Gov. Josh Stein’s pen to be tested with potential vetoes, override votes
The time has arrived. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has a series of controversial bills on his desk to sign or veto. It’s the first test of the new balance of power between the governor and the legislature, even though we’re already five months into the General Assembly’s session.
Members of the legislature could go home to their districts at the end of June for a break as the House and Senate, both controlled by Republicans, haggle over a state budget deal.
For the third election in a row, North Carolina voters have chosen a Democratic governor and a majority-Republican legislature. Unaffiliated voters are the largest voting group, and most elections are nearly evenly divided when it comes to statewide votes for Democrats and Republicans.
Stein signed three noncontroversial bills on Friday, including a bill to create an investment authority to manage the state pension plan, which Republican State Treasurer Brad Briner supports. Another bill signed into law allows law enforcement officers, including police chiefs, sheriffs and top command staff, to stay in their jobs longer without forfeiting a retirement benefit known as the “special separation allowance.”
The third bill, House Bill 231, is about social work licenses. “Complex licensure transfer requirements create barriers to social workers who are wanting to move here and take care of our people. If people want to help our children and families who are in need, we should make it easier for them to do so, not harder,” Stein said at the bill signing. “This law will enable our state to create an interstate licensure agreement with neighboring states, including Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia, to expand care to more people,” he said.
Valerie Arndt, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers, said the bill’s unanimous passage by the House and Senate is “a clear demonstration of our state’s strong support for the social work profession and recognition of the urgent need for clinically licensed behavioral health providers.” She said that allowing clinically licensed social workers to practice in other participating states would improve “access to care, especially through telehealth and strengthening our behavioral health workforce.”
As of Friday evening, Stein had two immigration bills and a gun bill on his desk, which could include his first vetoes.
Republicans do not have the votes to overturn a Stein veto of Senate Bill 50, which would get rid of the law requiring a permit to carry a concealed gun. Right now, as the law stands, to carry a concealed handgun you must obtain a permit, be at least 21, pass a background check and take a firearms safety course. If the law is changed, anyone age 18 and older could carry a concealed gun.
Two Republican House members, as well as all Democrats, voted against it. And because the House is one vote short of a veto-proof supermajority, they do not have the votes to overturn a veto.
Another potential controversy on the horizon this summer is the state budget. Stein strongly opposes the Senate version of the budget, but was quite complimentary of the House version, and even a majority of House Democrats voted for it. But the final budget bill has to be a deal made between the House and Senate.
The key sticking point among Republicans is over the extent and pace of tax cuts. But Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters on Wednesday that taxes aren’t the only item they disagree on.
With a flurry of bills likely to be passed over the next two weeks, lawmakers will then take a break. How long of a break, and what happens when they come back, is still to be determined.
Tax Referendum
A bill that would let Mecklenburg County voters decide to raise the local sales tax has passed the House Transportation Committee. The new revenue would help pay for about half of the county’s $25 billion transit plan. Forty percent of the new money would be split among local municipalities for road upgrades. Another forty percent would pay for rail projects and twenty percent would support bus infrastructure. Tricia Cotham is a Mecklenburg County Republican and the bill’s primary sponsor.
"We’re doing the tough work, we are doing the work what our locals have asked of this and giving them the opportunity to have this referendum put on the ballot," Cotham said. Voters could decide on the new sales tax as soon as November 4.
FEMA Grants
In April the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it was ending the BRIC program and canceling all applications from fiscal years 2020-2023. The agency said if the funds haven’t been distributed yet, they would be returned to the federal government.
“The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program," a spokesman stated in an April 4 FEMA press release announcing the program's termination. "It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, we are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need.”
State and local officials have called the decision by President Trump's administration short sighted and another sign of the broad, unfocused cuts the federal government's Department of Government Efficiency is taking in trying to rein in federal spending without looking at the real-world consequences. That's especially true in North Carolina, since many of the state projects involve communities hit hard by flooding from hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018.
According to the N.C. Division of Emergency Management, nearly 70 projects across the state worth almost $190 million − with more than $80 million along the N.C. coast − could be in danger of either not getting finished or being only partially funded if Congress doesn't reverse the administration's decision to end the BRIC program.
"The changes to the BRIC program by FEMA are disappointing as this program provides critical federal funding for mitigation projects that build resilient communities," said state Emergency Management spokesperson Brian Haines in an email. "These multi-year, often complex projects would build resilience against the impacts from future storms and would reduce the overall recovery costs for future events."
Some of the larger projects that could be on the chopping block include dozens of sewer and wastewater improvement projects, constructed wetlands to help deal with flooding woes, a push to move municipal buildings in Princeville out of the floodplain, and several planning and resiliency studies.
The BRIC program was signed into law by Trump as part of the 2018 Disaster Recovery Reform Act. The program, which received strong bipartisan support, was subsequently expanded under the Biden administration.
Bridge Grant
The Trump administration has approved a Biden-era federal grant to help North Carolina build a new bridge connecting the Outer Banks with the rest of the state. The $110 million in federal money will help the N.C. Department of Transportation build a new 3.2-mile bridge across the Alligator River, replacing an existing one that’s more than 60 years old and out of date.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the grant in January 2023, using money from the bipartisan infrastructure bill approved by Congress in late 2021. But NCDOT and the federal government had not signed an agreement for the grant by the time the Trump administration took office this winter. The new USDOT said it would review all outstanding Biden-era grants, including Alligator River, raising questions about whether they would ultimately be approved.
On Tuesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that USDOT had cleared another 529 grants, worth more than $2.9 billion, including Alligator River. Part of that grant will be used to help install broadband along U.S. 64 from Interstate 95 in Rocky Mount to N.C. 12 on the Outer Banks.
“While cynics in the press hysterically warned of doomsday delays, USDOT has been hard at work to get America building again,” Duffy said in a written statement.
Duffy said the Biden administration had left a backlog of some 3,200 projects with announced grants but no formal agreements. He said the Trump administration has now approved more than a third of those projects. As it does, it edits the agreements to remove references to how each project affects issues such as climate change, energy efficiency and environmental justice.
College Construction
A trio of bills giving county governments the authority to construct buildings on community college campuses was approved by the House Higher Education Committee on Tuesday.
Senate Bills 108, 149, and 174 would establish memorandums of understanding between Johnston Community College, Blue Ridge Community College and Isothermal Community College and their respective county governments for new construction projects, including additions, renovations and repairs.
Under current law, community colleges must receive authorization from the State Construction Office of the Department of Administration. SB 108 sponsor Sen. Benton Sawrey, R-Johnston, said that the process can be cumbersome and that granting the oversight authority to local entities can provide greater flexibility.
“State construction is really serving an oversight role, a negotiation role. … It’s a level of bureaucracy and authority that you have to go through,” Sawrey said. “More so than state construction, [local government is] invested. They’re in the community, engaged with the process. I think the local trustees are the right entity to oversee this and enforce it.”
Local community colleges using county capital funds shouldn’t be required to route requests through a state office, Sawrey said. That’s especially true for a county that is rapidly growing, he added.
“They’re going to want to make sure their taxpayer dollars generated from their county are being spent in the best way possible,” Sawrey said. “I think they’re also going to be incentivized to make sure these buildings are done correctly and in a way that lasts, similarly to how our public schools are.”
Rep. Mark Brody, R-Union, said more local governments are seeking legislation to break away from the state construction process. He said that separation will ensure buildings are inspected under the appropriate commercial code because the state construction office isn’t subject to inspection requirements.
“You’re going to see, I believe, a better-inspected product if it’s done locally,” Brody said.
Sawrey said he expects a broader conversation in the future that could reshape the state’s role in community college construction projects.
Senate Bill 108 received a favorable report and was re-referred to the State and Local Government Committee. If favorable in that committee, it will advance the Rules Committee.