(RALEIGH) -- A state Senate education committee is considering a proposal that would eliminate a cap on charter schools and create an independent commission to approve and monitor charter schools. The bill would transfer oversight from the State Board of Education to the North Carolina Public Charter Schools Commission.

Democratic Sen. Linda Garrou said the proposal would harm traditional public schools. "We are trying to reduce inefficiencies and consolidate government and here we're making a whole another level of bureaucracy and another way of taking money away from our public schools," said Garrou.

Bill sponsor Republican Sen. Richard Stevens said an independent commission is needed. "If we didn't do something like this a future board might say we just don't like charter schools, so we're going to create regulation such that there really won't be any. It's going to be impossible for the to do. We're going to make it so tough, so difficult that it'll never happen," said Stevens.

In addition, the bill would allow counties to use lottery proceeds for charter schools and remove restrictions on enrollment growth. Currently, charter schools can only grow by 10 percent each year.