A three judge panel has sided with Gov. Pat McCrory and two of his predecessors in ruling that the State legislature assumed executive privileges. The panel decided that the General Assembly violated North Carolina's Constitution by creating three commissions for which several members are appointed by legislative leaders.
The Superior Court judges ruled Monday the legislature was wrong last year in how it assembled the membership of the Coal Ash Management Commission, which is overseeing the closure of Duke Energy's coal ash dumps. The ruling also struck down the membership of two other panels set to start up this summer - the Oil and Gas Commission and the state Mining Commission.
The judges wrote in their decision that the commissions' powers and duties are executive in nature. That means the legislative appointments cross the line into the powers of the executive branch.
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