The president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate more commonly Pro Tem is the highest ranking internally elected o

The president pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate (more commonly, "Pro-Tem") is the highest-ranking (internally elected) officer of one house of the North Carolina General Assembly. The president of the Senate is the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, but the president pro tempore actually holds most of the power and presides in the absence of the Lt. Governor. The president pro tempore, a senior member of the party with a majority of seats, appoints senators to committees and also appoints certain members of state boards and commissions. From 1777 to 1868, North Carolina had no Lieutenant Governor, and the highest-ranking officer of the Senate was known as the "Speaker". The Speaker of the Senate was next in line if the office of Governor became vacant. This occurred on two occasions.

President pro tempore of the North Carolina Senate
State seal
Incumbent Phil Berger since January 26, 2011
North Carolina Senate
Status	Presiding officer
Seat	North Carolina State Legislative Building, Raleigh, North Carolina
Nominator	Major parties (normally)
Appointer	The North Carolina Senate
Term length	two years (currently)
Constituting instrument	North Carolina Constitution
Formation	1777
First holder	Samuel Ashe
Succession	Second

Presidents pro tempore are elected at the beginning of each biennial session, currently in January of odd-numbered years. Between 1868 and 1992, it was rare for a president pro tempore to serve more than two terms. Marc Basnight, however, became arguably the most powerful North Carolina Senate leader in history and one of the state's most influential politicians when he served a record nearly 18 years as president pro tempore.

History

Upon Republican Jim Gardner's assumption of lieutenant gubernatorial office in 1989, Democrats in the Senate modified the body's rules, transferring the powers to appoint committees and assign bills away from the lieutenant governor and to the president pro tempore. This dramatically increased the influence of the latter position.

Powers and duties

The president pro tempore is responsible for appointing the members of the Senate's committees at the opening of each legislative session. They also have the power to appoint some members of state executive boards.

North Carolina Senate presiding officers

Speakers

The following members were elected speakers of the Senate:

Samuel Ashe 1777
Whitmell Hill 1778
Allen Jones 1778–1779
Abner Nash 1779–1780
Alexander Martin 1780–1782
Richard Caswell 1782–1784
Alexander Martin 1785
James Coor 1786–1787
Alexander Martin 1787–1788
Richard Caswell 1789
Charles Johnson 1789
William Lenoir 1790–1795
Benjamin Smith 1795–1799
Joseph Riddick 1800–1804
Alexander Martin 1805
Joseph Riddick 1806–1811
George Outlaw 1812–1814
John Branch 1815–1817
Bartlett Yancey 1817–1828
Jesse Speight 1828–1829
Bedford Brown 1829–1830
1830–1832
William D. Moseley 1832–1835
(Whig) 1836–1837
1838–1841
Louis Dicken Wilson 1842–1843
Burgess S. Gaither 1844–1845
1846–1847
Calvin Graves 1848–1849
1849
Weldon N. Edwards 1850–1852
Warren Winslow 1854–1855
William Waightstill Avery 1856–1857
Henry Toole Clark 1858–1861
Giles Mebane 1862–1865
Thomas Settle 1865–1866
1866
Matthias Manly 1866
Joseph Harvey Wilson 1867

Presidents pro tempore

The following members were elected president pro tempore of the Senate:

1868–1869
Edward Jenner Warren (D) 1870–1872
1872–1875
James L. Robinson (D) 1876–1877
William A. Graham (D) 1879–1880
William T. Dortch (D) 1881–1883
Edwin T. Boykin 1885–1887
(D) 1889
W. D. Turner (D) 1891
1893
(P) 1895–1897
(D) 1899–1900
(D) 1899—1900
(D) 1901–1903
(D) 1905–1908
(D) 1909
Henry N. Pharr (D) 1911–1913
Oliver Max Gardner (D) 1915
(D) 1917
Lindsay C. Warren (D) 1919–1920
(D) 1921–1924
(D) 1925
(D) 1927
(D) 1929
(D) 1931
William G. Clark (D) 1933
(D) 1935
(D) 1937–1938
(D) 1937–1938
(D) 1939
John Davis Larkins Jr. (D) 1941
(D) 1943
(D) 1945
(D) 1947
(D) 1949
(D) 1951
(D) 1953
(D) 1955–1956
(D) 1957
(D) 1959
(D) 1961
Ralph H. Scott (D) 1963
Robert B. Morgan (D) 1965–1966
(D) 1967
(D) 1969
Frank N. Patterson Jr. (D) 1971
Gordon P. Allen (D) 1971–1974
John T. Henley (D) 1975–1978
W. Craig Lawing (D) 1979–1984
J. J. Harrington (D) 1985–1988
Henson P. Barnes (D) 1989–1992
Marc Basnight (D) 1993–2010
Phil Berger (R) 2011–present

References

McLaughlin, Mike (January 1994). "President Pro Tem's Office Evolves into Senate Power Center" (PDF). N.C. Insight. N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. pp. 40–41.
"Structure of the North Carolina General Assembly". North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
Cooper & Knotts 2012, p. 145.
Connor, R. D. D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. pp. 453–. Retrieved April 27, 2019., Alternate link
Wheeler, John H. (1874). "The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina". Retrieved April 9, 2019.
"Session Laws: North Carolina". HeinOnline. New York: William S. Hein & Co., Inc. Retrieved March 22, 2019. (subscription required)
Lewis, J. D. "NC Revolution State House 1780". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
Carraway, Gertrude (1979). "James Coor". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Robinson, Blackwell P. (1979). "David Caldwell". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Keating, Mary R. (1996). "Hugh Waddell". NCPedia. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
"North Carolina portrait index, 1700-1860". NCDCR.gov. 1963. p. 234.
Murphy, Eva (1988). "Andrew Joyner". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Johnston, Hugh Buckner (1996). "Louis Dicken Wilson". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Humber, John L. (1986). "Calvin Graves". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Cheney, John L. Jr. (1974). North Carolina Government, 1585–1974. pp. 447–448.
Alexander, Roberta Sue (1996). "Edward Jenner Warren". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
was at some point elected President pro tempore but then immediately became President of the Senate due to the vacancy in the office that resulted when Lt. Gov. Curtis Hooks Brogden succeeded to the governorship. (see NC Manual of 1913, p. 476, where Armfield is listed as president of the Senate)
Powell, William S. (1991). "James Turner Morehead, Jr". Retrieved October 3, 2019.
Hunt, James L. "The Making of a Populist: Marion Butler, 1863-1895: Part I." The North Carolina Historical Review, vol. 62, no. 1, 1985, pp. 53–77. "Butler vigorously attacked Kerr and other conservative Democrats."
Biographical Sketches of the members of the General Assembly, 1895
T. Clarence Stone was elected President pro tempore when the 1963 legislature convened, but since President of the Senate (Lt. Governor) Harvey Cloyd Philpott had died, Stone immediately became President of the Senate. The Senate then elected Scott as President pro tem. (News & Observer blog comment by state legislative drafting director Gerry Cohen)

Structure of the North Carolina General Assembly
North Carolina Manual, published by the North Carolina Secretary of State

Works cited

Cooper, Christopher A.; Knotts, H. Gibbs, eds. (2012). The New Politics of North Carolina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469606583.

[1] McLaughlin, Mike (January 1994). "President Pro Tem's Office Evolves into Senate Power Center" (PDF). N.C. Insight. N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. pp. 40–41.

[2] "Structure of the North Carolina General Assembly". North Carolina General Assembly. Retrieved August 27, 2022.

[FOOTNOTECooperKnotts2012145-3] Cooper & Knotts 2012, p. 145.

[Manual1913-4] Connor, R. D. D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. pp. 453–. Retrieved April 27, 2019., Alternate link

[Manual1874-5] Wheeler, John H. (1874). "The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina". Retrieved April 9, 2019.

[6] "Session Laws: North Carolina". HeinOnline. New York: William S. Hein & Co., Inc. Retrieved March 22, 2019. (subscription required)

[Lewis1780-7] Lewis, J. D. "NC Revolution State House 1780". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 27, 2019.

[8] Carraway, Gertrude (1979). "James Coor". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[9] Robinson, Blackwell P. (1979). "David Caldwell". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[10] Keating, Mary R. (1996). "Hugh Waddell". NCPedia. Retrieved September 23, 2019.

[11] "North Carolina portrait index, 1700-1860". NCDCR.gov. 1963. p. 234.

[Joyner-12] Murphy, Eva (1988). "Andrew Joyner". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[13] Johnston, Hugh Buckner (1996). "Louis Dicken Wilson". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[14] Humber, John L. (1986). "Calvin Graves". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[Cheney-15] Cheney, John L. Jr. (1974). North Carolina Government, 1585–1974. pp. 447–448.

[16] Alexander, Roberta Sue (1996). "Edward Jenner Warren". NCPedia. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[17] was at some point elected President pro tempore but then immediately became President of the Senate due to the vacancy in the office that resulted when Lt. Gov. Curtis Hooks Brogden succeeded to the governorship. (see NC Manual of 1913, p. 476, where Armfield is listed as president of the Senate)

[18] Powell, William S. (1991). "James Turner Morehead, Jr". Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[19] Hunt, James L. "The Making of a Populist: Marion Butler, 1863-1895: Part I." The North Carolina Historical Review, vol. 62, no. 1, 1985, pp. 53–77. "Butler vigorously attacked Kerr and other conservative Democrats."

[20] Biographical Sketches of the members of the General Assembly, 1895

[21] T. Clarence Stone was elected President pro tempore when the 1963 legislature convened, but since President of the Senate (Lt. Governor) Harvey Cloyd Philpott had died, Stone immediately became President of the Senate. The Senate then elected Scott as President pro tem. (News & Observer blog comment by state legislative drafting director Gerry Cohen)