‘Attendance matters.’ How NC House rules change may make it easier to bypass Cooper

This legislative session, what becomes law and what doesn’t is all about who shows up.

Like the “Hamilton” musical, it really is about being in the room where it happens.

A piece of paper under the glass on a Republican’s House seat on opening day had two words in all caps: “ATTENDANCE MATTERS.”

It certainly does.

When someone’s not in the room, the math changes for the three-fifths supermajority needed to override vetoes from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. Of the 120 House members, 71 are Republican, one short of three-fifths.

House members may be absent for a variety of reasons, including health, family and work. Under new rules, the House doesn’t have to give notice on its calendar of potential veto override votes, WRAL-TV first reported.

In previous years, notice has been required — although that didn’t mean a vote happened immediately. Instead, potential votes were placed on the calendar. In 2019, potential override votes for an abortion bill and the state budget languished on the calendar for several weeks until House Speaker Tim Moore decided to call the vote.

“What we did was we get rid of the provision that spelled out the way veto overrides are done,” Moore told reporters Wednesday. He said the rules change gives “flexibility” for passing bills.

In a statement Wednesday evening, Cooper said the move “slaps democracy in the face.”

House Rules Chair Destin Hall presented the temporary rules during the session, saying that he and Democratic Minority Leader Robert Reives agreed that they would not debate the rules that day.

“In light of the kumbaya for today,” Reives said on the floor, which was greeted with laughter, he would not “regale you with all the opposition I have” to the rules.

However, after the ceremonial session ended, Reives told reporters exactly what he thinks.

“So under the proposed rules, what would happen is the minute the governor vetoes it, it never has to get calendared, we never have to go through any notice process. Literally once he vetoed it, we’re on notice,” Reives said.

The temporary rules passed and permanent rules will be debated in February.

Reives said the the concentration is on vetoes, “because that’s a big deal this session. This is any bill. So if you’ve got a controversial bill ... now that bill can be popped up at any time.”

Reives said it holds lawmakers hostage, and said lawmakers may miss a vote if they have to leave the room to go to the bathroom, go to a meeting or leave the chamber for another reason.

Moore promises announcements

However, shortly after Reives talked to reporters, so did Moore, defending the proposed rules that he said are likely to remain unchanged next month when they can be easily passed by the Republican majority.

Moore told reporters that new rules aside, he will continue announcing the day before whether there will be votes the next day.

“If I say there are not going to be votes, there are not going to be votes,” he said.

Moore also said that if he tells Reives that there won’t be votes, there won’t be votes.

He referenced the 2019 House veto override of the budget, and said that was a miscommunication between others. Then-Democratic Minority Leader Darren Jackson and then-House Rules Chair David Lewis never agreed on how the miscommunication happened about whether there would be votes. That override vote, which received national attention because of the dramatic exchange between Moore and Democratic Rep. Deb Butler, was during a more contentious time in the House. Those days have the potential to return if a similar situation comes up.

‘Slaps democracy in the face’

Over in the Senate, the chamber adopted its permanent rules on Wednesday. The permanent rules for the session continue to say to “place the bill on the calendar for a day certain” and say the Senate Rules Committee chair or someone they’ve designated “shall give the Senate Minority Leader at least 24 hours’ notice that a vetoed bill may be considered by the Senate.

Cooper’s comment praised the Senate rules while criticizing the House.

“Not letting the public know when veto override votes will occur slaps democracy in the face and deceives citizen legislators who have overlapping work, family and constituent responsibilities they could change if they have proper notice,” Cooper said in a statement sent to reporters.

“Critical issues like women’s health, gun safety and voting rights are on the line, and Republican House leaders need to keep things above board and offer at least 24 hours notice before veto override votes as Senator Berger has done in the Senate,” Cooper said. “It’s a shame that House Republican leaders believe they can only override a veto through deception, surprise and trickery.”