Emperor Boliek
In case his day job didn’t already keep him busy, Boliek is on track to pick up a number of additional powers.
Starting May 1, he’s slated to oversee the State Board of Elections and gain the ability to appoint elections officials. This would effectively let conservatives administer elections—a power presently afforded to Gov. Josh Stein.
Stein is suing to block the change. A ruling from a panel of three Wake County Superior Court judges is expected by the end of this month. In the meantime, Republicans are preparing for a power shift.
I obtained an event flier that shows Boliek and Senate leader Phil Berger plan to participate in a private dinner on May 7 in Raleigh with up to 25 business leaders in attendance.
“Boliek will have recently taken control of the State Board of Elections and will provide new insights about the agency,” the flier says.
Berger has also moved quickly on a bill he authored that would put Boliek in charge of a state-level, Elon Musk-inspired initiative. Under the Division of Accountability, Value, and Efficiency Act (D.A.V.E. for short), Boliek would be tasked with providing lawmakers a report by the end of the year with recommendations of state agencies/divisions/offices that should be dissolved and government positions that should be eliminated.
This week, Senate Bill 474 cleared two Senate committees, with an amendment added to dissolve the D.A.V.E. group by the end of 2028—when Boliek’s four-year term expires.
“My commitment is to do this in a nonpartisan way that’s data-centric,” Boliek told a Senate committee on Wednesday.
Democrats and state-worker advocates fear Boliek could abuse those powers and weaken state government, where roughly 1 in 5 positions are already vacant. Republicans see those fears as overblown.
“[Boliek] would have no authority to cut off spending or to discharge any individuals,” Berger said on Thursday. “Those powers would remain with the General Assembly and with the executive branch.”
While the measure is likely to clear the Senate, Republicans are hoping to ultimately enact the legislation through a new state budget this year. This would ensure that Boliek’s new division would have the funding it needs to study wasteful government spending.
In the House, Republicans this week gave initial committee approval to a bill that would weaken Stein.
Under House Bill 443, the governor would have to fill vacancies in most Council of State positions with someone from the party of the person elected to hold the job. This restriction on appointments would apply to eight of the 10 statewide offices—secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of labor, and commissioner of insurance. Five of those positions are currently held by Republicans.
Why this matters: Following the November election, in which he had not sought reelection, Republican Josh Dobson stepped down as labor commissioner. Rather than have Republican Commissioner-elect Luke Farley take office early, then-Gov. Roy Cooper tapped Democrat Kevin O’Barr to fill the nearly two-month vacancy. That wouldn’t be allowed if the bill became law.
Because the GOP’s proposal comes in the form of a constitutional amendment, Stein can’t veto it if it passes. But House Republicans will need at least one Democrat to cross party lines or two Democrats to be absent when a floor vote is called. From there, the measure would need Senate approval and majority support from voters through a 2026 general election ballot measure.
The bottom line: This bill has a long road ahead. But it’s seeing movement and is certainly one to watch.
Senate Republicans on Tuesday tapped Sen. Michael Lee of New Hanover County to fill the leadership post of former Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton, who resigned last week to take a job as UNC-Chapel Hill’s new vice chancellor and general counsel. Read more about Lee in our Wilmington newsletter, The Dive.
Make ’em Say WOOOOO!
When a group of state senators filed a bill last week to earmark $500,000 to study building a professional wrestling hall of fame in North Carolina, it made national headlines and went viral online.
That wasn’t an accident.
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake) filed a similar bill two years ago. In wrestling parlance, it did not “get over.” It got no real media attention or public buzz, and there was little chance of it passing or inspiring a private effort to get the hall off the ground.
When Chaudhuri brought the bill back this year, he dressed it up and gave it a name with an eye-catching backronym: “An Act to Remember Iconic Combatants through Fostering Learning Awareness and Interest in Rassling.”
That’s right. The RIC FLAIR Act.
–Joe Killian
Post of the Week: Democratic Rep. Lindsey Prather of Buncombe County pokes fun at floor votes never starting on time (Wednesday’s session began more than 50 minutes late).
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