Governor Cooper, Governor-Elect Stein File Lawsuit on Separation of Powers

Raleigh - On December 12, 2024, Governor Roy Cooper and Governor-Elect Josh Stein filed a lawsuit against Republican legislative leaders, contending that the legislative selection of the Commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol violates the separation of powers established in the North Carolina Constitution.

The challenged provisions are part of Senate Bill 382, which was enacted over Governor Cooper’s veto on party lines. The language in that bill was introduced just days after the 2024 elections and included a variety of provisions that undermine the results of the election by stripping powers from the newly elected Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The bill also contains a variety of provisions that violate the separation of powers and unconstitutionally reduce executive power.

“It’s fundamental to our constitution that the legislature can not both make the laws and then choose the leaders who enforce them,” said Governor Cooper. “Breaking the executive branch chain of command in law enforcement or any other executive branch agency is unconstitutional and it weakens our ability to respond to emergencies and keep the public safe.”

Today’s lawsuit explains that Senate Bill 382 violates the constitution by identifying a single person that must “serve as the Commander of the State Highway Patrol until July 1, 2025” and then serve for the five-year term that begins on July 1, 2025. According to the statute, that person cannot be removed by the Governor or anyone else for any reason. As the complaint explains “Governor Cooper and Governor-Elect Stein seek to safeguard the people of the North Carolina from threats to their public safety and to the people’s assignment of core executive responsibilities to their chief executive.” Senate Bill 382 is a “direct infringement on the Governor’s law enforcement powers in plain violation of our Constitution.”

Read the full complaint here.