Gov. Roy Cooper at an Oct. 10 rally. (AP Photo/Karl B. DeBlaker)

Three hours after the General Assembly overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 512 on October 10, Cooper sued to block it from taking effect. The law effectively transfers control of several boards and commissions, including the Commission for Public Health and the Environmental Health Commission, from the Democratic governor to Republican officials and lawmakers.   

Cooper also asked the court to block House Bill 488, which created a council to review changes to the state’s building code. The governor and legislature will split appointments to the council, but the law allows the General Assembly to reject the governor’s choices, and the council can only act after a supermajority vote.  […]

Jeffrey Billman is a politics and law reporter for The Assembly. The former editor-in-chief of INDY in Durham, he holds a master's degree in public policy analysis from the University of Central Florida.

Michael Hewlett is a courts and law reporter for The Assembly. He was previously a legal affairs reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal and has won two Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Awards.