From Carolina Journal:
Is a financial agreement between the governor of North Carolina and a private party legal just because the governor says so?
That’s the gist of the memorandum of understanding hammered out between Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration and the four utilities building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Under the deal, announced Friday, the pipeline operators would pay $57.8 million for projects the governor wants, and, in exchange, the operators get to build the multibillion-dollar pipeline across eastern North Carolina. (Read the memorandum here.)
Former N.C. House Majority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam, a Wake County attorney in private practice, says the deal violates the state constitution and would take away the rights of North Carolinians to challenge terms of the agreement in court. In contrast, Gerry Cohen, the General Assembly’s former special counsel, said the agreement seems unusual because it didn’t go through normal budget channels. But Cohen thinks it could survive a possible legal challenge.
Meantime, legislative leaders are seeking guidance on the legality of the arrangement.
Read the full story here.
