Republican Legislative Leaders Officially Reject Gov. Stein’s Unconstitutional Demands

Yesterday, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R- Rockingham) and Speaker of the House Destin Hall (R- Caldwell) firmly rejected Gov. Joshua Stein (D) call for an extra legislative session.  

In a letter sent to the Governor earlier today, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) wrote: 

“The Proclamation fails to follow the requirements of the Constitution. Article III, Section 5(7) authorizes a governor to convene the General Assembly in 'extra session' only 'on extraordinary occasions.' The General Assembly is already in session. Your Proclamation is therefore ineffective and functions as an unconstitutional attempt to usurp the General Assembly’s authority to set its calendar. 

“Article III, Section 5(7) also limits such a session to 'extraordinary occasions' in order to ensure that the exercise of the enormous power given to the Governor to call the legislative branch to session is justified. Otherwise, the Governor could violate Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution and use the proclamation power for political abuse and gamesmanship. This power was never meant to be used as a platform for political messaging or to circumvent the legislative process to achieve a preferred political outcome.” 

Both the North Carolina House and Senate passed bills to address the Medicaid funding issues. However, both chambers confirm that Medicaid already has sufficient funding and that Stein’s cuts are unnecessary.