McCrory vetoes overridden

In just 10 minutes, the N.C. Senate voted Wednesday to override Gov. Pat McCrory’s only two legislative vetoes, bringing the General Assembly’s 2013 special session to a close.

The action mirrored the N.C. House of Representatives’ decision Tuesday, which also attained the three-fifths majority necessary to override the governor’s veto on a welfare drug testing bill and an immigration bill.

The Senate voted 34-10 in favor of the welfare drug testing bill, which would require background checks and drug testing for some welfare applicants.

N.C. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Macon, said the bill was not designed to be an effective way to fight criminal drug abuse, but to make sure they were not supporting illegal drug use and moving illegal drug users toward self-sufficiency.

In response, McCrory said in a statement he would not implement the law until funds were available. The background checks and drug testing were not included in the 2013-15 state budget.

Mitch Kokai, an analyst for the conservative John Locke Foundation, said unless McCrory calls for another special session, the General Assembly cannot do anything to fund the law until the short session, which begins May 14.

The Senate also voted 39-5 to override the immigration bill veto, which extends how long employees can work in the state without verifying citizenship.

Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, said he supported it because it eliminates extra paperwork that farmers have to do every year and, despite misconceptions, it doesn’t support illegal immigration.

“It is the right thing to do for our (agricultural) community,” he said. “This bill in no way adds to the illegals, and if you’re hiring illegals, it’s still illegal to do so.”

Kokai was not surprised at the outcome because both chambers had a clear majority during previous votes — and the Senate had made clear its intent to override the vetoes.

“It really all boils down to what North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis wanted to do,” he said.

John Dinan, a Wake Forest University professor, said the governor and the legislature had agreed on many other bills, including ones on voter identification and abortion.

“The disagreement here probably shouldn’t overshadow the broad agreement for the rest of the session,” he said.

But Robert Dempsey, the N.C. Democratic Party’s executive director, said in a statement that the overrides show the General Assembly’s power.

“Republican majorities managed to band together and send Gov. McCrory a very loud and clear message of just who exactly is running the show in Raleigh,” Dempsey said.

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