Weekly Recap: A sweeping voting bill moves to Gov. Cooper as six new laws get enacted over his objection
North Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature enacted new laws imposing restrictions on LGBTQ youth seeking gender-affirming care and barring transgenders girls from competing in female sports.
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It’s been quite some time since we’ve had major activity in the legislature, and this week was chalk full of action. Let’s take a look at what you need to know…
6 Veto Overrides
On Wednesday, North Carolina lawmakers voted to turn six bills into law over the objection of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, matching a single-day record for overrides. All but one of the override votes passed with at least some Democratic support.
Cooper blasted GOP leaders for not devoting their attention to getting a budget passed this month, which would result in an Oct. 1 Medicaid expansion implementation date. Without a budget this month, Medicaid may not be expanded until Dec. 1.
Cooper said of the override votes, “These are the wrong priorities, especially when they should be working nights and weekends if necessary to get a budget passed by the end of the month."
🚸House Bill 219
What It Does: Makes it easier for charter schools to expand, in part by letting counties use property tax revenue to help charter schools and preventing local boards of education from discriminating against charter school pupils. Additionally, out-of-state and foreign exchange students could be admitted to charter schools.
House Override Vote: 74-45
Senate Override Vote: 27-18
Supportive Democrats: Reps. Cecil Brockman (Guilford County) and Shelly Willingham (Edgecombe County)
🏘️House Bill 488
What It Does: Creates a new Residential Code Council and makes several changes to North Carolina State Building Code provisions, land development regulations, and General Contractor licensing laws.
House Override Vote: 78-40
Senate Override Vote: 27-17
Supportive Democrats: Reps. Cecil Brockman (Guilford County), Carla Cunningam (Mecklenburg County), Nasif Majeed (Mecklenburg County), Garland Pierce (Scotland County), Shelly Willingham (Edgecombe County) and Michael Wray (Northampton County).
🏊♀️House Bill 574🏐
What It Does: Prevents people whose gender assigned at birth was male from competing on female sports teams in middle school, high school or college.
House Override Vote: 74-45
Senate Override Vote: 27-18
Supportive Democrats: Reps. Garland Pierce (Scotland County) and Michael Wray (Northampton)
🏫House Bill 618
What It Does: Converts the Charter Schools Advisory Board into the Charter Schools Review Board and shifts the ability to approve charters from the State Board of Education to the Review Board, with a right of appeal to the State Board of Education.
House Override Vote: 74-45
Senate Override Vote: 27-18
Supportive Democrats: Reps. Cecil Brockman (Guilford County) and Shelly Willingham (Edgecombe County)
👩⚕️House Bill 808
What It Does: Prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or performing gender transition surgeries to children, or the use of state funds for such practices.
But the new law could face successful legal challenges, as proposals elsewhere have been struck down.
Most recently, a federal judge ruled that a similar Alabama law banning gender-affirming treatments for people under 18 violated various parts of the U.S. Constitution.
House Override Vote: 74-45
Senate Override Vote: 27-18
Supportive Democrats: Reps. Garland Pierce (Scotland County) and Michael Wray (Northampton)
🎒Senate Bill 49
What It Does: Requires teachers and counselors to inform parents if their child expresses a desire to change their name or pronoun. The bill also prohibits instruction on gender identity, sexuality and sexual activity in K-4 curricula and allows parents to review all school library materials their child has borrowed.
Public school districts must also make available at the beginning of each school year to parents, students and school workers a “parent’s guide for student achievement” that includes policies for parents to inspect and review textbooks and other supplementary materials.
Additionally, SB49 sets a timeframe for parents to request and receive information. If the parent doesn’t receive information from a principal within 10-30 business days, the parent could then request that information from the school superintendent. If the superintendent doesn’t provide the information, records could then be requested from a governing board. The board must then place the issue on its agenda and makes a final decision.
House Override Vote: 72-47
Senate Override Vote: 27-18
Supportive Democrats: None
🗳️Major Voting Changes
North Carolina lawmakers sent Gov. Roy Cooper a bill that would make a number of changes to the way elections are conducted in the state.
Republicans say the changes will restore faith in elections, while Democrats argue that the tweaks will likely disenfranchise voters.
A few highlights of Senate Bill 747:
North Carolinians would no longer have until three days after the election to have their mail-in ballots received. Instead, their ballots would need to arrive at county elections offices by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Military and overseas voters could have their ballots counted if they are received the business day before the day of canvass
Partisan poll observers can move around more freely at polling sites and take photos and videos of certain activities at precincts, so long as they do not record any voter’s marked ballot
The use of private money in election administration would be prohibited. Republicans voiced concerns with 2020 election administration, particularly after North Carolina accepted nonpartisan election-administration grants primarily from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to purchase pens and other items
A mail-in ballot signature verification pilot program would be implemented for the 2024 primary election in 10 counties chosen by the State Board of Elections. The Senate wanted full implementation of signature matching, but signed off on changes the House made to begin with a pilot program and evaluate the feasibility of a statewide rollout in the 2024 general election
A person who registers and votes on the same day would need to have a “retrievable ballot” that county elections officials could throw out if an address cannot be verified
Cooper has until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 28 to veto the bill as expected. After that, GOP lawmakers are likely to override the veto to allow the bill to take effect in time for the 2024 primary.
GOP seeks to reduce Cooper’s influence over boards and commissions
Under Senate Bill 512, Cooper would lose the following appointment powers:
8 appointments to the Board of Transportation would instead go to the Republican-controlled legislature
4 appointments to Commission for Public Health would instead go to the Republican-controlled legislature
3 appointments to the Coastal Resources Commission would instead go the Republican-controlled legislature (2 members) and Commissioner of Insurance (1 member), currently a Republican
2 appointments to Environmental Management Commission would instead go to the Commissioner of Agriculture, currently a Republican
1 at-large appointment to the Wildlife Resource Commission would instead go the Commissioner of Agriculture, currently a Republican
1 appointment to the North Carolina Railroad Board of Directors would instead go the State Treasurer, currently a Republican
But the transfer of power away from the governor could be found unconstitutional, as the state Supreme Court has previously ruled in favor of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and Democratic Gov. Cooper in cases where Republicans sought to strip the governors of their ability to appoint members on boards.
Cooper has until Aug. 28 to act on the bill, which he is expected to veto and then face a subsequent override. The bill appears headed toward a legal fight over the separation of powers between the legislature and governor.
What to Watch For
The House and Senate aren’t expected to take action on bills this week. House Speaker Tim Moore told colleagues on Wednesday that the budget is now in the Senate’s hands and is waiting on final language to be firmed up.
Moore said it’s possible his chamber holds votes the week of Aug. 28.
But if we’ve learned anything this session, it’s not to take optimistic timetables from lawmakers, as we near two months of a new fiscal year without a budget deal.
Thank You
I expect to return to your inboxes soon with a fresh story. More on that to come…