North Carolina governor signs law limiting successor's power

RALEIGH, N.C. — Amid a tense and dramatic backdrop of outrage and frustration, the Republican-controlled state legislature on Friday approved a sweeping package of restrictions on the power of the governor's office in advance of the swearing in of the Democratic governor-elect, Roy Cooper.

Protesters spent a second day chanting and disrupting debate. Some were arrested and led away from the state legislative building in plastic wrist restraints.

The legislature approved two major bills, one of which was quickly signed by the departing one-term governor, Pat McCrory, a Republican. That legislation changes the makeup of the state Board of Elections, stripping the governor of his power to appoint a majority.

A second bill, which McCrory had not signed as of Friday afternoon, strips the governor of the ability to name members of the boards of state universities and, perhaps most significantly, makes the governor's Cabinet appointees subject to approval by the state Senate.

Democratic legislators repeatedly referred to the measures as an unparalleled reorganization of the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches that was orchestrated by a Republican Party upset that its candidate lost the governorship in a close vote.

[Analysis: A 'coup'? A 'power grab'? There's some serious political drama in North Carolina right now]

"Let's deal with reality," state Sen. Floyd B. McKissick Jr. said Friday. "It's a power grab, plain and simple, because McCrory didn't win the election."

Republicans have noted that Democrats had made moves to strip Republicans of power in the past, and argued that the changes, like the reorganization of the elections board, were fair and legal, and essentially good government reforms.

Until now, the five-member elections board consisted of three members of the governor's party and two members of the opposing party.

The new law converts the board into an eight-member body evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. The chair will rotate from year to year. But — as irate Democrats note — in even years, when most elections take place, the chair would go to the party with the smaller number of registered voters in the state, which at present is the Republican Party.

On the House floor, state Rep. David R. Lewis, a Republican, argued that the provision changing the state elections board would reduce partisanship. The bill would also make the state's 100 county elections boards into four-member bodies that are evenly split between the two parties. Before, they were set up so that the governor's party had a 2-1 majority in each.

"We have been told that one of the most important things is for our citizenry to have confidence and faith that the elections process is fair, and that it is overseen in a way that does not reflect the partisan bent, if you will, of those administering the elections," Lewis said.

The deliberations took place as hundreds of outraged Democrats descended on the legislative building for an emotional and boisterous protest. Many had tried to watch the proceedings in the House and Senate galleries, but were removed after yelling and chanting.

A number of people were arrested throughout the day in acts of civil disobedience. A number of them waved signs that read, "Say No to Power Grabs."

About 2:15 p.m., the Rev. William Barber II, the president of the state NAACP, arrived outside the legislative chambers. Barber, a leader of the "Moral Mondays" movement, which has orchestrated civil disobedience protests in Raleigh since 2013, made his way with the aid of a cane to the locked door of the Senate gallery. Surrounded by about 200 electrified protesters, he began rapping on the door with his open palm and with a big ring, keeping time as the chants grew louder.

The crowd turned its attention to the House chamber, which was also locked. A number of people also knocked, and, after warnings from Capitol Police, were arrested and led away.