As NC Gov. Cooper considers another controversial bill, here’s what he’s vetoed in 2024
North Carolina Republicans have successfully overturned all 11 vetoes from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in his final year in office. Now another bill waits on his desk that could also be passed into law over his objections.
The most controversial override this year happened this week, and another could be on the horizon before the end of the year.
Republicans have what has been a veto-proof supermajority in both the House and the Senate, though by slim margins in each chamber.
If election results hold up in recounts, Republicans will lose their supermajority by a single vote. That will keep them from overriding vetoes from incoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein without help from Democrats.
Republican House Rules Chair Destin Hall, a Caldwell County attorney, predicted his party would have a “working supermajority.” All they need is one Democrat to vote with them on a veto override, or none if enough Democrats are absent and Republicans present to carry the vote.
Cooper has vetoed 28 bills over the course of the 2023-2024 two-year legislative session, with all overturned. Of those, 19 were overturned in 2023, and 11 in 2024, with the last two overturned on Wednesday after final votes in the Senate.
House Bill 10, a mashup bill that both funds the private school voucher backlog and requires sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s immigration detainers, was overridden. The ICE cooperation aspect of the bill has been a Republican priority, particularly for Hall, who will be the next House speaker.
The voucher funding of about half a billion dollars will address a waitlist of families who wanted the taxpayer-funded Opportunity Scholarships for private school tuition once the income cap was lifted and became available to wealthy families, too.
Cooper vetoes overturned in 2024
Here are all the other bills that Cooper vetoed in 2024, and when each became law after Republican lawmakers overturned them:
▪ House Bill 198: DOT Legislative Changes. Cooper vetoed the bill in May, and the House and Senate overrode his veto in June.
▪ House Bill 834: Juvenile Justice Modifications. Cooper vetoed the bill in June, and it was overridden the same month.
When Cooper vetoed the bill, he said the bill “begins to erode our bipartisan ‘Raise the Age’ law we agreed to four years ago,” and that he was “concerned that this new law would keep some children from getting treatment they need while making communities less safe.”
The law sends 16- and 17-year-olds to adult court for certain felonies, where the Raise the Age law had kept them in juvenile court.
▪ House Bill 237: Various Criminal and Election Law Changes. Cooper vetoed it in June, and it was also overridden in June.
▪ House Bill 155: Titles for Off-Road Vehicles/Low Speed Vehicles Inspection. Cooper vetoed the bill in July, and it was overridden by the House later in July but not the Senate until September.
▪ House Bill 556: Tenancy in Common/E-Notary/Small Claims Changes. Like HB 155, this bill was vetoed in July, overridden by the House in July, and then in the Senate in September.
▪ Senate Bill 166: 2024 Building Code Regulatory Reform. Cooper vetoed the bill in July and the General Assembly overturned it in September.
The law reduced the number of appointees the governor can make to the NC Building Code Council, giving some appointments to the General Assembly, The N&O previously reported.
▪ House Bill 690: No Central Bank Digital Currency Payments to State. Cooper vetoed the bill in July. It was then overridden by the House in July and the Senate in September.
▪ Senate Bill 445: Recording of Court-Filed Documents. Cooper vetoed the bill in July and it was overridden by the Senate in September. The House did not hold its override until Nov. 19, the same day it overrode HB 10.
Legislature sends a new controversial bill to Cooper
Senate Bill 382, a bill written in secret that replaced a bill about dentistry and could not be amended before a vote, added a third round of Hurricane Helene disaster relief, but it’s also sweeping legislation that took away powers from Democratic elected officials like the governor and attorney general.
The new title of the bill is Disaster Relief 3/Budget/Various Law Changes, and it was sent to Cooper’s desk after it passed the final vote on Wednesday. Cooper has 10 days to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature. If he vetoes it, Republicans plan to override it during their session days in December.
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 11:25 AM with the headline "As NC Gov. Cooper considers another controversial bill, here’s what he’s vetoed in 2024."
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