NC lawmakers back this week for overrides, but not budget

After more than a month of inaction, state lawmakers will return to Raleigh this week to resume work aimed at finishing the regular legislative session.

The state budget is already six weeks late due to deadlocked negotiations between House and Senate Republicans. That stalemate could stretch into September, according to House Speaker Tim Moore, so the budget isn’t a likely candidate for action this week. However, a slew of bills, conference reports and veto overrides remain to be considered.

Moore has scheduled five veto override votes for Wednesday. Those vetoes include two bills loosening rules for charter schools, two bills targeting LGBTQ+ minors, and one that would change the state’s building code oversight. All five were vetoed by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper in early July.

House override bills

Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. House Bill 574 would ban transgender girls and women from competing in women's sports in middle school, high school and college athletics in North Carolina.

Sponsors say allowing transgender female athletes to compete against athletes who were born female is unfair, because transgender women are bigger and stronger and faster. But critics say the ban is unnecessary. Only two transgender girls have even sought permission to compete in high school athletics in North Carolina.

Gender transition for minors. House Bill 808 would prohibit any medical professional from providing gender-affirming medical care to any transgender patient under 18, including hormone treatments or puberty blockers as well as surgical procedures, even if the minor’s parent consents.

Supporters of the bill say they're trying to protect underage people from making decisions that could have life-long consequences. But opponents say gender-affirming care can be lifesaving for young transgender people, and all major medical groups support it.

Code council reorganization and amendments. House Bill 488 would divide the state’s current Building Code Council into two bodies, one focused on residential buildings and the other on commercial. It would also ban the council from updating the current building code and adding new energy efficiency rules, and allow the builders of multifamily units to use less fire-proofing between dwellings.

The bill is supported by builders, contractors and developers; its main sponsor is Rep. Mark Brody, R-Union, a contractor. The measure is opposed by local fire marshals, environmentalists and consumer protection advocates.

Charter school review board. House Bill 618 would create a new board to vet and grant charter school applications. It would be able to reconsider any application rejections by the State Board of Education from July 2022 onward.

Supporters of charters have maintained for years that the State Board of Education, which currently makes those decisions, is insufficiently supportive of charters and too slow to act on applications. The new review board, which would mostly be appointed by Republican lawmakers, would likely be more receptive. Opponents say the power to approve applications should remain with the state board of education. They say the new board would be under political pressure to be overly permissive in approving or renewing schools.

Charter School Omnibus. House Bill 219 includes an array of changes loosening state law governing charter schools. It would allow them to expand without permission as long as they’re not low-performing and allow them to give preferential treatment to some applicants. It would also let them enroll and charge tuition for out-of-state and foreign exchange students. And it would give counties authority to use — and even raise — property tax revenue for charters’ capital needs, which currently isn’t legal. It would also ban regulators from considering the impact of a new charter on local school districts in the application process.

Supporters say the measure would even the financial playing field for charters and make it easier for them to grow to meet demand. Opponents, including many traditional public school advocates, warn it would drain capital funds from districts and could result in over-proliferation of charters in some districts.

A supermajority with no wiggle room

Republicans in the state House and Senate hold veto-proof majorities — but only barely. A veto override requires support from all 72 Republicans in the House and all 30 Republicans in the Senate. If even one or two Republicans are absent, and if all Democrats are present and voting against an override, it will fail.

That’s one reason the override votes haven’t happened yet in the House. Four of the five override votes have been delayed five times already because some GOP members were unable to attend those sessions.

The regular legislative session is usually over by mid-July, so many lawmakers schedule travel, family vacations and medical procedures in mid-July and August, making it a challenge to get all of them into the chamber on any given day in that period.

The House and Senate also have differing rules on how vetoes are handled. The law doesn’t require, and neither body has set, a time limit within which they have to take up a veto override, also known as “reconsideration.”

The Senate’s rules require the majority party to give 24 hours’ notice to the minority party before an override vote can be held. The House’s rules are less strict, allowing an override vote “on the legislative day [a veto] is received in the House from the Senate or Governor or any other legislative day it is printed on the calendar,” which often isn’t published until late the preceding evening.

If House Republicans aren’t sure they’ll have sufficient members present to override a veto, they’ll generally reschedule the override vote rather than risk it. In the Senate, there are fewer members to account for. They generally don’t schedule an override vote until they’ve found a day that will work.

The other veto

A sixth veto could be taken up this week, but it wouldn’t start in the House.

Senate Bill 49, Parents Bill of Rights, passed its final legislative vote June 29, largely along party lines. While no Democrats in the House or Senate voted for it, one House Republican — Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke — voted against it.

It was vetoed July 5 by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, who called it a “don’t say gay” bill, evoking a law passed in Florida. Cooper warned it would “scare teachers into silence by injecting fear and uncertainty into classrooms.”

Under legislative rules, vetoed bills get their first override vote in the chamber where the bill originated. The bill was sent to Senate Rules July 6 and has not moved since.

Speaking to reporters July 31, Senate leader Phil Berger said the Senate will vote to override the veto of S49 “at some point.” So far, no override vote has been scheduled.

Berger spokeswoman Lauren Horsch said last week that the full Senate is expected to be in Raleigh this week, but no votes are on their calendar yet.