Weekly Recap: Catch up on the news you missed from 6/18-6/24
House Speaker Tim Moore faces a lawsuit over a sexual relationship with a married woman, Senate Republican approved major election law changes and a trans sports ban bill is going to Gov. Roy Cooper.
Lots of news to get to from this past week. But before we dive in, a quick plug: With Fourth of July approaching, I’m running a sale for all free Anderson Alerts members: 20% off a monthly or yearly membership. All net proceeds from individual subscribers goes to charity.
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Please visit this July 4th Sale page for more info! Without further ado, here’s what you need to know from the week that was in North Carolina politics:
👀Speaker Moore sued over relationship with married woman
On Sunday night, a former Wake County Republican official filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Tim Moore. In the complaint, Scott Lassiter accuses Moore of having a years-long affair with his estranged wife, Jamie Liles Lassiter.
Under North Carolina law, people who interfere in marriages can be sued. Lassiter is seeking at least $200,000 from Moore. Among the alleged violations: criminal conversation and alienation of affection.
Criminal conversation is a civil claim that describes an act of sexual intercourse with someone else’s spouse.
To prove a claim for alienation of affection, Lassiter must show that he and his wife had a loving marriage before the alleged affair took place and that the loving marriage was ruined by Moore’s conduct.
Jamie Liles Lassiter has said she has long been separated from her husband and insists Moore never pressured her into having sex.
Moore initially described the lawsuit as “baseless,” but subsequently acknowledged parts of the complaint were true.
In interviews with WBTV and the Raleigh News & Observer on Tuesday and Wednesday, Moore admitted to having a relationship with Liles Lassiter even though she was and is still married. Moore also acknowledged he met with Scott Lassiter one-on-one to address the affair and suggested he had an intimate sexual relationship with Liles Lassiter in December 2020 as the lawsuit alleges. Moore said he told Lassiter in December 2022 that it was his understanding the couple had separated. Lassiter said Moore attempted to use the power of his office to sweep the affair under the rug.
“Near the end of the meeting, Defendant Tim Moore asked Plaintiff ‘on a completely unrelated note’ if there was anything he could do for Plaintiff, implying that he could use the power he held as Speaker in some way to benefit Plaintiff. Plaintiff angrily told Defendant Tim Moore that he did not want any political favors,” the lawsuit alleges.
Moore denies the claim, doesn’t recall saying that and insists he didn’t use the power of his office for sexual favors, as the lawsuit alleges happened between Lassiter and Moore. He also pushed back on an allegation in the lawsuit that he hired an unidentified male to spy on the husband. Moore said the claim was untrue and that he had never even seen the unidentified male before.
Moore characterizes himself a victim caught up in another couple’s ugly divorce. He plans to file a countersuit against Scott Lassiter.
🗳️Bills changing election laws, oversight ahead of 2024 election advances
North Carolina Senate Republicans on Wednesday approved a pair of consequential voting measures that would greatly impact how future elections are administered. The proposals go next to the House.
Let’s take the bills one by one:
Senate Bill 747:
North Carolinians who vote by mail would need to have their ballots received by their county boards of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Current law allows absentee ballots to be accepted by 5 p.m. three days after the election as long as they were postmarked by Election Day
County boards of elections would need to use signature verification software to check the signatures of ballots
Many people who choose to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day would need to vote by a provisional ballot, which is not reflected in vote totals reported on Election Night and is held by county election officials for a closer review to determine a voter’s eligibility in the subsequent days
State and local election officials would be prohibited from accepting private donations to administer elections
Individual precinct officials would need to record the names of people who assist voters
The State Board of Elections would need to implement a two-factor authentication process for mail-in ballots
The State Department of Information Technology would need to study and report to the General Assembly by Dec. 1 the feasibility of replacing the statewide voter registration
The State Bureau of Investigation would be required to investigate election-related crimes
Senate Bill 749:
Gov. Roy Cooper would be stripped of his ability to appoint members onto state and local boards of elections
The five-member State Board of Elections, which includes three Democrats and two Republicans, would become an eight-member board with an even 4-4 partisan split chosen by state lawmakers
Five-member county boards of elections would drop to four members, with an even 2-2 partisan split chosen by state lawmakers
🏊Bill prohibiting transgender females from competing on women's sports teams goes to Cooper
North Carolina’s Republican-controlled House on Thursday gave final legislative approval to a bill that they say will protect the integrity of women’s sports.
Under House Bill 574, or the “Fairness in Women's Sports Act,” people whose gender assigned at birth was male wouldn’t be allowed to compete on female sports teams in middle school, high school or college.
Once the bill arrives on Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk, he’ll have 10 days to veto it as expected. After that, Republicans can override the governor if all their members are present and vote together. The measure was also supported by one House Democrat and one Senate Democrat when it was up for a floor vote.
Many Democrats and LGBTQ advocacy groups consider the bill discriminatory. They worry it’ll only increase depression and thoughts of suicide for an already vulnerable group of kids and young adults. Republican view the plan as a common-sense way to preserve the integrity of female sports.
If enacted, the competition restrictions would apply beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
Middle schools and high schools would be required to sort teams by biological sex: males/men/boys, females/women/girls or coed/mixed. Athletic teams designated for females, women, or girls would not be open to those whose gender assigned at birth was male.
If the school violated the law and deprived a student of an athletics opportunity, the student could file a lawsuit. Schools that follow the law could also sue to ensure they are able to implement it.
University of North Carolina schools, community colleges and private colleges and universities located in North Carolina would also have to prohibit biological males from joining women’s athletics teams, though the restriction wouldn’t apply to intramural sports.
⚡Cooper signs bill imposing harsher penalties on energy grid attacks
In December, two electrical substations in Moore County were attacked, leaving more than 40,000 residents and business owners without power.
On Monday, Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill to punish those who engage in similar acts in the future.
Under Senate Bill 58, it would be a Class C felony to knowingly and willfully destroy, injure, or otherwise damage, or attempt to destroy, injure, or otherwise damage, an energy facility. If the conduct results in the death of another, the offense would be punishable as a Class B2 felony.
The bill also imposes a $250,000 penalty for violating the law and allows violators to be sued for the damage they caused.
"We must protect critical infrastructure that keeps electric power and clean water available in our communities, and this bill sends a message to criminals that these irresponsible acts will not be tolerated,” Cooper said in a statement.
Parents’ Bill of Rights gets first House vote
After four months of inaction, House Republicans took up a controversial Senate bill that stands to impact LGBTQ pupils and expand access to information for K-12 parents
The House Education Committee advanced Senate Bill 49 on Wednesday, with some tweaks.
Here are a few of the key things the bill seeks to do:
Prohibit instruction on gender identity, sexuality and sexual activity in K-4 curricula
Compel schools to inform parents of their child’s desired pronoun change before it is used by school employees or in school records
Let parents review all school library materials their child has borrowed
Require schools to tell parents if their child is experiencing or may experience any changes in services or monitoring of mental, emotional or physical health
Mandate that school employees encourage children to discuss their well-being with parents and facilitate discussions of issues with parents
Public school districts must make available at the beginning of each school year to parents, students and school workers a “parent’s guide for student achievement” that includes policies for parents to inspect and review textbooks and other supplementary materials
Sets a timeframe for parents to request and receive information. If the parent doesn’t receive information from a principal within 10-30 business days, the parent could then request that information from the school superintendent. If the superintendent doesn’t provide the information, records could then be requested from a governing board. The board must then place the issue on its agenda and makes a final decision
Other important bill developments
On Friday vetoed two bills, the state’s annual farm bill and a measure compelling the state treasurer to make investment decisions purely on the basis of fiscal considerations.
Under House Bill 750, the state treasurer wouldn’t be allowed to weigh environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when determining where to invest the state’s money. Cooper’s veto is likely to be overridden.
The annual farm measure, Senate Bill 582, includes a number of agricultural policies. This year’s plan had a controversial provision that would prohibit the state from adopting stricter protections on wetlands than how they are defined by federal law.
The move follows a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision last month that stripped federal agencies of authority over millions of acres of wetlands. Cooper’s veto is likely to be overridden.
House Bill 772 had its first committee vote on Wednesday since being introduced more than two months ago. The proposal would let poll observers move around more freely at voting sites. Partisan election observers would also be able to use their phone to take notes and record photos or videos of signage set up within the voting enclosure.
Senate Bill 631 and House Bill 808 worked their way through committee votes this past week. The measures seek to prohibit doctors from performing surgical gender transition procedures on children or providing minors with puberty-blocking drugs, or the use of state funds for such practices.
But such a proposal may be unconstitutional. A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that a similar Alabama law banning gender-affirming treatments for people under 18 violated various parts of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. on Tuesday says the state of Arkansas violated several sections of the U.S. Constitution when it banned all gender-affirming treatments for people under 18.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans amended House Bill 190 in an effort to address concerns raised by a lawsuit challenging the state’s new abortion law. The amendment seeks to clarify when an abortion is permissible.
Other political highlights:
Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, the state’s top law enforcement officer, said he wouldn’t defend the state’s new abortion law in court. He wrote on Twitter on Thursday, “I support women’s reproductive freedoms. After a thorough review of the case in Planned Parenthood v. Stein, I have concluded that many of the provisions in North Carolina’s anti-abortion law are unconstitutional. My office will not defend those parts of the law.
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in 2024, endorsed former President Donald Trump’s presidential bid during a speech on Friday at the annual Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington, D.C.
What to watch for this week
MONDAY: At 3 p.m., the Senate is expected to give its approval to House Bill 190, which makes clarifying changes to the state’s abortion law.
At 5 p.m., the Senate Rules Committee will take up HB 808, which aims to prevent doctors from performing surgical gender transition procedures on children or providing minors with puberty-blocking drugs, or the use of state funds for such practices.
TUESDAY: At 10 a.m., the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to release opinions for some of the 10 remaining cases. The two biggest cases of note in North Carolina: Moore v. Harper (redistricting/independent state legislature theory) and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (affirmative action in college admissions).
WEDNESDAY: A lawsuit brought forward by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is scheduled be heard in a federal district court in Greensboro at 9:30 a.m. The complaint challenges Senate Bill 20, the state’s abortion law that is scheduled to be implemented July 1. Wednesday's court hearing will be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2010.
The House is planning to override at least four bills that Cooper has vetoed. Of biggest note: Senate Bill 364, which prohibits state agencies from asking applicants to endorse or express views on items related to political debate as a condition for employment.
THURSDAY: North Carolina General Assembly is likely to hold floor and committee votes on important bills.
FRIDAY: End of fiscal year. There will be no new budget enacted by this time, as House and Senate negotiators are still working out differences between what each chamber would like to see enacted.
📖8 essential reads
Did NC House speaker destroy a happy marriage? Separation note raises questions about timing of affair (Paul Specht // WRAL)
Exclusive: Moore breaks silence, responds to lawsuit allegations (Nick Ochsner // WBTV)
The Weird Law Underlying the Tim Moore Affair Case (Jeffrey Billman // The Assembly)
AG Stein says he won't defend 'many' parts of new abortion law in court (Colin Campbell // WUNC)
North Carolina GOP legislators making changes to new abortion law days before enforcement (Gary Robertson // Associated Press)
State Auditor Beth Wood, who was convicted of hit-and-run, to seek reelection (Paul Specht and Chris Lovingood // WRAL)
FBI investigation leads to North Carolina politician’s campaign finance sentence in federal court (Danielle Battaglia // McClatchy DC)
Transgender health care restrictions gain steam in North Carolina (Hannah Schoenbaum // Associated Press)
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