A three judge panel ruled the General Assembly acted outside the bounds of the state constitution when it revamped the state elections board and ethics commission. . 

 

In a December special session, the General Assembly passed a measure merging the two boards into a single entity with legislative and gubernatorial appointments evenly divided. Previously, the governor had the majority of picks on both boards. However, the court found bothe boards fall under the purview of the Executive branch and having a single board with appointees evenlysplit would tilt the balance of power to the General Assembly. 

 

A spokeswoman for Senate leader Phil Berger said the senator’s office has yet to decide whether the decision will be appealed. In a statement, she wrote:

 

"...it is disappointing that two judges awarded Gov. Cooper – who has made several ethically questionable decisions recently – total control of the ethics oversight of elected officials, instead of upholding a bipartisan board that North Carolinians can trust to settle ethics decisions and election outcomes fairly."