Raleigh, NC – North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes is calling on the legislature to take all necessary actions to prevent Governor Cooper from creating an unconstitutional $58 million slush fund with state dollars, calling the scheme a return to the Jim Black, Mike Easley corruption era.
“The constitution clearly gives the legislature the responsibility to appropriate the state’s funds, and the State Ethic’s Act makes it a crime for an elected official to use his public office for personal benefit. Governor Cooper created a $58 million slush fund that will be controlled by him and him alone– this is a dangerous scheme that is not lawful, constitutional, or ethical. This type of payment for a permit, coerced from private businesses for the benefit of a politician, is the sort of pay-to-play action that Democrats have become all too well known for, and it is up to us to stop them.” – NCGOP Chairman Robin Hayes