143B-926. Appointment and term of the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation.
(a) The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation shall be appointed by the Governor for a term of eight years subject to confirmation by the General Assembly by joint resolution. The term of office of the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation shall be for eight years; the first full term shall begin July 1, 2015. The name of the person to be appointed by the Governor shall be submitted by the Governor to the General Assembly for confirmation by the General Assembly on or before May 1 of the year in which the term for which the appointment is to be made expires. Upon failure of the Governor to submit a name as herein provided, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives jointly shall submit a name of an appointee to the General Assembly on or before May 15 of the same year. The appointment shall then be made by enactment of a bill. The bill shall state the name of the person being appointed, the office to which the appointment is being made, the effective date of the appointment, the date of expiration of the term, the residence of the appointee, and that the appointment is made upon the joint recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Nothing precludes any member of the General Assembly from proposing an amendment to any bill making such an appointment. If there is no vacancy in the office of the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, and a bill that would confirm the appointment of the person as Director fails a reading in either chamber of the General Assembly, then the Governor shall submit a new name within 30 days.
(b) The Director may be removed from office only by the Governor and solely for the grounds set forth in G.S. 143B-13(b), (c), and (d). In case of a vacancy in the office of the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation for any reason prior to the expiration of the Director's term of office, the name of the Director's successor shall be submitted by the Governor to the General Assembly not later than 60 days after the vacancy arises. If a vacancy arises in the office when the General Assembly is not in session, an acting Director shall be appointed by the Governor to serve pending confirmation by the General Assembly. However, in no event shall an acting Director serve (i) for more than 12 months without General Assembly confirmation or (ii) after a bill that would confirm the appointment of the person as Director fails a reading in either chamber of the General Assembly.