Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are taking new steps to potentially remove Democratic state Rep. Cecil Brockman from his seat while he remains jailed on charges of sexual offenses with a child.
House lawmakers on Tuesday announced plans to form a bipartisan committee to consider Brockman’s status in the chamber and "examine relevant precedent from prior committees of this nature, and ensure that a fair and impartial examination of the facts," to determine whether expulsion is warranted, House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell said.
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Brockman — who has represented High Point in the state legislature for more than a decade — was arrested this month and charged with two counts of statutory sex offense with a child and two additional counts of indecent liberties with a child. Prosecutors said investigators identified Brockman in video evidence of illicit acts found on a cellphone.
"If those things are true, then he has no business serving in the state house," Hall said of the charges against Brockman.
Hall continued: "He's got a right to due process in the criminal court system. He's got a right to some due process here as a member of the House. Those are probably different processes that we’ll be going through."
Hall's announcement follows calls for the Guilford County Democrat to resign, including demands from state House leaders on both sides of the aisle, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and the state Democratic Party.
Brockman, 41, hasn’t resigned and was being held in a High Point jail on a $1.05 million bond. The lawmaker and his lawyer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. A legislative aide for Brockman said last week that the lawmaker had no comment on the charges or calls for him to resign.
State Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton last week called on state lawmakers to start the process of removing Brockman, saying that his constituents need representation in the chamber: “You can't exactly help people from a jail cell,” she told WRAL in an interview.
Lawmakers were already scheduled to return to Raleigh on Monday to vote on new congressional districts. Clayton called on them to remove Brockman if hadn’t resigned by then.
Hall has also urged Brockman to resign. Hall's office told WRAL on Friday that he has been reviewing House rules and constitutional requirements for removing a member, adding that the speaker was willing to remove Brockman if he didn’t resign quickly.
"It's a rare occurrence for this sort of thing to be taken up by this chamber." Hall said Tuesday. He said he expects to release more specifics about the membership of the committee on Wednesday, "and that committee will then meet to look at various precedents and look at the procedures ... and the various concerns constitutionally and otherwise that have to be addressed in a situation like that."
A removal wouldn’t be without precedent. The state House in 2008 voted 109-5 to remove Wilmington Democratic Rep. Thomas Wright from office after he was charged with using campaign funds for personal purchases and abusing his political power to get a loan.
Hall said he intends for the group to follow procedures that have been followed in the past regarding a member's status.
"As I understand it, in the past, there's been an opportunity for due process, an opportunity to be heard, and then votes in the committee and votes on the House floor,” Hall said. “So we're at the beginning stages of that process.”
House Minority Leader Robert Reives, D-Chatham, told reporters Tuesday that he supports Hall's move to form a committee to review Brockman's case. Reives said he provided Hall with a list of Democratic House members that he believes would serve the committee well, though he declined to reveal their names.
Reives said he hopes Brockman resigns before the committee takes any vote on Brockman's future. "I hope he will do what is best for him in this circumstance,” Reives said. “And I think resignation makes the most sense."
Hall's announcement comes a day before the House is expected to vote on new congressional maps, which are widely opposed by Democrats. However, it’s unlikely that Brockman — or any Democrat alone — would affect the outcome on those votes. Republicans hold strong majorities in the state Senate and state House, and state law doesn’t allow the governor to veto redistricting bills.
But Brockman’s absence could hinder the Democrats’ ability to uphold Stein’s vetoes of bills that loosen North Carolina’s gun laws and eliminate diversity policies in state agencies, among other things. Legislators can override Stein’s vetoes by passing those bills with 60% support.
Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the state Senate but not in the state House of Representatives, where the GOP came up one seat short in the most recent elections.
If Brockman remains out and all other House members are present, Republicans would need just one Democrat to vote with the GOP, or to be absent from the vote, to override Stein's vetoes — provided all Republicans voted together in favor of the override.
If Brockman resigns or if he is removed, the governor would be required by state law to appoint a replacement who is recommended by members of the Guilford County Democratic Party.
Reives said he doesn't think Hall will use Brockman's incarceration as an opportunity to override Stein's vetoes.
"If we were at full strength and we didn't show up, that's one thing; I think we should be ready for that," Reives said, adding: "But I think I'd be very shocked if he would try to do something that seemed below board in that situation."