RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Gov. Roy Cooper and the Democrat who will succeed him next month, Josh Stein, have filed a lawsuit against Republicans in the North Carolina legislature a day after they overrode a veto that will strip the power of many of the state's top leaders. The lawsuit targeting Senate Bill 382 argues that the legislative selection of the commander of the N.C. State Highway Patrol violates the separation of powers established in the state's Constitution. Outer Banks town council passes resolution opposing SB 382 House Speaker Tim Moore, Senate President Phil Berger and State Highway Patrol Commander Freddy Johnson were named as the defendants. The language in that bill was introduced just days after the 2024 election, when Democrats were elected to many of the Council of State positions, including current attorney general Stein as governor. Cooper’s office argues that the bill undermines the results of the election by stripping powers from the newly elected governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state superintendent of Public Instruction.  Among the other reallocated powers is the governor’s role of overseeing appointments to the Board of Elections being transferred to the state auditor, a Republican.  “It’s fundamental to our constitution that the legislature can not both make the laws and then choose the leaders who enforce them,” said Cooper in a statement. “Breaking the executive branch chain of command in law enforcement or any other executive branch agency is unconstitutional, and it weakens our ability to respond to emergencies and keep the public safe.”  Stein and Cooper believe Senate Bill 382 allegedly violates the constitution by identifying a single person who must “serve as the Commander of the State Highway Patrol until July 1, 2025” and then serve for the five-year term that begins on July 1, 2025. According to the statute, that person cannot be removed by the governor or anyone else for any reason.  SB 382 protestors gather at North Carolina State Capitol The suit states, in part:  “The General Assembly identified a specific person, serving in a specific position, and purported to mandate that specific person to serve as Commander of the State Highway Patrol until at least July of 2030 unless that person dies, resigns, or is rendered incapable of serving. 12. Incredibly, Senate Bill 382 prohibits the Governor or anyone else from removing the legislatively appointed Commander for any reason—even if he were to commit serious criminal misconduct.”  The complaint explains, “Governor Cooper and Governor-Elect Stein seek to safeguard the people of the North Carolina from threats to their public safety and to the people’s assignment of core executive responsibilities to their chief executive.” And it alleges that Senate Bill 382 is a “direct infringement on the Governor’s law enforcement powers in plain violation of our Constitution.”