North Carolina General Assembly

The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Carolina State Legislative Building in Raleigh.

The General Assembly drafts and legislates the state laws of North Carolina, also known as the General Statutes. The General Assembly is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the North Carolina House of Representatives (formerly called the North Carolina House of Commons until 1868) and the North Carolina Senate. Since 1868, the House has had 120 members, while the Senate has had 50 members. There are no term limits for either chamber.

Both chambers have two-year terms and are currently controlled by the Republican Party, by three-fifths majority necessary to override vetoes.

Colonial period
In 1663, King Charles II of England granted a royal charter to eight lords proprietor to establish the colony of Carolina in North America. Under the terms of the charter, regular management of the colony was to be overseen by a governor and a council. An assembly consisting of two representatives from each county elected by freeholders was to have the power to write laws with the approval of the governor, his council, and the lords proprietor. This system of government was ultimately never implemented in the area which eventually became North Carolina. In early 1665 the lords proprietor promulgated a constitution for Carolina the Concessions and Agreement. The document provided for a governor, a council of six to 10 men chosen by the governor with the consent of the lords, and an elected assembly. It also stipulated that the assembly's consent was required for taxes to be levied and that vacancies in the assembly were to be filled by elections called by the governor and his council. A new royal charter for Carolina was granted in 1665 and required the forming of an assembly.

After receiving his commission, the new governor announced his appointment to a crowd of freemen, who then selected 12 deputies to represent their interests. Together with the governor and his council, the deputies served as a provisional legislature for Albemarle County and eventually was named the General Court and Committee. It held its first meeting in the spring of 1665. When the governor and his deputy were absent, the assembly would designate a president or speaker to lead its sessions. Approximately two years later, the temporary assembly divided the county into four precincts: Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, and Perquimans. Thee freemen in each county were to convene at the beginning of every year to elect five representatives for the permanent assembly. The first election occurred on January 1, 1668.

While required to abide by the Concessions and support the interests of the lords proprietor, the assembly was powerful and and largely left to manage itself. It decided the length and locations of its own sessions, when it adjourned, and its own quorum. It wrote laws, levied taxes, created courts, incorporated towns, determined the sites of ports and forts, regulated the militia, allotted land, and granted citizenship. Laws passed by the legislature held for 18 months and were sent to England for ratification by the lords. The lords could refuse to ratify laws and let them expire.

From approximately 1666 to 1697, the governor, his council, and representatives of various precincts and towns, elected by male freeholders, sat together as a unicameral legislature. By 1697, this evolved into a bicameral body, with the governor and his council as the upper house, and the House of Burgesses as the elected lower house. The House, sometimes known simply as "the Assembly", could only meet when called by the governor, but it was allowed to set its own rules and to elect its own Speaker. From 1692 to 1712, North Carolina and South Carolina were organized as one Province of Carolina. The colony had one governor but North Carolina retained its own council and assembly. After 1731, the members of the governor's council were chosen by the Privy Council and were responsible to the British king.

During the period of royal control after 1731, North Carolina's governors were issued sets of secret instructions from the Privy Council's Board of Trade. The directives were binding upon the governor and dealt with nearly all aspects of colonial government. As they were produced by officials largely ignorant of the political situation in the colony and meant to ensure greater direct control over the territory, the instructions caused tensions between the governor and the General Assembly. The assembly controlled the colony's finances and used this as leverage by withholding salaries and appropriations, sometimes forcing the governors to compromise and disregard some of the Board of Trade's instructions. Particularly after 1760, the lower house increasingly viewed itself as the representative of the colonists' interests in opposition to the British Crown's interests as relayed by the governor and the council.

Frequent tensions between Governor Josiah Martin—a firm supporter of the secret instructions—and the Assembly in the 1770s led the latter to establish a committee of correspondence and accelerated the colony's break with Great Britain.

Revolution and early statehood


In 1774 and 1775, the people of the colony elected a provincial congress, independent of the royal governor, as the American Revolution began. Most of its members were also members of what would be the last House of Burgesses. There would be five provincial congresses. The fifth Congress approved the first constitution in 1776.

With the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, the United States became an independent nation with different legislatures in each colony. Because of the history of distrust of the executive, the North Carolina constitution firmly established the General Assembly, as it was now called, as the most powerful branch of the state government. The bicameral legislature, whose members would all be elected by the people, would itself elect all the officers of the executive and judicial branches. As William S. Powell wrote in North Carolina: A History, "The legislative branch henceforth would have the upper hand. The governor would be the creature of the assembly, elected by it and removable by it. ... The governor could not take any important step without the advice and consent of the 'council of state,' and he had no voice in the appointment or removal of [council of state members]."

This constitution was not submitted to a vote of the people. The Congress simply adopted it and elected Richard Caswell, the last president of the Congress, as acting governor until the new legislature was elected and seated. The constitution provided for more rights for freedmen and free men of color. The 9th Amendment on the 1776 constitution states, "That no freeman shall be convicted of any crime, but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good lawful men, in open court, as heretofore used." Free men of color with sufficient property were allowed to vote.

The first North Carolina General Assembly was convened on April 7, 1777, in New Bern, North Carolina. It consisted of Senate with one member from each county of 38 existing counties and one district (Washington District which later became part of the Southwest Territory and then Tennessee) and a House of Commons with two members representing each of the existing 38 counties, plus one member from each of the large towns/districts (Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington Districts). Districts continued to be represented in the Senate until 1835. Only land-owning (100 acre for the House of Commons and 300 acre for the Senate), Protestant men could serve.

The first 18 General Assemblies met in various locations, including New Bern, Hillsboro, Halifax, Smithfield, and Wake Court House, Fayetteville. It was not until 1794 that the General Assembly met in the new state capital, Raleigh where it has met ever since.

Following Nat Turner's slave rebellion of 1831, the state legislature restricted many of the rights the 1776 Constitution provided for black people, making it illegal to teach a slave how to read or write. They also narrowed rights of free people of color, rescinding their franchise and the right to bear arms, and forbidding them from attending school or learning to read and write, as well as forbidding them from preaching in public.



The Constitutional Convention of 1835 retained the 1776 Constitution, but made several amendments to it. Going forward, the governor would be elected by the people, but the legislature elected all other officials, including US Senators. Amendments set the number of senators at 50 and the number of commoners (representatives to the House) at 120. Senators were to be elected from districts representing approximately equal numbers of citizens, rather than by geographic counties. Members of the House were still elected by county, but more populous counties were entitled to more representatives.

The North Carolina General Assembly met from 1861 to 1865 as part of the Confederate States of America.

Reconstruction Era
In 1868, a new constitution was passed by the Reconstruction era legislature, a biracial body dominated by Republicans. It changed the name of the House of Commons to the House of Representatives. It established the office of lieutenant governor. Previously, the speaker of the Senate was the constitutional successor to the governor in case of death or resignation. Property qualifications for holding office were abolished in order to enlarge opportunity. Finally, the legislature made executive officers and judges subject to popular election rather than appointment by the legislature.

African-American men were first elected to the state legislature in 1868, including Henry Epps, Abraham H. Galloway, and John A. Hyman in the Senate and Parker D. Robbins, Wilson Cary Nicholas, B. W. Morris, A. W. Stevens, John S. Leary, Isham Sweat, Henry C. Cherry, John H. Williamson, A.A. Crawford, Cuffie Mayo, W. T. J. Hayes, Ivey Hutchings, John S. W. Eagles, George W. Price, Thomas A. Sykes, James H. Harris, William Cawthorn, and Richard Falkner in the House. Despite efforts by Red Shirts and other white Democratic paramilitary groups to disrupt Republican meetings and suppress black voting in order to ensure the Democratic takeover, some African Americans continued to be elected in the 19th century, especially to local offices. But shortly before the turn of the century, the Democrats regained control of the state legislature (after a biracial coalition between Republicans and Populists had briefly held power) and passed laws to create barriers to voter registration through poll taxes, literacy tests and other devices.

Applied subjectively by white administrators, these methods effectively disenfranchised most black people in the state. Black voters were eliminated by 1904. An estimated 75,000 black male citizens lost the vote. African Americans were closed out of politics in North Carolina for decades, with most not regaining the ability to vote until after passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and federal overview and enforcement.

20th century
Lillian Exum Clement became the first female member of the General Assembly in 1921.

As was the case in other states where rural legislators hung on to power despite changes in state demographics, North Carolina eventually had to redefine its method of electing house members and to reapportion congressional seats, which was supposed to be done after every decennial census. At a time of civil rights legislation to end segregation (Civil Rights Act of 1964) and enforce the constitutional right to vote for African Americans and other ethnic groups (Voting Rights Act of 1965), the US Supreme Court made rulings that resulted in corrections to state legislature representation and apportionment in several states.

In 1957, a commission was formed to design and fund a new meeting place for the legislature. Construction began in 1961 and was completed by early 1963. The General Assembly held its first session in the new North Carolina State Legislative Building on February 6.

Starting in 1966 (in the wake of Reynolds v. Sims, a US Supreme Court case establishing that the principle of one man, one vote) applied to state legislatures, members of the North Carolina State House were required to be elected from districts defined on the basis of roughly equal population, rather than on a geographic basis from the counties. The geographic system had resulted in a longstanding rural bias in the legislature. The new urban populations, including minorities and immigrants, were historically underrepresented in terms of legislative seats and funding, even as the state's population had become increasingly urbanized. The court's ruling required changes also in other states with similar practices. The changes allowed full representation for the first time from some urban and more densely settled areas. It also meant that counties with low populations were absorbed into larger constituencies rather than electing a resident member to the legislature. In 1968, the General Assembly, in tandem with national trends towards state legislative professionalization, hired its first legislative services officer.

In the early 1970s, Democratic legislators, spurred in part by the election of a Republican governor in 1972, began an effort to strengthen the General Assembly's power and influence in state government which continued into the 1980s. As a result, the legislature hired its own research staff, created an independent judicial office to review administrative affairs in the state bureaucracy, and began appointing its own members to state board and commissions, though the latter practice was ruled unconstitutional by the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1982. In 1977, the state constitution was amended to allow for governors and lieutenant governors to seek second terms. Shortly thereafter, the House, feeling threatened by the strengthened positions of the governor and Senate leadership, broke from a decades-long trend and began electing speakers to successive terms. In the mid-1980s, the legislature ceased using multi-member legislative districts.

Membership
The General Assembly has 170 elected members, with 120 members of the North Carolina House of Representatives and 50 members of the North Carolina Senate. Each represents a district. Each house has the sole power to judge the election and qualification of its own respective members. Legislators' are elected biennially in even-numbered years. Their terms of office begin at the start of the January following the year of their election. All legislators swear a state constitutionally-prescribed oath of office. In the event of the vacancy of a seat, the governor is constitutionally obligated to appoint a person nominated by the previous incumbent's political party's respective district executive committee to fill the seat.

The assembly is styled after the citizen legislature model, with legislating considered a part-time job. Members receive a base salary of $13,951 per year, supplemented by per-diem payments and travel reimbursements. Increases in legislative pay adopted by the assembly cannot take effect until after a succeeding election.

Structure and process
Each house of the legislature has eight leadership roles. The Senate's leadership is made up of the president of the Senate, president pro tempore, majority leader, majority whip, majority caucus chair, minority leader, minority whip, and minority caucus chair. Per the constitution, the office of president of the Senate is held ex officio by the lieutenant governor. In this capacity they direct the debate on bills and maintain order in that house, but have little influence over its workflow. They cannot cast a vote in the Senate except to break ties. The president pro tempore is elected by the full Senate. They appoint the body's committees. All other leadership positions filled by the decision of party caucuses.

The leadership of House of Representatives is analogous to that in the Senate, except that in place of a president and president pro tempore, the body is led by a speaker and speaker pro tempore. The speaker is in charge of appointing the body's committees. Both officers are elected by the full house from among its members, with the rest determined by party caucuses. In the event of an even political divide in the House, co-speakers may be elected in lieu of a single speaker.

Both houses appoint a principal clerk—who keeps their respective bodies' records, a reading clerk—who reads documents as required by the constitution, house rules, or the presiding officer, and a sergeant at arms—who maintains order in their house. Standing committees in each house consider introduced legislation, hold hearings, and offer amendments. All bills are examined by a body's respective rules committee before being brought before a full house for a vote.

Powers
The constitution of North Carolina vests the state's legislative power in the General Assembly; the General Assembly writes state laws/statutes. Legislation in North Carolina can either be in the form of general laws or special/local laws. General laws apply to the entire state, while local laws apply only to specific counties or municipalities. The constitution requires that all effective laws be styled "The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:", with only the words following that phrase being legally operative. The legally valid language of each passed bill is punctuated by the ratification certificate, consisting of the obligatory signatures of the presiding officers of each house. Most laws have an "effective date" which stipulate the time they go into effect. Those that do not have an explicit stipulation go into effect 60 days after the assembly's adjournment sine die.

The assembly has the power to levy taxes and adopts the state budget. The constitution enumerates unique procedure for the passing of revenue legislation; all revenue bills must be read three times with each reading occurring on a different day, journal records of votes must include the name of each legislator and how they voted, and all revenue bills must appropriate money for a specific purpose. The legislative power of the assembly must be exercised by the whole body and not devolved upon a portion of the whole, and actions taken during one session of the assembly can be undone by a succeeding session. The governor signs bills passed by the General Assembly of which they approve into law and are empowered to veto bills of which they disapprove. A veto can be overridden by a three-fifths majority vote of the assembly. Local bills and congressional and legislative reapportionment decisions are not subject to gubernatorial veto. Aside from regular legislation, the two houses of the General Assembly can also issue joint resolutions which are not subject to veto.

The assembly wields oversight authority over the state's administrative bureaucracy. It can alter gubernatorial executive orders concerning the organization of state agencies by joint resolution. Its Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations has the authority to seize state agency documents and inspect facilities of agencies and contractors with the state. All legislative committees are empowered to subpoena the testimony of witnesses and documents. The constitution allows for the General Assembly to provide for the filling of executive offices not already provided for in the constitution. The body is also empowered to resolve contested elections for state executive officers by joint ballot. Its advice and consent is required for the installation of some state agency heads. The assembly can also influence the bureaucracy through its power to create for dissolve agencies or countermand administrative rules by writing laws and by its decisions in appropriations. The constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach elected state officials by simple majority vote. In the event an official is impeached, the Senate holds a trial, and can convict an official by two-thirds majority vote and remove them from office. The General Assembly can also, by a two-thirds majority vote, determine the governor or a judge mentally or physically incapable of serving.

The General Assembly has the sole power to propose amendments to the state constitution. If a proposed amendment receives the support of three-fifths of the House and the Senate, it is scheduled for ratification by a statewide referendum. State constitutional amendments and state legislative votes on the ratification of federal constitutional amendments are not subject to gubernatorial veto.

Sessions
The General Assembly's sessions are convened according to standards prescribed by the state constitution and state statute. The General Assembly meets in regular session—or the "long session"—beginning in January of each odd-numbered year, and adjourns to reconvene the following even-numbered year for what is called the "short session". Though there is no limit on the length of any session, the "long session" typically lasts for 6 months, and the "short session" typically lasts for 6 weeks. The governor may call the General Assembly into extraordinary session after consulting the Council of State and is required to convene the assembly in specific circumstances to review vetoed legislation. A majority of the Council of State can call the legislature into session to consider the governor's mental capacity to serve.

A basic majority of the members of a house constitute a quorum to do business. When in session, both Houses of the legislature typically meet on Monday evenings and in the middle of the day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Legislative committees usually convene in the mornings and late afternoons. Both houses are empowered to temporarily adjourn for three days or less at their own discretion. The proceedings of each house are constitutionally-required to be reported in official journals and published at the end of each session. The records of individual lawmakers are not subject to the state's public records law. Each house chamber has a gallery from which members of the public can attend and observe sessions.

Administration and support agencies
Administrative support of the General Assembly is overseen by the Legislative Services Commission, a panel comprising five members of each house. As of October 2023, the assembly relies on over 600 support staff who work in the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building. Daily operations of the legislature's facilities are directed by the legislative services officer. Every legislator is assigned at least one legislative assistant or clerk, who manage legislators' schedules, relay communications with constituents, and offer advice on policy issues. Some legislators employ additional staff. The General Assembly's members and facilities are guarded by the North Carolina General Assembly Police.