Prospects for Progress under Divided Government | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Mitch Kokai, who is senior political analyst for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    Divided government has its benefits. North Carolina voters and taxpayers are seeing some of those benefits on display now on Jones Street in Raleigh. More benefits could be on the way.

    Sure, most Republicans wish Pat McCrory had won a second term as governor. He would have been much more likely than successor Roy Cooper to endorse conservative legislative proposals over the next four years.

    On the flip side, realistic Democrats know that Cooper will have limited power to enact much of his agenda without his party controlling either chamber of the General Assembly. Republicans hold enough seats in the state House and Senate to override any Cooper veto if they stick together.

    So no one can expect a fully Republican or Democratic political agenda to sail through state government unscathed in the weeks and months ahead.

    Opportunities arise, however, for achievements that could improve government operations over the long term, regardless of who holds the reins of political power.

    Take, for instance, the current scuffle over state Senate confirmation of the governor's Cabinet appointments. Regardless of whether judges determine that the N.C. Constitution means what it says ("The Governor shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the Senators appoint all officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for," Article III, Section 5(8)) or agree instead with Cooper's arguments against the confirmation process, senators' interest in questioning Cooper's nominees demonstrates a healthy application of the checks and balances necessary for constitutional government to succeed.

    Contrast the approach in Raleigh to the one employed in recent years by U.S. senators on Capitol Hill. Even some progressive constitutional scholars and pundits have lamented the fact that Senate Democrats often rolled over and assented to Barack Obama's constitutionally questionable assertions of executive power. It remains to be seen how likely Republicans on Capitol Hill now will be willing to stand up against executive overreach from President Trump.

    Not all opportunities presented by divided government need to involve interparty political battles. One opportunity in the news this week could generate bipartisan support.

    It's the notion of creating new rules for the state's "rainy day" reserves. True, Republicans had been talking about instituting new rules while McCrory still lived in the Executive Mansion. It's likely they would have pursued legislation on the topic even if McCrory had won his race against Cooper.

    Still, the prospect of dealing with a new governor whose spending priorities differ from McCrory's, including the likelihood that Cooper will eschew the self-imposed spending constraints Republicans have adopted over the past four years, might boost the sense of urgency in pursuing new "rainy day" rules.

    Among the provisions under consideration in House Bill 7/Senate Bill 14: Cooper and his successors would be required to set aside 15 percent of each year's revenue growth for savings. While some Democrats might view this idea as a partisan attempt to shackle Cooper, others with a long-tern perspective might support a tool to enforce fiscal discipline on all future governors and legislatures - whoever holds the purse strings. Republicans and Democrats alike would face limits on new spending for their high-priority items.

    Still other opportunities await. In recent years, lawmakers have shied away from pursuing a state-level version of the federal Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS, Act. That measure would ensure the costliest proposed state regulations would face votes in the House and Senate before taking effect. Proponents argue that elected officials, rather than appointed bureaucrats, ought to be held accountable for state rules that generate significant economic costs.

    It's likely that Republican legislative leaders felt less threatened by the prospects of costly regulation from the McCrory administration than they do from Cooper's team. If the new administration prompts the General Assembly to take a fresh look at the issue, a resulting REINS Act could lead to major benefits for taxpayers, small business owners, and others who would be most likely to face the brunt of a ramped-up regulatory regime.

    Those with a glass-half-full outlook on life ought to look for other opportunities during the next four years to take advantage of North Carolina's divided government.