RALEIGH — House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) announced a list of appointees to 21 interim committee on Jan. 24.
“A number of important policy issues need a thorough review before we return to session in April and I appreciate my dedicated colleagues in the North Carolina House continuing to serve their constituents during this interim,” said Moore in a press statement.
The committees span subjects such as administrative oversight, education, emergency management, energy policy, government operations, agriculture, information technology, public safety, revenues, elections and health and human services.
Several of the committee appointments were to joint legislative oversight committees, and most had no changes from the previous roster.
Moore still serves ex-officio on the Governmental Operations committee along with Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Wilkes) and House Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne).
Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union) will remain a co-chair alongside Reps. Linda Johnson (R-Cabarrus) and Jeffrey Elmore (R-Alexander) of the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
Horn has filed to run for state superintendent and in the GOP primary will face Catherine Truitt, the Chancellor of Western Governors University. Also appointed to the Education Oversight Committee is Rep. Holly Grange (R-New Hanover), who will face Lt. Gov. Dan Forest in the upcoming gubernatorial primary.
The Joint Legislative Elections Oversight committee — which is instrumental in elections issues such as voter ID — will keep Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) and Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) as co-chairs.
The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid and N.C. Health Choice will be co-chaired by Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth).
One committee saw a party shift with the appointment of Rep. Charles Graham (D-Robeson) to fill the unexpired term for Rep. Jeff McNeely (R-Iredell) on the Justice and Public Safety committee.
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) also announced interim committee assignments.
“I want to thank our members for all their hard work over the long session to address critical issues in our state,” Senator Berger said in a press release on the assignments. “With the session coming to a close, their attention to those issues will continue.”
Interim committees take place between sessions, and while significant legislative work can occur during these meetings, a large part of the function is oversight of an area of law. To simplify this process, most of the committees operate as “joint” committees, with members of both chambers present. A co-chair from each chamber is assigned to provide balance.
Some key assignments include:
The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, with Sen. Brent Jackson (R-Sampson) as Senate co-chair.
The Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, with Sen. Diana Ballard (R-Watauga) as Senate co-chair.
The Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee, with Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell) as Senate co-chair.
The Joint Legislative Commission on Energy Policy, with Sen Paul Newton R-Cabarrus) as Senate co-chair.
The Joint Legislative Commission on Government Operations, with Berger as co-chair.
The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, with Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth) as Senate co-chair.
The Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee, with Sen. Jim Davis (R-Macon) as Senate co-chair. Davis is also running for a U.S. congressional seat, which Mark Meadows (R-Jackson) recently announced he was vacating at the end of his current term.
In the announcement, Berger expressed his gratitude to those taking up the assignments, saying, “I appreciate their dedication to making North Carolina the best state in the country and I look forward to seeing the work they do during the interim.”
