Ralph Hise

Ralph E. Hise, Jr. (born August 15, 1976) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represents District 47 in the North Carolina Senate.[1] Hise joined the Senate in 2011 after winning election on November 2, 2010. He is from Spruce Pine, North Carolina.[2]

Ralph Hise
Deputy President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byLouis Pate
Member of the North Carolina Senate
from the 47th district
Assumed office
January 26, 2011
Personal details
Born (1976-08-15) August 15, 1976
Mitchell County, North Carolina
Political partyRepublican
Alma materAppalachian State University, North Carolina State University

Early life and career

Hise is a native of Mitchell County, North Carolina. He attended Mitchell High School, before graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He received a B.S. in statistics from Appalachian State University before going on to complete a master's degree in higher education administration from North Carolina State University.[3] He is a statistician by trade,[4] and is currently serving as the Coordinator of Special Projects at Mayland Community College in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.[3]

Political career

At 35 years old in 2011, Hise was the youngest Republican member of the North Carolina Senate.[3]

Hise is a member of the Education/Higher Education Committee, the Pensions & Retirement and Aging Committee, the Program Evaluation Committee, the Redistricting Committee, and the Transportation Committee. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriation Committee and the Vice- Chairman of the Insurance Committee.[4]

He has also served on several non-standing committees including serving as the Chairman of the Efficiencies in State Government Committee, and as a member of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Information Technology, the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee, the Property Insurance Rate Making Committee, the Retirement Benefits for Teachers and State Employees Committee, and the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.[4]

Hise is also a Chairman of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid and NC Health Choice serving as the co-chair appointed by the Senate.[4] From this position Ralph Hise convinced the Senate to reject the portion of House Bill 998, "a bill to study rural healthcare needs", which would have implemented a study to explore expanding Medicaid in North Carolina under the Affordable Care Act.[5]

On January 9, 2019, he succeeded Senator Louis Pate as the Deputy President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate.[6]

Campaign finance investigation

In 2017, a North Carolina activist filed two complaints with the North Carolina Board of Elections. The complaints accused Hise of allegedly committing a variety of campaign finance violations, including "allegedly paying himself more than $10,000 from his campaign fund."[7]

At the time he was also the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Elections. After the State Board of Elections began investigating the accusations that Hise had broken campaign finance laws, Ralph Hise introduced Senate Bill 68, which altered the power and structure of the Board of Elections that was investigating him. The bill consolidated the State Board of Elections and State Board of Ethics into one entity called the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement whose Chair switches between the two dominant parties every year such that the Chair is a Republican every even numbered year. The law also required county boards of elections to switch Chairs in the same manner. Ralph Hise refused to recuse himself from the consideration of the Bill when called on to do so due to the ongoing investigation.[8] Senate Bill 68 was passed into law, but it was appealed before the Supreme Court of North Carolina, which ruled on January 26, 2018 that the appointment provisions violated the state Constitution.[9]

In 2017, Hise "paid Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein law firm $7,700 in connection with a campaign finance audit by the state board of elections. Hise also paid his treasurer $9,000 for the audit."[10]

As of 2018, the North Carolina Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement had not commented on the matter.[11]

Hise, along with State Representative Josh Dobson, was forced to forfeit money received from the Pfizer Inc. Political Action Committee, along with several other government officials in the largest campaign donation forfeitures in North Carolina history[12] due to donations dated during the legislative session in 2017. Hise publicly stated afterwards, "I did not receive contributions during session. I was informed by the State Board of Elections, along with over 40 other legislators from both parties, that Pfizer cut the checks during a special session of the General Assembly. The date they were received by my campaign was a legal date. As requested, I returned the contributions to State Board of Elections."

Personal life

Hise lives in Spruce Pine with his wife Linn and twin eight-year-old sons, Thomas and Deren, and attends Abundant Life Outreach Church.[3]

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References
  2. "Ralph Hise". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  3. "Paid for by Ralph Hise for NC Senate | Treasurer, Shirley Hise". Ralphhise.com. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  4. NC General Assembly webmasters. "North Carolina General Assembly". Ncleg.net. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  5. "Senators say no to a study of expanding Medicaid in North Carolina". newsobserver. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  6. <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSenRalphHise%2Fposts%2F10156138739691647&width=500" width="500" height="726" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe>
  7. Roberts, Brandon (May 17, 2017). "State Senator facing allegations of violating NC disclosure laws". Mitchell News Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  8. Jarvis, Craig (May 9, 2017). "Watchdog group calls on Sen. Hise to recuse himself over campaign finance accusations". The News & Observer. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  9. "The Fate of North Carolina Senate Bill 68: Still Uncertain and Still Causing Issues for Local Counties - State of Elections". State of Elections. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  10. "Steak dinners, travel, HOA fees: How some NC legislators spend campaign donors' money". newsobserver. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
  11. Killian, Joe (February 8, 2018). "Elections/Ethics board still silent on Hise investigation; Senator reports spending campaign funds on lawyers, accountants". North Carolina Policy Watch. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  12. Reports, From Staff. "Hise, Dobson forfeit contributions from Pfizer PAC". McDowellNews.com. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
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