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NC Could Lose Out On $92M Volkswagen Settlement Because Of A Power Struggle

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,
Amanda Magnus
Published August 8, 2019 at 3:23 PM EDT
Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican-led legislature disagree over who should control the money from a settlement with Volkswagen.
Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican-led legislature disagree over who should control the money from a settlement with Volkswagen.

A disagreement over who should control settlement money from Volkswagen could cost North Carolinians $92 million. Volkswagen agreed to pay the state that money for selling cars that cheated on emissions tests, but both Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican-led legislature are claiming the right to dole out the funds. 

Host Frank Stasio talks to Southeast Energy News reporter Elizabeth Ouzts about a power struggle between Governor Roy Cooper and the Republican-led legislature over distribution of a $92 million settlement against Volkswagen.

Republicans have included language in the budgets for 2017 and 2018 to ensure their control of the money, and Governor Cooper sued the legislature, calling it a constitutional overreach. Cooper lost that suit in 2018, but he has since appealed the decision. Some pundits say this fight could invalidate the Volkswagen settlement agreement and cost the state the $92 million.

Host Frank Stasio talks to Elizabeth Ouzts, a reporter for Southeast Energy News, about the roots of this power struggle.

 

Copyright 2019 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.
See stories by Amanda Magnus