Tuesday found North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, the first Richmond County native elected to statewide office since the early 20th Century, at the epicenter of a Raleigh power struggle for the very mandate voters gave him.

While Goodwin prevailed Tuesday, the major proponent of the proposal, who happens to be the most powerful member of the N.C. Senate, is promising it will resurface in another form.

The conflict began when North Carolina Senate President Pro-Tempore Marc Basnight was responsible for including a provision in the Senate’s budget proposal that would have done away with Goodwin’s authority to regulate the insurance industry in the state by handing his power over to an appointed commission.

“If this proposal had passed, it would have raised insurance rates for every single household and business in the state,” Goodwin said Wednesday. “It would have deregulated the insurance industry in North Carolina, and it would have neutered my authority and ability to protect the consumers of North Carolina.”

Tuesday, the Department of Insurance kicked into overdrive, calling a press conference before being made aware of who included the provision in the bill. Wednesday, Goodwin was in Washington, D.C. to meet with seven members of North Carolina’s federal delegation, including U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan and U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, in a bid to protect his power in Raleigh.

He said the measure was proposed “without any notice and without any consultation. Which is very sad because we’re talking about good government and accountability, and here is a bill that would’ve abolished my authority to enforce consumer protection laws and ensure fair rate-making for the policyholders of North Carolina,” Goodwin said Wednesday.

The Basnight move appeared to come as fallout from the “Coastal Property Insurance Pool” plan Goodwin struck between insurers and the state last August.

The plan raised the premiums coastal property owners pay and cut their maximum coverage from $1.5 million to $750,000, while offering state funds to pay for losses beyond $1 million in the event of a catastrophic hurricane or other disaster.

Basnight, a 13-term Democrat who represents eight counties covered in the plan, told reporters the measure was included in the budget by accident, but would be reintroduced in another form.

“(Goodwin) worked us up real good in the 20 coastal counties when they stuck it to us with the rate increases we experienced,” Basnight said at a Tuesday press conference. “That left a lot of people in very difficult straits. It was unfair. It was not something that was needed, and it was simply wrong.”

His original proposal would have created a seven-member commission of appointees to oversee the setting of maximum rates for the entire state, but at the press conference Basnight referred to a plan that would do so for only the 20 coastal counties.

“I would hope you will see it during the (current) short session,” Basnight told reporters.

He went on to elaborate on how the commission would function.

“It would be like the utility commission, ... a separate panel for the 20 coastal counties,” Basnight said, saying it would offer a “fairness of review.” “He will charge us one fee, and a different fee for the Piedmont and the western part of the state. So, we’re already separate in what we’re charged.”

Goodwin said the insurance commissioner has to face the voters every four years to give account for their work, while the commission would be “unelected and unaccountable.”

“In fact, it is very likely this commission would be controlled by special interests,” Goodwin said. “Namely, the insurance industry.”

North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. June Atkinson is embroiled in a lawsuit with Gov. Bev Perdue, who attempted to remove the power of her office in favor of a gubernatorial appointee.

Goodwin said this isn’t the first time the Department of Insurance has faced such a challenge.

“It happened three years ago, and we did the same thing by contacting the press and making the public aware of what was happening,” Goodwin said. “... It failed several years, and now it’s being brought up again at a time we when have even more burdens upon as policyholders.”

He said he will “remain vigilant and keep an eagle eye” on developments surrounding the issue.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.