NC legislature overrides Gov. Cooper’s vetoes of mask changes and other bills
State lawmakers have enacted three bills over Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes, including a controversial law that will make changes to the state’s masking laws and crack down on protesters who block traffic.
The bill on the state’s masking law had been modified to include an unrelated campaign finance provision that critics said would allow more money from wealthy donors that is difficult to trace to pour into the state.
Cooper also vetoed bills that would require more teenagers facing criminal charges to be tried initially as adults, and allow billboard companies to cut down more trees along the state’s highways.
The House voted to override Cooper’s vetoes of the trio of bills Wednesday afternoon. They voted 70-46 to override the veto of the masking and campaign finance bill.
The Senate held its votes Thursday afternoon, completing the final step required to enact the bills over Cooper’s objections. The vote on the masking bill was 30-13.
Democratic Rep. Maria Cervania of Cary said Wednesday she “heard in this chamber time and time again that this law was not new, that no one ever had harassed or arrested anybody wearing a mask before for a health exemption. But that was before masks were politicized. And before a country became divided and a pandemic became a political issue.”
Despite what is claimed, she said, “the fact of the matter is very clear. North Carolinians do not view this bill as allowing them to protect their health.”
In his veto statement, Cooper had said the controversial changes to campaign finance law would create “a gaping loophole for secret, unlimited campaign money in the middle of an election year” and allow “anonymous out-of-state billionaires to flood North Carolina with campaign contributions to rescue extreme right-wing candidates that Republicans now fear will lose.”
GOP lawmakers have said the changes are needed to “level the playing field” for so-called 527 organizations — like national Democratic and Republican groups that spend money on campaigns for governor and attorney general — in how they handle and transfer funds from other sources to their preferred candidates.
The governor’s race, between Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, and the attorney general’s race, between Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, and Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, are expected to be among the most expensive races for those offices in the country.
Debate on the override of the vetoes was kept short. Asked about this lack of debate by House Minority Leader Robert Reives and Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison, Speaker Tim Moore said the bills had a “vigorous and open debate” in committees.
Moore then gave Democrats three minutes to speak on the mask bill, the same as the other two bills.
Masking bill
The masking bill was negotiated by a group of House and Senate Republicans after the two chambers disagreed on a Senate GOP proposal to repeal the health and safety exception to North Carolina’s longstanding ban on public mask-wearing.
That exception, which was added during the COVID-19 pandemic, allows people to mask in public to ensure “the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.”
The compromise bill agreed on by Republicans in both chambers rewrites that to be narrower, only allowing “medical and surgical grade” masks to be worn for the purpose of “preventing the spread of contagious disease.”
The bill also requires anyone wearing a mask for health reasons to take it off “upon request by a law enforcement officer.” That is broader language than existing law, which states people have to remove their masks if asked by law enforcement, during a traffic stop, at a checkpoint, or at a roadblock, or, if the officer has “reasonable suspicion or probable cause during a criminal investigation.”
Another provision states that people have to “temporarily remove the mask upon request by the owner or occupant of public or private property where the wearer is present to allow for identification of the wearer.”
Other sections of the bill establish stricter sentencing for people who wear masks to hide their identity while committing a crime, and increase criminal penalties for participating in a demonstration intended to impede traffic, or blocking emergency vehicles.
Organizers of demonstrations that block traffic would be civilly liable for any injuries or deaths that result from an emergency vehicle being obstructed.
Juvenile justice bills
House members voted with 70 votes in favor and 46 against to override Cooper’s veto of the juvenile justice bill. That measure would require 16- and 17-year-olds who commit Class A-E felonies to be tried first as adults in the state’s superior courts.
Currently, these teenagers are tried in juvenile court after a petition is filed. They are transferred over to superior courts after probable cause is found or they are indicted.
Democratic lawmakers and advocates have expressed concerns with the bill rolling back juvenile protections. Bill sponsors and proponents say the bill is a procedural change allowing the juvenile justice system to function more smoothly.
“The only reason I’ve heard this bill has come up is for one reason alone: expediency,” Durham Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey said Wednesday.
“I don’t think you’ll find the definition of justice is expediency. We are dealing with minors,” Morey said.
As for the bill on billboards, it would allow companies to remove trees and vegetation from state right-of-way up to 500 feet from the sign. Currently, the billboard view zone is limited to up to 380 feet along the roadway. The bill also eliminates protections for redbud trees. The House voted 74-42 to override the veto of the bill.
Under the Dome
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