Cooper vetoes two bills, citing environmental and racial justice concerns, but lets new budget become law
Concerns over environmental and racial equity issues caused Gov. Roy Cooper to veto two bills on Monday, he said in announcing his opposition to the legislation that state lawmakers passed last week.
One was the annual regulatory reform bill, House Bill 600. It would eliminate environmental oversight of how farmers dispose of dead chickens, end efforts to promote minority-owned businesses for state contracts and, critics say, would rubber-stamp the construction of a new natural gas pipeline.
"This bill is a hodgepodge of bad provisions that will result in dirtier water, discriminatory permitting and threats to North Carolina’s environment," Cooper wrote in his veto message. "It also ... blocks efforts to encourage diverse suppliers for state purchases, rules that would save taxpayer dollars and help businesses grow."
Rep. Jeff Zenger, a bill sponsor, called the measure "a good-faith effort to help reduce the regulatory burden on North Carolinians and their businesses." Zenger, R-Forsyth, said Cooper sided with "radical, environmentalist, job crushing bureaucrats" on the bill.
Cooper also vetoed Senate Bill 678, which incentivizes nuclear power by rewriting state laws promoting "renewable energy" to instead say "clean energy." He said renewable energy should remain the focus as North Carolina fights to address climate change. The bill's lead sponsor is Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, the former North Carolina president of Duke Energy.
"North Carolina is on a bipartisan path to removing carbon from our electric power sector in the most cost-effective way," Cooper wrote. "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."
Cooper's vetoes are unlikely to succeed in stopping the bills from becoming law. Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the legislature. And so far this year, they haven't yet failed to override any of Cooper's vetoes — which have come on issues ranging from abortion restrictions to environmental issues, transgender issues and more.
New laws also approved
The new state budget also now becomes law, after Cooper allowed it to go into effect without either signing or vetoing it. Cooper had previously announced his intention to do just that.
Cooper also signed a number of other bills into law Monday, or let them become law without his signature:
- House Bill 125: NC Health & Human Services Workforce Act.
- House Bill 142: Protect Our Students Act.-AB
- Senate Bill 211: Permit Multistate Water/Sewer Authority.
- Senate Bill 579: Prevent Harm to Children.
- Senate Bill 477: Amend Bus. Corp. Act/Bus. Opp. Disclosures.
- Senate Bill 531: Dam Safety Law Clarification.
- House Bill 8: Various Statutory Changes
- House Bill 361: Require Report/Protection & Advocacy Agency.
- Senate Bill 452: DOI & Ins Law Amd/Revise HS Athletics.
Pornography crackdown now law
House Bill 8 adds a computer science credit to the state's high school graduation requirements, but it also requires pornographic websites to use age verification so that people under 18 can't view the sites. Similar laws have also recently passed in other GOP-controlled states, with mixed results. Age verification laws in Texas and Arkansas were struck down as unconstitutional earlier this year, but Utah's version of the law survived a lawsuit.
The new North Carolina law would allow parents to sue website owners if their minor children access the sites after Jan. 1. This was added to the bill near the end of the underlying bill's legislative journey, generating little attention.
The bill also contains new accreditation protocols for state universities and community colleges, which Cooper called "an unnecessary burden" that will increase costs. Although Cooper signed it into law as part of the overall bill, he called on the legislature to reevaluate the accreditation requirements.
High school sports changes
On SB452, the insurance-and-high-school-sports bill, Cooper said he appreciates the changes it makes to auto insurance rules, giving more protections to local drivers. So he didn't veto it, he said, even though he slammed GOP lawmakers for adding in an unrelated provision at the last minute that also increases pressure on the North Carolina High School Athletics Association.
GOP lawmakers say the group has too much money that it doesn't share with member schools, and that it needs more oversight. The new law will restrict the NCHSAA from accepting corporate sponsorships and also takes away its final say on decisions, instead handing appeals off to the state superintendent of public instruction, Republican Cathy Truitt.
The changes materialized before a midnight vote last month as the state budget was also being debated. Republican lawmakers' animosity toward the NCHSAA dates back to 2019, when the association banned Anson High School from the state football playoffs after a game when multiple players were ejected for fighting. The school is in a district represented by Sen. Tom McInnis, one of the top-ranking members of GOP leadership, who has led the push to squeeze the NCHSAA.
"Legislators shouldn’t insert politics into schools and sports but instead allow the bipartisan compromise approved last session to continue so students can compete fairly with the support they need," Cooper wrote about the changes Monday.
Disability watchdog under scrutiny
Another new law, House Bill 361, requires Disability Rights NC, a federally designated watchdog over state services for people with mental and physical disabilities, to file new reports with the General Assembly. One due by the end of this year must provide specific examples of how the group has helped people with disabilities.
After that, Disability Rights NC would owe the legislature two status reports a year, and future legislatures are "encouraged to examine the activities of the agency to determine the impact on current and future state budgets."
The new reporting requirements are something of a shot across the bow because lawsuits filed by Disability Rights NC have pressed the state to reform the industry. Earlier this year the group sued the state, seeking to force hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending to help people with disabilities live at home.
The group was also part of a legal settlement that extended the grace period for mail-in ballots to arrive during the 2020 elections. That result infuriated GOP state lawmakers, who have since taken action against other parties to that legal settlement, including the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
A Disability Rights NC spokeswoman called the bill an unfunded mandate and said it sets a dangerous precedent by requiring a nonprofit law firm that doesn't receive state appropriations to report to the legislature.
