NC GOP overturns 5 Cooper vetoes, as top Democrat accuses them of ‘creating a monster’

North Carolina Republicans, wielding their veto-proof supermajority in the General Assembly on Tuesday, overturned vetoes from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper one by one.

They implemented a variety of controversial changes, stripping powers from the governor, advancing a pipeline project and overhauling election rules.

Before one vote, the House’s Democratic leader said the bills give too much power to top Republicans and said lawmakers are creating “a monster.”

Protesters gathered outside the Legislative Building ahead of the veto override votes.

“We feel strongly that America is at a tipping point between democracy and autocracy, that the Earth herself is at a tipping point towards destruction and that the leadership of the General Assembly is pushing at that tipping point in the wrong direction towards autocracy, towards environmental destruction and climate collapse,” Karen Ziegler, a protester with Democracy out Loud, said.

In the first veto they completed, lawmakers took away appointments from the governor, setting up a test of North Carolina’s separation of powers.

The office of the North Carolina governor is already weak by design compared to other states. Lawmakers have gradually taken away power from Cooper, including some measures prompted by Cooper’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Cooper isn’t running again, but the latest changes will also affect the next governor’s administration.

Republicans, who dominate the General Assembly with a veto-proof supermajority, have overridden 19 vetoes from the governor this session alone.

Here are all the bills that passed into law Tuesday:

SB 747: Elections Law Changes

Senate Bill 747 eliminates the three-day grace period for receiving absentee ballots, bans the use of private money for election administration and empowers partisan poll observers to watch the voting process.

Republicans proposed the bill after meeting with Cleta Mitchell, a former lawyer for former President Donald Trump who went on to found an election integrity group. A special grand jury in Georgia recommended charges against Mitchell in September, alleging her involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Prosecutors did not end up charging her.

In his veto message, Cooper wrote the bill “has nothing to do with election security and everything to do with Republicans keeping and gaining power ... North Carolina has conducted fair and secure elections but this bill will block voters and their ballots unnecessarily.”

Sen. Warren Daniel, one of the bill’s Republican sponsors, responded to Cooper’s veto in August, saying that, “When North Carolina voters vote, democracy wins. That’s why we are creating a secure election system that makes it easy to vote and protects election integrity.”

Responding to criticism about the eliminating of the grace period for receiving absentee ballots, Daniel said that the “most inaccurate criticism of the bill is that it will quote cause legal ballots to be thrown out. As you know, in any ball game if you score a touchdown after the buzzer sounds, it doesn’t count.”

Democratic Sen. Kandie Smith of Greenville spoke against the bill on the Senate floor.

“Our voting process will become far less fair and free is SB 747 is enacted,” she said. “This bill is a monster and the provisions contained within it should not be taken lightly.”

Marc Elias, a prominent attorney for Democratic causes, said on X, formerly Twitter, that the state “will be sued” over the bill if it passes.

A day later, the Senate voted 30-19 and the House followed, 72-44, passing the bill into law.

SB 749: No Partisan Advantage in Elections

Senate Bill 749 overhauls state and local elections boards, removing all appointments from the governor and giving them to legislative leaders. Currently, these boards are structured to have a majority of members from the governor’s party. The new law requires all boards to have an even number of Republicans and Democrats, raising the possibility of deadlocked votes.

Few remedies for ties are mentioned in the bill, other than a section which says that if the State Board of Elections cannot agree to hire an executive director within 30 days, the decision goes to the General Assembly.

“The legislative takeover of state and local elections boards could doom our state’s elections to gridlock and severely limit early voting,” Cooper said in his veto message. “It also creates a grave risk that Republican legislators or courts would be empowered to change the results of an election if they don’t like the winner.”

Daniel, who also sponsored this bill, responded with a statement saying, “Single-party control has led to distrust and skepticism among voters. Voters should be asking themselves why Gov. Cooper is so desperate to maintain his partisan grip on the State Board of Elections.”

Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Durham Democrat, warned the bill could create chaos and gridlock if the boards cannot agree.

“This bill was never about strengthening our elections, it’s about a power grab,” she said.

Rep. Marcia Morey, another Durham Democrat, noted that Republicans attempted to pass a similar plan via constitutional amendment in 2018. Over 60% of voters rejected it.

The Senate voted 30-19 and the House completed the override with a vote of 72-44.

SB 512: Greater Accountability for Boards and Commissions

Senate Bill 512 takes away several of the governor’s appointments and gives them to the legislature and other Council of State members. It targets a variety of boards, such as the Department of Transportation, the Railroad Board of Directors and the Utilities Commission.

“Fundamentally it violates the separation of powers enshrined in the state Constitution,” Cooper said in a statement when he vetoed the bill in August. “... Legislative efforts to seize executive power are unconstitutional and damage vital state work.”

GOP leaders have acknowledged the bill is likely to face legal challenges but say they believe it to be constitutional.

Daniel said during debate Tuesday that it brings “balance and accountability to these unelected boards.”

Democratic Sen. Julie Mayfield countered that the bill “represents an unconstitutional step away from our democratic system of government and toward an authoritarian one.” Despite the name, the bill shows a “lack of accountability,” she said.

“It represents a dilution of the sacred separation of powers and a concentration of additional power in this body. We should be concerned about both of those things, and that if the Democrats were in power, and making these moves, you would be crying foul, just as we are,” Mayfield said during the floor debate.

Mayfield called the bill a “legislative power grab.”

Rep. Tim Longest, a Wake County Democrat, called the bill a “sweeping” and unconstitutional change to the governor’s power.

And House Minority Leader Robert Reives, a Chatham County Democrat, said lawmakers are “creating a monster. We’re creating a legislature that is far beyond what anybody involved in the creation of the constitution had in mind.”

The Senate voted 30-19. Minutes later, the bill was sent to the House, which pass the bill into law with a vote of 72 to 44.

SB 678: Clean Energy/Other Changes

Senate Bill 678 allows a utility company to reclassify nuclear energy as “clean energy,” meaning the power source will count toward carbon-free energy goals.

“North Carolina is on a bipartisan path to removing carbon from our electric power sector in the most cost-effective way,” Cooper said in his veto message. “This bill attempts to diverge from that path by trying to put construction of traditional power plants, and higher profits for the utility companies, over lower-cost solutions like energy efficiency.”

Duke Energy North Carolina has expressed interest in building nuclear reactors in the state.

In a statement, Sen. Paul Newton, the bill’s sponsor and former state president of Duke Energy, said “Gov. Cooper’s hardline opposition to nuclear power is a slap in the face to North Carolina’s energy industry. He would rather glorify the Green New Deal than strengthen energy production in our state.”

The Senate voted 30-19, followed by the House on a vote of 77-37.

HB 600: Regulatory Reform Act of 2023

House Bill 600 loosens water quality requirements for a controversial pipeline project called MVP Southgate.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has denied water quality certifications for the project in the past, but the bill would make it easier for MVP Southgate to get certified.

The bill also limits the scope of what DEQ regulators can consider when permitting hog farms.

“This bill is a hodgepodge of bad provisions that will result in dirtier water, discriminatory permitting and threats to North Carolina’s environment,” Cooper said in his veto message.

In a statement, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Zenger, said “House Bill 600 is a good-faith effort to help reduce the regulatory burden on North Carolinians and their businesses. I am disappointed that Governor Cooper has sided with radical, environmentalist, job crushing bureaucrats over the people of North Carolina.”

The House voted 76 to 39, and the Senate completed the override by a vote of 30-18.