With controversial rules change, NC House can more quickly vote on veto overrides

The North Carolina House of Representatives will operate under new rules that give members less notice than in prior years for efforts to override gubernatorial vetoes.

The GOP majority on Wednesday approved rules allowing legislators to vote to override vetoes on the same day the House receives an official notice of the veto — or the same day the state Senate overrides it. If an override vote is not taken in either of those scenarios, House members must wait until it is printed on the calendar published by the House clerk — giving them about a day’s notice.

Calendars are typically emailed to House members between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. the day before they convene. In prior years, House members were required to give two day’s notice before holding a vote to override a veto.

The new veto notice rules, combined with a separate rule that now gives the House speaker more power to rearrange the day’s events, seem like a “tactical” change to Rep. Deb Butler, D-New Hanover.

“It feels a little like that gotcha style of politics,” Butler said.

Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, who led his party’s effort to craft the rules, referred to the veto notice rules as a compromise.

“This rule makes it clear that members are going to have notice on days when a veto override might be taken up,” Hall said, adding that he presented the rule in good faith.

Hall’s verbal assurances, however, did little to comfort Democrats who are leery of the GOP’s intentions and need every vote they can get to support Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes.

Cooper, a Democrat, has vetoed many of the GOP’s controversial bills during his time in office. But his veto power was diminished after the November elections, when the GOP strengthened control in the House.

Legislators can override his vetoes if 60% of the chamber votes to do so. Republicans are just one seat shy of having enough votes to hit that mark, called a supermajority.

That leaves Democrats with little room for error. If two Democrats break the party line or fail to show up for a veto override vote while all Republicans are present, the GOP would be able to push its legislation past Cooper.

“If the goal is to enhance transparency,” Butler said, “What is the problem with more notice?”

Hall and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, have all but insisted that Democrats don’t have to worry about surprise votes. They’ve said they don’t plan to try to override Cooper unless they know they have the support needed to succeed.

“We’re going to try to override every veto that the governor issues,” Hall said. “However, it’s not our goal to do that through trickery or deceit.”

Some Democrats are still shaken, though, by a surprise vote that happened in 2019. One morning, while some Democrats were missing from the chamber, House Republicans called a vote and were able to override Cooper’s veto of their budget.

Republicans weren’t able to override Cooper’s veto in the state Senate, so his veto stood. But Democrats felt tricked because they said a GOP leader told them the morning would feature a non-voting session.

Moore, who didn’t preside as speaker that day in 2019, on Wednesday referred to that old vote as “a miscommunication between two members who are no longer here.” He told reporters he’s not interested in gamesmanship, adding that the coronavirus pandemic — and the problems it caused with voting — presented opportunities for “mischief” that no one ever took.

Minority Leader Robert Reives, D-Chatham, said his opposition to the rules change is not personal. It’s not about not trusting Moore or Hall. He said he’s worried about a lack of transparency and fairness. And his concerns are rooted in 10 years of experience.

“I promise you this: there is a bill that will hit this floor or hit a committee that you’re not in favor of,” Reives told his colleagues on the House floor. “And it’s all fun and games until that bill gets pulled up here. Then suddenly you wish you had notice. Suddenly, you wish you had been able to get your constituents in place. Suddenly you wish you’d been able to get people to send some emails.”