NC governor vetoes bill that would strip power from Democrats

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) vetoed a bill Tuesday that would strip power away from incoming Democratic officials in favor of Republican officials and the GOP-controlled Legislature.

Cooper issued the veto after both houses of the Legislature approved it last week to condemnation from critics, who complained the legislation was unveiled shortly before it received its first vote. The bill will now head back to the Legislature for a possible override.

The legislation is framed as a relief measure allocating $227 million from the state’s savings fund to a relief fund for responding to the impacts of Hurricane Helene, which ravaged the western parts of the state in September, causing record damage estimated to cost more than $50 billion.

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But Cooper and Democrats have blasted the bill for also making a wide range of changes to state election law and reducing the power of the governor and other officials.

The bill would take away the governor’s ability to appoint members of the state election board, granting that power to the state auditor, and limit the attorney general’s authority when handling out-of-state lawsuits, preventing them from taking a position contrary to any statute that the Legislature has passed. It would also eliminate the state superintendent’s authority to appeal decisions from the state Charter Schools Review Board.

The incoming governor, attorney general and state superintendent are all Democrats, while the incoming auditor is a Republican.

The bill would also require the governor to only appoint replacement state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals judges that are recommended by the party of the retiring justice. Republicans currently have a 5-2 majority on the state Supreme Court.

While President-elect Trump won North Carolina in the presidential race by about 3 percentage points, Democrats otherwise saw successes in the state, winning the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general races. They also picked up a seat in the state House, breaking a Republican supermajority that has allowed the GOP to frequently override vetoes from Cooper this term.

Republicans will lose the supermajority when the new term starts in January, giving more power to Gov.-elect Josh Stein’s veto once he is in power. The Legislature needs a three-fifths majority to override a veto.

If all current members of the Legislature vote along party lines, the veto could be overridden, but three Republicans from western North Carolina originally voted against the bill. Those members would likely have to change their votes for the override to be successful.

Cooper said in a statement announcing his veto that the legislation is a “sham” and unconstitutional.