Larry Hall Again Missing In Action
On Thursday, for the 3rd time the Senate Commerce Committee on which I sit, met to confirm the appointment of Larry Hall to the Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs for Governor Cooper. For the third, time he did not appear before the committee. The NC Constitution is clear-
Article III Sec. 5(8) "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." Furthermore, last year's
HB17 which I supported, provides for Senate confirmation of cabinet appointees. I would have hoped this would have been a simple process to ensure that appointees are qualified to do their job, have no conflict of interest, and will obey the law.
The willingness of this nominee to obey the law is now in question. At a press conference, Senator Berger explained that, frankly, Senate confirmation of the governor's cabinet appointees should not be a big deal. It has been standard practice in Washington - and in many other states - for as long as we can remember.
Transparency in government is a good thing. Giving the people of this state an opportunity to learn about unelected department heads who control billions of their tax dollars is not something anyone should be fighting over. Nor should it be controversial that public officials must - like everyone else - follow the law.
The fact the governor has turned this into one of the biggest political fights of the year makes us wonder: what on earth does he have to hide?
You can watch the entire press conference
here.
Our committee elected to issue a subpoena ordering Mr. Hall to appear before us on March 2.
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