General Assembly leadership announced Monday that the legislature will hold an oversight hearing this week on how Gov. Roy Cooper's administration has handled the Hurricane Matthew recovery and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline permitting process.
The administration has taken criticism on both fronts. A key hurricane rebuilding program, funded by the federal government, took months to stand up. The administration worked a deal with pipeline builders to pay nearly $60 million into an escrow fund as state regulators approved a key permit for the natural gas line.
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That money was going to be controlled by the Governor's Office and pay for economic development and other grants until the GOP majority blocked the plan by shifting any money that comes in from the deal to schools along the pipeline's route.
"Governor Cooper and his administration have stonewalled the legislature and the press despite repeated requests for information and explanation on the two subjects," a joint hearing announcement form Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger's and House Speaker Tim Moore's offices said Monday. "The Commission will discuss the information currently available and determine what next steps are required to conduct proper and comprehensive oversight."
Cooper spokesman Ford Porter said Republicans "are more interested in political games and desperate election-year stunts than serving North Carolina families."
"The Cooper Administration will continue to work to protect our clean air and water, create good jobs and help families rebuilding from Hurricane Matthew get the assistance they need," Porter said in an email.
The House has had several committee meetings on the state's hurricane response, which lags behind federal timetables. Though initially Republicans were heavily critical, at the most recent meeting GOP House members had kind words for Michael Sprayberry, Cooper's director of emergency management.
GOP leadership has blasted Cooper over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline fund, though that criticism subsided after an initial uproar and the legislature's vote to re-route the money.
The Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations will meet Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Room 643 of the Legislative Office Building.