Treasurer Brad Briner filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit between Governor Josh Stein and legislative leaders over appointment power to the N.C. Utilities Commission.
Under a new law passed in Dec. 2024 Treasurer Briner was given the authority to nominate one member to the Commission, with two members remaining under Stein’s appointment power and one appointment each for the State House and State Senate.
Stein is seeking to take that nomination authority away from the Treasurer and give it back to himself.
Treasurer Briner filed the motion to intervene in the pending case on Wednesday. The three-judge panel that will hear this case first met today to determine the case’s schedule. Treasurer Briner’s concern is with the premise in this case, as well as in the other cases challenging additional sections of SB 382, that the Governor has ultimate authority over the other duly elected members of the Council of State, who make up the rest of North Carolina’s executive branch.
“The people of North Carolina elected me to serve as Treasurer and to execute the duties associated with that office,” said Briner. “Of course, I respect the Governor’s own role and responsibilities, but he is wrong to claim authority over the other elected Council of State members, and we will fight to ensure that we can carry out the work North Carolinians elected me to do and need us to do.”