A North Carolina Court of Appeals panel gave a partial victory to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, ruling Wednesday that the Republican-led General Assembly unconstitutionally altered the makeup of some state boards in 2023.
The three-judge panel ruled that the General Assembly violated the separation of powers when it restructured the Board of Transportation, Economic Investment Committee and Commission for Public Health, removing the governor’s ability to appoint a member of those boards.
The decision represents a partial victory for North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, pictured on March 19, 2025, as he retains majority appointment power on three boards. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)The decision left open the possibility that the General Assembly could take away appointments by the governor and award them to other members of the Council of State, including those of the opposing party. They upheld the restructuring of four other boards, such as the Building Code Council and Environmental Management Commission, where the Council of State as a whole retained majority control, even where the governor could not appoint a majority.
The appeals court partially overturned a 2024 ruling by a Wake Superior Court panel, which had held that only the Board of Transportation and Economic Investment Committee restructurings violated the separation of powers. That ruling had been challenged both by the governor’s office and legislative leaders, who sought that all changes be ruled unconstitutional or constitutional, respectively.
The laws in question — Senate Bill 512 and House Bill 488, passed in August 2023 — cut the number of gubernatorial appointees on several state boards and commissions and expanded appointments by legislative leaders and Republicans on the Council of State. The BOT, for example, was changed from a body of 20 appointees by the governor to one made up of 14 legislative appointees and six gubernatorial appointees.
The Court of Appeals found that the Superior Court erred in allowing the restructuring of the Commission for Public Health as it stripped the governor of the ability to appoint a majority of the board — the General Assembly claimed four of the original nine gubernatorial appointees for itself, while four others are appointed by the North Carolina Medical Society.
“The General Assembly has ‘prevent[ed] another branch from performing its constitutional duties,’” Judge Jeffery Carpenter wrote in the decision. “The executive branch cannot take care that the laws be faithfully executed as there is no guarantee that the members from the North Carolina Medical Society will support the Governor’s policy preferences.”
The panel — made up of Carpenter, Judge John Tyson, and Judge Tom Murry, all of whom are Republicans — upheld the lower court’s ruling that the changes to the EMC, Coastal Resources Commission, and Wildlife Resources Commission are permissible.
“While the Governor does not directly appoint a majority of each commission’s members, the executive branch holds majority-appointment power,” Carpenter wrote. “The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commissioner of Insurance, both members of the Council of State, along with the Governor combine to grant the executive branch majority-appointment power concerning the EMC, CRC, and WRC.”
Republican agriculture commissioner Steve Troxler (center), pictured at a Sept. 30, 2025 in Raleigh, has served on the Council of State for more than 20 years. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline). (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)Both seats on the Council of State are held by Republicans — with Steve Troxler serving as agriculture commissioner since 2005 and Mike Causey serving as insurance commissioner since 2017 — meaning Republicans hold a majority of appointments on the three boards between the Council of State and the legislature.
The Court of Appeals also sided with the General Assembly on H.B. 488’s changes to the Building Code Council, transferring many of its functions to a new Residential Code Council, as a majority of the new body’s members are still appointed by the governor.
In a concurring opinion, Murry noted that unlike the federal government, North Carolina’s state constitution has historically given the legislature greater authority than the other two branches of government — not granting the governor veto power until the 1990s — and divides executive power among several elected members of the Council of State.
“The majority correctly upholds the constitutionality of restructuring the WRC, EMC, and CRC into the Agriculture and Insurance Commissioners’ portfolios because doing so preserves the power of the Executive Branch relative to the Legislative,” Murry wrote.
Hence then, the article about nc court of appeals rules general assembly cannot take majority control of executive boards was published today ( ) and is available on NC news line ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( NC Court of Appeals rules General Assembly cannot take majority control of executive boards )
Also on site :