On August 31, 2018, a three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court declared unconstitutional the statutes which provided for the appointment of members to six state boards and commissions, leaving these boards unable to operate. Those boards are the following: Clean Water Management Trust Fund Board of Trustees; Parks and Recreation Authority; Private Protective Services Board; State Building Commission; Child Care Commission; and Rural Infrastructure Authority.
To ensure the continuity of efforts related to Hurricane Florence recovery and the continued operation of these six boards and commissions that have final executive decision-making authority, the Governor today signed six executive orders reestablishing them in accordance with state law and consistent with the court order. It is important to note that the statutes regarding the powers and duties of these boards and commissions remain in effect. Only the proportion of membership allotted to the legislative and executive branches is addressed through these executive orders.
A 2016 North Carolina Supreme Court decision found that North Carolina law requires that the Governor have sufficient control over executive boards and commissions, which means the Governor appoints a majority of the members. The three-judge panel’s August ruling is based on this North Carolina Supreme Court decision. The judges found that the statutes establishing these six boards and commissions failed to allocate a majority of appointments to the Governor.
These boards and commissions do important work for the people of North Carolina. Several of them have meetings scheduled in the coming weeks that directly impact North Carolinians recovering from Hurricane Florence. For example, the State Building Commission should receive briefs on emergency repair work. The Rural Infrastructure Authority needs to be able to consider JDIG grants to economic development projects in disaster counties.
Because, in part, of the widespread damage wrought by this storm, it is urgent that the Governor’s Office take swift action to reconstitute these boards and commissions so they can conduct the state’s business.
The executive orders signed today can be found here:
- Executive Order No. 68: Reconstituting the Child Care Commission
- Executive Order No. 69: Reconstituting the Clean Water Management Trust Fund Board of Trustees
- Executive Order No. 70: Reconstituting the North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority
- Executive Order No. 71: Reconstituting the Private Protective Services Board
- Executive Order No. 72: Reconstituting the Rural Infrastructure Authority
- Executive Order No. 73: Reconstituting the State Building Commission
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