How North Carolina's new top watchdog is amassing power
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Just a few weeks after North Carolina voters elected the first Republican to serve as state auditor in 15 years, North Carolina's GOP-controlled General Assembly jumped at the opportunity, passing into law legislation that gave Dave Boliek the power to appoint the state's Board of Elections.
Why it matters: The move was part of a broader effort to consolidate Republican power in the state, tipping control of the elections board and thus giving the GOP more authority over the state's electoral process.
- But lawmakers haven't stopped there. For months, they've been moving to make Boliek far more powerful than auditors past.
Driving the news: In Boliek's first six months in office, legislative Republicans have introduced several bills that would expand his office's authority.
- They've proposed giving him more employees, a bigger budget and the authority to investigate some nonprofits and private businesses and make recommendations on ways to cut state spending.
The big picture: Republicans' effort to grant Boliek more power comes at a moment when Republicans — both in Washington and in North Carolina — have zeroed in on making all levels of government more efficient at any cost.
- As the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency has sought to slash federal spending, GOP lawmakers in North Carolina have set their sights on doing the same at a state level, with the now-Republican state auditor as a key vehicle.
- North Carolina Republicans have also mirrored the national party's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including by proposing legislation that would require that the auditor regularly audit agencies to ensure they're not using DEI policies.
What they're saying: "We want our state agencies to work as hard as the citizens that fund them," Senate leader Phil Berger, who sponsored a bill that would give Boliek more power, said in a statement in March.
- "If they won't hold themselves accountable, then the General Assembly will."
The latest: Measures broadening the auditor's scope made their way into the state Senate's budget proposal, which the chamber unveiled in April.
- Now, the legislature's two chambers are in the early stages of budget negotiations with a goal of passing a spending plan by the end of this month.
- Should the Senate's proposal, known as the Division of Accountability, Value and Efficiency (DAVE) Act, make it into the final budget package, Boliek is likely to amass even more power in the coming months.
- Under the proposal, the auditor would be empowered to make recommendations on state jobs that should be eliminated. The DAVE division would dissolve at the end of 2028.
What they're saying: "This bill strikes me as not really getting at efficiency, but getting at really kind of a political approach to some of the work that we're here to do," Democratic state Sen. Lisa Grafstein said in committee in April, per the News & Observer.
State of play: As it stands, several entities already exist to ensure North Carolina's government functions efficiently.
- One of them is the state auditor, who, as the state's top watchdog, has long been tasked with monitoring both the use of taxpayer dollars and the elimination of waste, fraud and abuse.
- The office audits more than $100 billion in assets and liabilities, per the auditor's website. Auditors past have earned the respect of Democrats and Republicans alike for tackling the job without favoring members of the same political party.
The intrigue: As evidenced by legislation they've passed in recent months, North Carolina lawmakers believe that the auditor's office could be doing more, however. Boliek believes that, too.
- "I felt early on —and still feel — that this office has been underutilized in the sense of its duties and responsibilities as a watchdog and as a public-facing agency," Boliek told Axios last month.
- He's also argued that much of the legislation under consideration merely "formalizes the work that needs to be done" in his office, WRAL reported in April.
Zoom in: Boliek, who has vowed to approach his job in a nonpartisan way as previous auditors have, is also on a mission to transform his office from within.
- "There a new energy in the office and a new vision for not only doing audits, but for being a true watchdog for the people of North Carolina, and to inform the public in an impactful way and get some real results on behalf of the people of North Carolina," Boliek said.
The other side: At least one Republican has said that one of the proposals to grant the auditor more power should be "tightened up."
- "We need to do a little work at some point on being sure that we audit what needs to be audited, (so that) it doesn't become a fishing expedition," Republican state Rep. Hugh Blackwell said in April, per WRAL.