Interesting news conference from several legislative Democrats on Thursday, led by House Minority Leader Darren Jackson of Wake County. As reported by Dan Way of Carolina Journal, Rep. Jackson defended Gov. Cooper’s unusual $57.8 million discretionary fund, which cut the General Assembly out of the appropriations process. And then there’s this:
Jackson hesitated to say he would support a future Republican governor using Cooper’s pipeline fund as a precedent to set up a side deal for collecting state money, and assuming authority for how it would be spent, cutting the General Assembly out of the process. He said it was a hypothetical question, and particular details would matter.
He said the pipeline fund was initiated by local economic developers and agricultural interests, but he didn’t know how it shifted from grass-roots activists to the governor’s control.
Jackson was asked about the governor’s office withholding public records detailing that transition, despite requests from various media organizations, and whether the documents should be disclosed. He said some documents have been made public.
So it’s OK when my team does it, but …….
The pipeline story has multiple angles, including a call by a legislative Republican for a legislative probe.