NC lawmakers condemn US Capitol mob, vow to get along as they open their session
The North Carolina General Assembly started its 2021 session on Wednesday, and unlike in the session last summer, nearly everyone in the building wore masks.
And unlike in the U.S. Capitol, which became the scene of a failed insurrection on Jan. 6, in the state capital of Raleigh lawmakers began their work quietly and with ceremony. No crowds gathered outside.
Opening day is mostly ceremonial, with families often on the House and Senate floors. Instead, families were limited to the galleries above, and spaced out to follow the posted signs around the building about maintaining social distance.
Nearly all the lawmakers in the House and Senate wore masks, which follows Gov. Roy Cooper’s statewide mandate. The House and Senate sergeants-at-arms were also wearing masks, as were the General Assembly Police officers.
In a speech, Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, condemned last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol. He called it “the most symbolic and troubling episode of all” in a year of unrest, “a mob storming the seat of our national government.”
And Berger mentioned the smooth transfer of power when he and the GOP took the leadership role in 2011 from Democratic Sen. Marc Basnight, who recently died. “The fact that he and I had differences on policy did not prevent him from honorably and graciously surrendering power when the people rendered their election verdict,” Berger said.
Despite some security concerns in the wake of the Capitol riots, Wednesday’s opening day ceremonies happened without much commotion or protest — with one exception. As the Senate began its session, an unidentified woman in the indoor courtyard outside the chamber loudly yelled that one of the senators is “a crook and doesn’t deserve to be in the Senate.”
A reporter who witnessed the incident did not catch the senator’s name, and the woman was quickly escorted out of the building.
Across the hall in the House chamber, House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, was reelected as speaker. In a speech, Moore called it a day to “mark a new beginning for North Carolina.”
“Our nation faces a lot of uncertainty and a lot of challenges,” Moore said, and that folks are suffering in the health care crisis and economic crisis.
“I know that North Carolina is ready to lead the way forward,” Moore said, from COVID-19 and “strife.”
Condemning Capitol violence
Later in the day, Moore told reporters that he condemns the “embarassing” and “tragic” violence at the U.S. Capitol but does not supporting removing President Donald Trump for inciting it.
“There’s only a few days left in the president’s term. If we go down this road it’s only going to further inflame passions and divide the country. The election’s over. President Biden is going to be sworn in on the 20th,” he said.
Moore said North Carolina is a good example to Congress of working together. He said the temperature in the country needs to be lowered, and that he condemns all violence.
“It’s absolutely terrible that that officer lost his life,” Moore said about U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was killed during the failed insurrection.
“We need to put blame where it goes,” Moore said. “You’re not going to ever hear me defend anybody who went in there.”
Moore visited Philadelphia after the election for Republicans’ initial calls for a recount, which was described as “Stop the Steal.” Moore was pictured with a “Stop the Seal” sign. Asked about his role there, Moore said after he visited Philadelphia he didn’t see anything that could be proven and stopped talking about it.
“We have to respect the outcome of an election,” he said. “The only reason that I or any other elected official have the job of being here or anywhere else is because the people put us here. We have to respect the outcome of what the election is, even if it doesn’t go our way.”
This coming session
In his speech, Moore said he wants to continue passing COVID-19 relief unanimously like lawmakers did in 2020.
“So many kids right now are not in school. What do we do to make sure children are not left behind this year?” he said.
Moore told reporters that he’s working on ideas about what they can do to help children get caught up. He said Republican leaders are looking at testing students and then offering a fully-funded summer learning program if they need it. There is some federal money available they could use for summer learning, he said, but added he does not yet have a detailed plan.
“We’re doing a lot of listening,” Moore said, and that he wants to know anyone’s ideas.
Both Moore and Berger used their speeches to describe the state’s strong economy even amid COVID-19, which Cooper also touted in a recent interview.
Berger highlighted the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial pressure it will put on state government. He noted that a decade of conservative budgeting has created a “financial cushion” with billions of dollars in reserves and unspent revenue.
“Our policy prescriptions are largely unchanged,” he said, but he noted that with another term of Republican legislative majorities and a Democratic governor, compromise will be needed.
“I intend to work with all to find, develop, and expand common ground where it may exist, and I know many of you feel the same way,” Berger said. “Gov. Cooper and I have had multiple conversations since the election, and he offered a similar commitment.”
Leaders in the House talked about being united, agreeing to disagree and even a “kinder, gentler” General Assembly.
Leadership roles and committee assignments in the House included Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Mount Airy Republican, as speaker pro tempore. Stevens said that it doesn’t cost anything to be nice, and she hopes lawmakers can “agree to disagree” on some issues.
She said she wants to continue to see “a kinder, gentler, General Assembly.”
Rep. Kelly Alexander, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, is the new leader of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Rep. Robert Reives is the newly elected Democratic leader. Reives called for unity and an end to political bickering.
Masks in the legislature
The Senate adopted its chamber rules with only a few changes from the last session — but not before a brief discussion about face masks. Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, a Wake County Democrat, said he’d planned to propose an amendment that would require all senators, staff and visitors to wear masks in the Senate chamber, but he noted that nearly everyone was wearing one during Wednesday’s session. He said he wanted an assurance that Senate leaders would “insist” that practice continue.
Berger responded that he’ll “encourage and cajole folks to wear a mask out of respect for other members in the chamber. I am reluctant to make it a mandate. ... I believe that you will find that most members will see fit to continue to wear masks.”
Blue says he’ll revisit the issue if necessary later in the session by proposing a rules change if one proves to be necessary.
On the House side, most wore masks. Moore told reporters that he won’t enforce a mask mandate and that he’d prefer to lead by example, wearing a mask himself.
“I think it makes sense to wear them,” he said.
Only freshman House members’ families attended the ceremony to allow for social distancing.
“I’ve always had them here before with me and they didn’t make the trip because they really couldn’t be a part of it,” Republican Rep. Jason Saine of Lincoln County said, adding that he kept in touch by texting his wife.
Saine said he wore a mask last session off-and-on, and chose to wear a mask Wednesday out of respect, especially for the new lawmakers.
Sen. Wiley Nickel, a western Wake County Democrat, said he was grateful for the number of Republicans wearing masks on the Senate floor.
“I was very pleased that for the first time since I’ve been in the Senate, every single Republican in the Senate wore a mask for the entirety of the session, and I was grateful to them for following CDC recommendations and doing the right thing,” Nickel said. “I hope it will continue for the rest of the long session.”
What’s next
The legislature adjourned until Jan. 27, when they’ll come back to take up new legislation and, later this spring, tackle the state budget. Among the priorities are education, economic development, broadband internet and more.
Berger expects several mostly non-controversial issues will be on the agenda in the first few weeks.
One will be state spending for the recent federal coronavirus relief package — lawmakers will need to determine how some of the money coming to North Carolina will be allocated. Berger said he’s still awaiting further guidance from the federal government, but he anticipates “there is probably not as much leeway as far as what can be done at the state level.”
Last year’s COVID-19 relief measures from Congress left North Carolina with hundreds of millions of dollars to dole out. The latest package more clearly targets much of the money to specific programs.
Berger said that “one of the first things we’ll do” is pass legislation dealing with a rural broadband grant program. That bill is part of an agreement lawmakers reached with Cooper last month to ensure $30 million in broadband grants were issued as expected.
Cooper’s administration had raised concerns that the grants couldn’t be paid for with federal coronavirus dollars. So the governor’s office shifted some funds to solve the problem, and lawmakers will need to pass a budget adjustment to reflect that.
Another fight over the governor’s authority to enact COVID-19 restrictions could also be looming. Berger said legislators want to take another look at the governor’s emergency powers.
“It’s my belief that the governor’s exercise of emergency powers is inconsistent with what our system of government would expect,” Berger said. “I would like to see some changes, but what that bill would look like remains to be seen.”
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This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 3:03 PM with the headline "NC lawmakers condemn US Capitol mob, vow to get along as they open their session."