North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) released a statement Thursday rejecting Gov. Roy Cooper’s invalid and unconstitutional call for a special session:
“Governor Cooper has no constitutional role in redistricting and his latest political stunt is an effort to deter House lawmakers from our work on a bipartisan budget that received support from both parties,” Moore said.
“The North Carolina House of Representatives fully intends to comply with a federal court’s order to redraw our legislative maps, however, we do not yet have guidance from the court on how to do so, nor have we been given time to undertake a comprehensive redistricting process with sufficient notice and opportunities for public input.”
“Further, the federal court did provide direction for the legislature to undertake redistricting in a regular session, not a special session. The House intends to do so after receiving guidance from the court, and in the meantime we remain committed to cutting taxes, raising teacher pay and protecting North Carolina’s citizens with disaster relief funding and historic commitments to our state’s savings reserves.”
Background:
Article III, Section 5 of the North Carolina Constitution allows Gov. Cooper to call a special session “on extraordinary occasions, by and with the advice of the Council of State.” This is not an extraordinary occasion because:
- The General Assembly is properly in regular session and has the ability to conduct the public’s business in its regular session
- The federal court requiring the General Assembly to redistrict ordered it to occur in a regular session, not in an extra session, and
- There are serious concerns that Gov. Cooper did not meaningfully comply with the requirement that he seek advice from the Council of State as required by the North Carolina Constitution.