A group of eight North Carolina Democrats introduced three constitutional amendments aimed at limiting GOP power transfers—one targeting the governor’s shrinking authority and legislative “government by ambush,” and two focused on making the court system’s ove
By Wednesday afternoon, the argument was already familiar in North Carolina—who gets to set the rules, and who gets to change them when they’re in power.
Democratic lawmakers held a press conference to unveil three constitutional amendments meant to blunt Republican efforts they say have repeatedly transferred authority away from the state’s governor and weakened oversight in the judicial system. The sponsor group—eight Democrats—acknowledged publicly that the proposals are unlikely to clear the state Legislature in the current session because Republicans hold majorities in both the North Carolina House and Senate.
But they are arguing for a different kind of leverage: not winning the fight today, but changing the state constitution so the next party to seize power can’t do it as easily.
ProPublica’s reporting—particularly an investigation describing a pattern over nearly a decade in which Republican lawmakers passed law after law reducing the powers of the governor, who was a Democrat throughout that time—helped spur parts of the effort, the lawmakers said.
Rep. Phil Rubin, the primary sponsor of one bill, laid out the core point in plain terms at the microphone: Republicans “won’t always be in the majority,” and when they aren’t, they’ll still argue those are “great rules.” He urged Democrats and voters to lock those protections in now.
Rubin’s measure would bar the legislature from stripping away additional gubernatorial powers. It would also block what he called “government by ambush”—the practice of springing major legislation on the minority and the public without notice.
“ProPublica’s reporting shows the perils of not having this law,” Rubin said, adding that voters should have “the opportunity to secure their constitution, demand absolute transparency in lawmaking and ensure that people, not backroom deals, have the final say.”
Republican leaders in the House, Senate and court system did not respond to requests for comment on the bills.
The bill comes against a backdrop that experts have long described as a brake on voter intent. They have said Republican power grabs have thwarted what North Carolina voters chose by removing the Democratic governor’s control—or partial control—over numerous boards. entities and executive prerogatives. leaving the governor among the weakest in the nation. Republican officials. the lawmakers noted through the record of past arguments. have defended the changes by saying voters also elected a GOP legislative majority.
The two additional constitutional amendments introduced this week turn to the judicial system—an area where Democrats say secrecy and conflicts of interest have eroded public confidence.
One amendment, authored by House Rep. Marcia Morey, would make public the disciplinary hearings and sanctions handled by the courts’ internal watchdog, the Judicial Standards Commission. Under current GOP rules, the commission’s work is cloaked in secrecy.
ProPublica has reported that the majority-Republican state Supreme Court quashed the commission’s recommendations that two Republican judges who’d admitted to committing egregious conduct violations be publicly reprimanded. Spokespeople for the North Carolina Supreme Court and the Judicial Standards Commission declined to comment or respond to a detailed list of questions about the matter.
Morey’s proposal would also change who appoints members of the commission, which she described as critical to preventing “weaponization” of the watchdog.
Currently. Republican legislative leaders and Paul Newby. the state’s conservative chief justice. appoint a majority of the commission’s members. Morey’s bill responds to ProPublica reporting that in 2023 Newby encouraged the commission to investigate a Black Democratic justice who’d criticized his decision to effectively shut down a racial equity commission. Newby, along with spokespeople for the court and the Judicial Standards Commission, declined to comment.
Morey’s amendment would divide commission appointments equally among the chief justice, the governor and the North Carolina State Bar. She said the point is not just who investigates, but who gets to appoint the decision-makers—framing it as a way to make the system “fair and effective.”
The third amendment is sponsored by Rep. Deb Butler. Her proposal would disqualify state Supreme Court justices from hearing cases in which family members are parties. Butler’s bill is aimed at a controversy tied to Justice Phil Berger Jr. who has ruled in multiple cases where his father—the leader of the state Senate—is a defendant in his legislative capacity.
In those situations, Berger referred recusal requests to the Republican majority on the Supreme Court, which ruled he could participate.
Butler’s measure would also compel justices to disclose more information about large stock transactions. outside sources of income and sponsored travel. A ProPublica investigation found that Newby did not disclose a trip to a luxurious Hawaiian resort. paid for by a conservative judicial education program. Newby and court spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about his decision not to disclose the trip.
Butler described her bill as a restoration of public trust. “People deserve complete confidence in the integrity of their court,” she said.
The sponsors also made clear what happens next depends on whether Republicans allow the measures to move.
In the unlikely event the amendments pass, the public would vote on them in November. If not, the sponsors said they would revive the proposals in the next session. By then, some Republican strategists believe a “blue wave” may have flipped the North Carolina House.
Morey, standing with the others who pushed the bills forward despite the math against them, said the goal is a system that doesn’t swing with whoever controls the chamber.
“We’re committed to following through on these bills to ensure fairness and impartiality in our courts and legislature,” Morey said. “This should be the norm, not the partisan bias we have now.”
North Carolina constitutional amendments Phil Rubin Marcia Morey Deb Butler Judicial Standards Commission Paul Newby state Supreme Court Phil Berger Jr. election November GOP power transfers