NC Senate debates expected veto override votes
As written remembers a leave of absence is requested and
without objection is granted for Senator Wooder
Center handy for what purpose your eyes uh point your
personal coverage out of order
You have the floor
Thank you Mr President
Today I have two senatorial statements that I had the
honor to read
The first one is a senatorial statement celebrating Cowan University's
175th anniversary
Whereas Chi University is a Christian educational institution that was
founded in 18 48 making this year this year this
year the university's 175th anniversary
And whereas Cowan means people of the South and honors
the native American Algonquin C Cho O tribe
And whereas in the spring of 18 48 a group
of fathers met at the home of Dr Godwin Cotton
Moore moderator of the Chiu Baptist Association to support the
establishment of an institution that would give their daughters a
well rounded education
The association approved a resolution establishing the school and appointed
the first trustees for the female high school to be
called Cowan Female Institute
Doctor Archibald mcdowell of South Carolina was elected the first
principal and the the institution opened on October 11th 18
48 with 11 students
And whereas today c has over 15,000 alumni who live
around the world
Cowan alumni friends students families faculty and staff are held
in high regard
These alumni are transforming the world by solving problems sharing
talents and spreading Cho Wan's rich history and therefore fitting
and proper to honor Cowan University on its Demi semi
seal and to the institution to honor its heritage and
applaud the people who had the vision to establish this
university
Mr President I humbly ask that this statement be spread
across the journal
on the motion of Senator Bobby Hannig of Currituck County
The chair is happy to extend courtesies of the gallery
to Charles Taylor Mister Taylor is president of Chuan University
Kemper Blair chair of the board of trustees Ray Felton
a trustee Burton Wilson a trustee Betty Joe Shepherd a
trustee elect along with them are James Moore who is
on the Board of Visitors and is a direct descendant
of Dr Godwin Cotton Moore and John Taylor who's the
executive assistant to the president and Trey Lewis who is
the Northeast North Carolina Regional Director for the office of
Senator Thom Tillis
If you're in the gallery with us today if you
please stand to be recognized
Thank you for being with us
and Senator Hannig you have the floor for a point
of personal privilege
Thank you Mr President
First
I have a question for the rules
Chairman uh Senator Rabin yield yield yield
Thank you Senator Raban
Uh The question I'm asking is uh it's regarding the
ox meter
Um I know I'm gonna be up here for a
while but there are two separate issues and I didn't
know if there was any consideration as far as how
much time I spent standing if that uh gives me
reprieve from the ox meter
Mr President Senator Raven you may answer that
I've never had someone volunteer for the oxer before
I'm not volunteering
It depends entirely on how fast you can read
I can read pretty fast
Uh Senator Handy you have the floor
Thank you Senator
The next senatorial statement I have is honoring the life
and memory of Edwin Ghouse
Um I don't believe that this resolution really catches what
he meant to Currituck County
Um and his love for Currituck County North Carolina and
United States of America um honoring the life and memory
of Edwin Edwin Woodhouse
Whereas Edwin Ed Woodhouse was born on February 1st 1936
in Mount Airy North Carolina to Wilburn Eunice Woodhouse
He grew up in Currituck County and received his education
from Louisburg College and Pfeiffer College and he also went
to Wt Griggs Elementary School
Whereas Ed Woodhouse became one of the state's most effective
lobbyists working for the North Carolina Bottler Association and North
Carolina Poultry Federation of which he served as the body's
first executive director
And whereas Ed Woodhouse successfully ran the campaign to elect
Dan K Moore as governor of the state and later
and executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party
And whereas Ed Woodhouse gave freely of his time to
many organizations including keep North Carolina clean and beautiful North
Carolina Agribusiness Council North Carolina Business and Industry and North
Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation all of which he served in
leadership roles
He was appointed by the General Assembly to be a
board member of the First in Flight
And whereas Edgar Woodhouse was a man of great faith
who helped those in need and was a board member
of the Carolina Bible Camp Christians in action and a
leader in Raleigh's Brooks Avenue Church of Christ
And whereas Ed Woodhouse was a fan of the North
Carolina State University Wolf Pack and regularly attended basketball and
football games and where Ed Woodhouse died on August 2nd
2023 at the age of 87
Now therefore it is fitting and proper to honor the
life in memory of Ed Woodhouse one of the state's
most distinguished citizens and to extend sympathy to his family
and for the loss of a family member mister president
I would commend this resolution to you and ask that
it be spread across the journal
And upon the motion of Senator Bobby Hannig of Currituck
County chair is happy to extend courtesies of the gallery
to Betty Ann Woodhouse the widow of Ed Woodhouse and
Anna Summers his daughter and Eddie Woodhouse his son
If you are in the gallery with us today please
stand
Thank you for being with us today
And I believe we are ready to go to our
calendar
Unless there are other items Senator Raven
For what purpose Your eye a few motions please
Mister President State your motions
Thank you Mr President
First move that all bills from the Senate today be
sent to the house and to the Governor by special
message that objection so ordered uh further move that house
bill five local changes omnibus be removed from today's calendar
and placed on Thursday's calendar
So ordered uh for the move uh Senate Joint resolution
755 confirmed Quentin mcgee Special Superior Court judge which was
heard in judiciary this morning and reported favorably
Um the uh move that that resolution be added to
today's full calendar for immediate consideration no objection
So ordered Senate joint resolution 7 55 the clerk will
read Senate Joint resolution 7 55 confirmed Quentin mcgee special
Supreme Court judge uh Senator Raven
I think he just got promoted
But um you are you are recognized
Thank you Mr President
Uh ladies and gentlemen I rise today to uh ask
for your support in the confirmation of uh Quentin mcgee
Uh I know Mr mcgee personally
He has served uh in my county and in my
district is now a resident uh in my county
Uh and I want to say uh again today because
I want to be very clear
I don't get up every day
Uh uh Looking forward to saying nice things about lawyers
and judges
It is not part of my psychic or what I
do but I did get up today uh ready and
happy to say nice things about Quentin mcgee
He is a wonderful man
He's a good father
He has a brain he has a heart and he
has fortitude and he knows how to use them all
Uh he has been a member of my community for
some time uh quite respected has worked hard has gained
the respect of uh the lawyers of the district attorneys
and of the uh the bar the local bar
He has been a judge he has been a defender
and he has been a prosecutor and he has practiced
law
We don't generally see that uh in our nominees
Uh And I I wonder and I said when when
his name came forward how on earth did this happen
Uh This is the type of person this is the
trifecta uh This is the type of person that we
should want in this job
And I'll say this about him that uh members of
this chamber who do not know him uh should know
Uh It's gonna hurt some folks back home
But uh when he was a district court judge he
was the hardest working district court judge that we had
uh he didn't leave his office until the docket was
complete and uh people respected him for that
They weren't always happy to be there
Uh but he saw the job complete and I have
every assurance and every bit of confidence uh going forward
that he will do the same as he travels across
the entire state
Um to be a special superior court judge
I would encourage you to uh support this uh and
uh move forward today
Thank you
Further discussion or debate
Hearing that in question for the Senate is the adoption
of Senate joint resolution 7 55 on its second reading
all in favor will vote a all oppose the vote
No five seconds will be allowed for the voting clerk
to record the vote
49 having voted in the affirmative none in the negative
Senate joint resolution 7 55 has passed its second reading
and will without objection be read a third time
The General Assembly of North Carolina and acts discussion or
debate on third reading
Hearing
No question for the Senate is a passage on third
reading of Senate
Joint resolution 755
All in favor will say aye all oppose no the
AYES have it
And Senate joint resolution 755 has passed its third reading
and will be sent to the House
local bill for concurrent Senate bill
68 the clerk will read Senate bill 68 various local
changes
Members hold on just a moment
Judge I apologize upon the motion of Senator Bill Rabin
and Senator Danny Britt of Brunswick and Robison County Chair
is happy to extend courtesies to superior court judge nominee
Quentin mcgee who was in the gallery judge
Thank you for being with us today
All right back to the motion to concur in Senate
Bill 68
Senator Moffett is recognized
Thank you mister President members
The motion before us is to concur with the house
committee substitute for Senate Bill 68
And I must admit sadly that after 10 months I
have come to realize that everything that returns to us
from the house is not perfect
And in order so I would ask that we vote
no on the motion to concur so we can perfect
this in conference
Thank you discussion or debate
Hearing no question for the Senate is the motion to
concur in the house committee substitute Senate Bill 68
All in favor of the motion would vote
I all oppose the vote
No the bill sponsor asks that you vote no five
seconds be allowed for the voting clerk to record the
vote
None having voted in the affirmative 49 in the negative
The house committee substitute is not concurred in and the
house will be so notified public bill for concurrent Senate
bill
677
The clerk will read Senate Bill 677 Surveyor's right of
entry expedite commercial building
Senator Jarvis is recognized to explain the motion
Thank you Mr President Senate Bill
6 77 is a bill that we passed unanimously out
of this house in May
Uh The house added language in section two that addresses
uh regulations for commercial and multifamily development projects
It addresses a pres submittal meeting outlines a timeline for
plan review and gives an option of utilizing independent third
party plan reviewers
Additionally it outlines available at risk building permit options
I have met with all stakeholders
We have 14 different agencies and associations in support of
this bill
And I would ask that you concur with this bill
discussion discussion or debate
hearing on the question for the Senate is the motion
to concur in the house committee substitute Senate Bill 6
77
All in favor of the motion to vote
I all opposed the vote
No five seconds to be allowed for the voting clerk
to record the vote
30 having voted in the affirmative 19 in the negative
The motion to concur is adopted and the house will
be I'm sorry and the bill will be enrolled and
sent to the governor reconsideration of vetoed the bill
Senate bill 5 12 the clerk will read Senate Bill
5 12 greater accountability for boards commissions
Senator Daniel is recognized
Thank you Mr President members members we've had a lengthy
floor debate on this bill on more than one occasion
So I won't belabor the debate by going into great
detail on Senate Bill 5 12 but Senate Bill 5
12 is about good shared governance and bringing balance and
accountability to unelected boards
Right now the governor appoints more members to more than
350 boards
All of these boards have significant impacts on people's lives
They make rules and regulations that North Carolinians must abide
by
Our bill seeks to make changes to 12 of these
boards and it does so by expanding the appointment authorities
beyond one office holder it does not make sense for
these boards to be made up of appointments from one
individual
The executive branch in North Carolina is made up of
10 offices that cover a variety of governance
The General Assembly the legislative branch is closest to the
citizens of North Carolina
We're elected every two years
We have 100 and 70 members coming from every corner
of the state by giving the General Assembly and the
other members of the executive branch more appointment power
We are expanding the pool of candidates and bringing more
diversity of thought to certain boards
This bill will not interrupt any work of the boards
and commissions as the governor claimed in his veto message
hundreds of appointments are made to these boards and commissions
annually and this bill does not disrupt that process
Senate Bill 5 12 will make improvements to the appointment
process by bringing more balance and better representation to these
boards and commissions
It will bring more accountability by having gen the general
assembly appointments voted on by all 100 and 70 members
not just hand picked by one individual
So I urge you all to override this veto and
bring balance and accountability to these unelected boards
So Mr President I move that Senate bill 5 12
greater accountability for boards and commissions become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor discussion or debate
Senator Mayfield
For what purpose you to speak to the motion Thank
you
It is true that we have had lots of debate
about this bill
But I'm going to ask your indulgence on just a
little bit more as I have said previously I believe
this bill represents an unconstitutional step away from our democratic
system of government and toward an authoritarian one
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 if the Democrats were in power and making these
moves you would be crying foul just as we are
I also have specific concerns with some of these changes
like reducing the geographic representation on the NC dot board
and reducing the number of people who will be shouldering
the very the new and very complex work at the
Utilities Commission
But I am mostly struck by the name of this
bill an act to increase the accountability of public boards
and commissions to the citizens of North Carolina by changing
the appointment structure of those boards and commissions
I find this ironic because the definition of account of
accountable is a person organization or institution that is required
or expected to justify actions or decisions
Second definition is responsible
I would argue that grounding appointments in the General Assembly
is the opposite of increasing the accountability of those appointments
and of those boards and commissions to the citizens of
North Carolina
Indeed the General Assembly might be the most unaccountable branch
of government at this point in our state
Given how secure most of our seats are how few
of us have primaries and how even fewer of us
have any meaningful challengers in general elections
Indeed it is this lack of accountability that has allowed
so many things to happen in this session
A budget that was almost three months late taking step
backwards on gun control and failing to take any meaningful
steps forward to protect innocent people from gun violence
Despite the overwhelming majority of people and gun owners wanting
sensible gun regulations imposing an abortion ban and making it
harder for women to access legal abortions when a majority
of people want access to abortion to remain legal available
and safe failing to provide adequate raises to teachers and
other state workers to help reduce the overwhelming vacancy rate
in state agencies
Daniel what your point of order
I state your point Mr President
I believe that this bill has nothing to do
With the state budget with gun laws with pro-life laws
in the state of North Carolina and would ask that
the speaker speak to Senate Bill 5 12 Senator Daniel
I will make the same admonition to Senator Mayfield and
to all speakers to speak to the motion but I
am not going to micromanage exactly how you do
So Senator Mayfield you have the floor
Thank you
Um As I was saying failing to provide adequate raises
to teachers and other state workers to help reduce the
overwhelming vacancy rate in state agencies and improve service to
the public making legislative records private and putting them up
for sale to the highest bidder without any public discussion
or vetting or even an explanation of how this provision
got into the budget creating a civil investigative force that
can undertake secret investigations also without any public discussion or
vetting
And we are anticipating electoral maps that are even more
heavily gerrymandered than the current ones though the overwhelming call
from the public has been for fair non gerrymandered maps
drawn by an independent nonpartisan commission
This legislature is the definition of unaccountable which is a
person organization or institution that is not required or expected
to justify its actions or decisions not responsible for results
or consequences
A second definition unable to be explained
The governor at least stands alone in an election and
must answer to the voters for a whole set of
decisions that he his agencies and the boards and commissions
populated by his appointees have made with the appointments shared
so broadly between the executive and legislative branches
How can the public know who to hold accountable for
these decisions going forward And even if the public is
able to determine the legislative appointees are causing mischief is
it it is virtually impossible to hold us accountable as
a body Indeed it's virtually impossible to hold hold us
accountable as individuals given how safe most of our districts
are to quote Governor Cooper
Fundamentally this bill violates the separation of powers enshrined in
the state constitution
The courts have consistently rejected these legislative power grabs in
mccrory versus berger and other cases
Legislative efforts to seize executive power are unconstitutional and damage
vital state work
I agree and I ask you to vote to sustain
the governor's veto further discussion or debate
hearing on the motion before the body
Is that Senate bill 5 12 become law notwithstanding the
objections of the governor all in favor of the motion
will vote
I all oppose the vote
No five seconds be allowed for the voting clerk will
record the vote
Senator Sanderson ah Senator Waddell no son of Mohammed no
30 having voted in the affirmative and 19 in the
negative
motion to override the governor's veto of Senate bill 5
12 passes by 3/5 of the members present and voting
in accordance with article two section 22 per one of
the constitution of North Carolina Senate Bill 512
Together with the governor's objections and veto message will be
sent to the house by a special message for reconsideration
Senate bill
6 78 clerk will read Senate Bill 6 78 clean
energy
Other changes Senator Paul Newton is recognized to explain the
motion
Thank you mister President members higher electric rates disproportionately hurt
low-income families because they spend a larger portion of their
income on energy than other households
Despite the fact that we enjoy electric rates in North
Carolina that are well below the national average
The poorest families in North Carolina already pay more than
20% of their household income just for electricity
The clean energy sections of Senate bill 678 that the
governor rejected will help us reach our energy goals cost
effectively more cost effectively and ensure North Carolinians can afford
this basic human need of electricity as we move towards
a cleaner energy future
I submit that if you want to meet the ambitious
carbon reduction goals in House Bill 9 51 as cost
effectively as possible
If you care about the cost burden and minimizing the
cost burden of the clean energy transition on the poor
you will vote in favor of this motion and therefore
Mr President I move that Senate Bill 6 78 clean
Energy other changes become law
Notwithstanding the objection of the governor
Thank you discussion discussion or debate Senator Meyer for what
purpose arise
Thank you Mr President
I'd like to debate the motion
You have the floor
Thank you
Ladies and gentlemen I urge you to sustain the governor's
veto
And frankly I'm surprised to hear Senator Newton's emphasis on
concerns about bottom line cost because one of the main
reasons to sustain the veto on this bill is that
in the conference report the conferences decided to strike 32
very important words that were previously on page eight of
the conference report that that and by doing so substantially
weaken North Carolina's current rigorous requirements for cost effectiveness tests
for any new power plants
That means that our cost of electricity is likely going
to go up for many years
The General Assembly in this current statute has required utilities
to demonstrate and the Utilities commission to evaluate first if
energy efficiency measures demand side management renewable energy resource generation
combined heat and power generation or any combination thereof would
establish or maintain a more cost effective and reliable generation
system before granting a permit to a proposed new power
plant
This is very important especially when we're considering energy efficiency
which is actually the best way to bring down costs
for anyone
But unfortunately this language is deleted in the final conference
report further
Uh As Senator Mayfield and I stated when we debated
this previously I'm disappointed that the conferences decided to remove
a provision that would have increased North Carolina's cap on
solar leasing North Carolina is the only state in the
nation that still caps how many so how many utility
customers can install solar projects in their homes or businesses
via a leasing financing structure I hope that we can
fix this unnecessary problem in a bill soon because I
cannot think of any cheaper way to generate power than
having energy that literally comes out of the sky for
free
And finally I do not believe that this major change
to North Carolina's construction permitting process for new power plants
has been debated adequately did not appear in earlier versions
of Senate Bill 6 78
And when we and as we do try to reach
the carbon reduction goals that we set in house Bill
951 there will be the need to take on major
new discussions about the ways that we undertake any type
of evolving power including nuclear power
But we need a clear regulatory framework and this bill
takes us backwards
I encourage you to vote no on the motion
Further discussion or debate
Senator Newton
What per your eye Thank you Mister President to speak
on the motion
I'm happy to report to you that the senator from
the other side of the aisle could not be more
wrong about the effect of the provision
The original provision that he's discussed with you only required
nuclear and coal to judge itself against DSM demand side
management and energy efficiency
Eliminating that provision simply means we're doing the right thing
Every single next increment of generation has to clear the
hurdle of demand side management and energy efficiency not just
coal not just nuclear but any form of the next
increment of generation
This creates a level playing field for everybody
And the committee will look at DS M and EE
as alternatives to that next increment of generation regardless of
what is being proposed
So that's good news for you
You can rest easy
E Ds M and ee will be judged against every
single new element of uh increment of generation as the
bill has been rewritten
Secondly with respect to solar leasing uh cap the senator
makes the assertion that it's the cheapest there can't be
anything cheaper than solar
And I say if that's true the Utilities commission will
decide that one of the fundamental tenants of 9 51
is that we the legislature are in a less appropriate
position to choose the next increment of generation than our
expert utilities commission
All of whom by the way as we sit here
at this moment are appointed by the governor they will
decide what the cheapest is the cheapest way to dec
carbonize the cheapest way to to support the demand of
our growing state not this legislature
So I commend the overriding the motion or commend the
motion to you overriding the veto
And I I can tell you that the concerns that
have been addressed or have been raised actually are not
concerns at all as to the quality and the effectiveness
of this this bill
So I commend it to you further discussion or debate
hearing on the motion before the Senate
Is that Senate bill 678 become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor all in favor will
vote aye all oppose the vote
No five seconds will be allowed for the voting clerk
will record the vote
Senator Brett ah 30 having voted in the affirmative and
19 in the negative
motion to override the governor's veto of Senate bill 678
passes by 3/5 of the members present in voting in
accordance with article I I section 22 per one of
the constitution of North Carolina Senate Bill 678 together with
the governor's objections and veto message will be sent to
the house by a special message for reconsideration
Members upon the motion of Senator Tom mcguinness of Moore
County chair is happy to extend courtesies of the gallery
to Mister Jim Bannon
Mister
Bannon is a member of the Moore County Board of
Commissioners and is a retired Us Army special operations veteran
Mister Bannon
If you're in the gallery please stand to be recognized
Thank you
Yeah bye Senate Bill
7 47
The clerk will read Senate Bill 7 47 elections law
changes
Senator Daniel is recognized
Thank you Mr President and members again
We have had lengthy floor debates on this bill on
more than one occasion
So I won't belabor this debate by going over the
bill's provisions in great detail like Senator Sanderson might do
on a regular reform bill
Yes
But among other changes the bill would require that absentee
ballots other than military and overseas ballots be received by
the close of the polls on election day
It would prohibit the state board and county boards from
accepting private monetary donations for the purpose of administering elections
or employing individuals on a temporary basis
The bill would provide that for any individual registering to
vote during same day registration if the postal service returns
the the first mailing of the individual's voter registration card
as undeliverable before the end of the business day
Uh before canvas the county board would not register the
individual and would retrieve the individual's marked ballot and remove
the ballot's votes from the official count
It would also provide that the 2nd 2nd primary if
requested would be held 10 weeks after the first primary
regardless of ballot items in the second primary
The bill would require political parties to allow unaffiliated voters
to participate in that party's primary
Unaffiliated voters could not participate in more than one primary
Finally the bill would create a new process for removing
voters who are ineligible from the voter rolls including noncitizen
who cannot perform jury service
So the intent of this bill is to help lend
confidence to vote voters in elections by strengthening the integrity
of the process and procedures that control how votes are
cast
I understand that there are disagreements between the majority and
the minority parties on the best way to accomplish this
goal
And unfortunately the governor and his party continue to use
hyper hyperbolic rhetoric about the bill
One of the th the the most inaccurate criticisms 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 dead after the
clock buzzer sounds it doesn't count if you shoot a
basket a three pointer after the shot clock has expired
It doesn't count if you show up at the polls
at 7 31 and want to cast your vote
You're not allowed to do so
We're changing the absentee ballot process slightly to conform with
30 other states who have the election day as the
ballot deadline
This will be clearly communicated to everyone who receives an
absentee ballot and every every legally cast absentee ballot that
arrives before 7 30 on election day will be counted
Those will be the legal ballots but the allegations against
the bill are just one more example of why this
bill is needed
We must take common sense steps to ensure that our
elections are fair and free from perceived bias
And therefore Mr President I move that Senate Bill 7
47 election law changes become law notwithstanding the objections of
the governor discussion or debate Senator Smith
For what purpose your eyes to debate the motion Thank
you so much
Um I think first it's important for us to know
that this is not a game
So while we're making references to shot clocks and and
touchdowns and and all of that this is the people's
right to vote
A robust and equitable democratic process is the heartbeat at
the center of a just and thriving society
Our democracy serves as the cornerstone of our collective voice
It is the process that brings politics together and it
gives every citizen an equal opportunity to participate in shaping
the future of our state
The importance of a fair and free democratic process in
North Carolina cannot be overstated
But today I'm sorry to say our voting process will
become far less fair and free if Senate Bill 7
47 is enacted this bill is a monster and the
provisions contained within it should not be taken lightly
Let's start with the changes this bill makes to mail
in balance a method of voting that more than 100
and 87,000 North Carolinians utilized in 2022
Currently voters have three days after the elections to submit
their mail in ballots
But Senate Bill 7 47 will impose a strict deadline
of 7 30 on election day
This alteration would disenfranchise over 10,000 voters who may struggle
to meet this new shorter deadline in a state where
elections can be decided by a few 100 voters
This will matter
And while my colleagues are bending over backwards to shorten
the amount of time that you can turn your million
ballot they've actually extended the amount of time that they
can challenge your million ballot and potentially eliminate your vote
Hm
Isn't that funny We are restricting the people that we're
fighting for but we're expanding our own power
Mm
Furthermore voter id seemingly wasn't enough
So now this bill introduces a pilot program for additional
barriers to our constitutional right to vote by requiring signature
verification of mail in ballots
And while we have seen grave questions about the effectiveness
and fairness of programs like these this bill rushes to
start signature of irrigation in the next year's election
Additionally in the Senate bill 7 47 there's a section
that says if you made a simple mistake or forget
to include a piece of information about a witness who
watched you sign your ballot you can no longer fix
that problem and your vote will not count
There's also a provision that allows poll observers the freedom
to move around within those polling locations to listen to
your conversations between you and the election officials
And it even allows them to take pictures of you
Think about that
It's illegal in North Carolina for you to use your
cell phone to take a selfie while you're voting
But now we're saying that poll watchers will be able
to take as many photos of you as they want
while you are voting
There are also provisions that requires voters who do same
day registration during the early voting period on a retrievable
ballot instead of a usual ballot
And another provision that allows voters to challenge ballots in
the entire county as opposed to the current law which
only allows them to challenge voters in their precinct
These changes have echoes of the anti democratic work being
done in Georgia and that has enabled a culture of
mass challenges in their elections
And there is no reason to invite this type of
mayhem to the state of North Carolina
You know I hear so often from my colleagues about
how important the sanctity of the election process is but
let's be honest and call SB 7 47 exactly what
it is
It is voter intimidation again it is voter intimidation and
this will bring a host of privacy concerns and questions
about the base constitutionality of what we're doing here today
We've all heard from our constituents
The people of our state have made it clear that
they are concerned about elections but these proposals are not
the solutions to what voters are worried about
These are the things that are making people scared
These are the things that makes voters feel like their
voice isn't heard and their vote does not count
I urge you all to stand up for our democracy
and for the voters of our state who put you
here to speak on their behalf
I ask you to vote no on this bill and
let's sustain the governor's veto
Thank you
Further discussion or debate
hearing on the motion before the Senate
Is that Senate bill 747 become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor all in favor will
vote
A all oppose the vote
No five seconds be allowed for the voting clerk will
record the vote
30 having voted in the affirmative and 19 in the
negative
The motion to override the governor's veto of Senate Bill
747 passes by 3/5 of the members present and voting
in accordance with article I I section 22 per one
of the constitution of North Carolina Senate Bill 747 together
with the Governor's objections and veto message will be sent
to the House by a special message for reconsideration
Senate Bill 7 49 the clerk will read Senate Bill
749
No partisan advantage in elections
Senator Paul Newton is recognized to explain the motion
Thank you mister president members North Carolinians deserve to have
confidence in the elections process
That's why you've seen Republicans in the General Assembly focus
their efforts on increasing voter confidence in previous discussions about
this bill
And we have had many unfortunately a recent signal poll
found that only 50% of North Carolinians think that future
elections will be free and fair as soon as four
days ago
Another poll was reported by Wral and it it starts
by saying new national polling by survey USA shows voters
across the country are deeply pessimistic about our current political
system
He goes on to site that 84% of registered voters
said American democracy is in serious or very serious trouble
that includes nine out of 10 Republicans and independents and
three quarters of all Democrats
Mclennan says voters who think democracy is in trouble are
also likely to doubt institutions like the elections process
It looks bad for 2024
He quotes in terms of whatever side wins the presidency
or whatever race you're looking at
If that's not your candidate you're going to doubt the
outcome and we just believe members and this is exactly
what this bill moves forward is that voters should have
confidence in the outcome of an election regardless of who
wins
So 7 49 is an effort to rebuild the trust
in our elections
It restructures the state board of elections and the county
boards of elections to ensure that they are truly and
literally bipartisan the bill evenly splits appointments between the majority
and minority parties in each chamber
That means the minority leaders currently Senator Blue and Representative
Reeves have an equal say in appointments
If the chambers were to flip each party would still
have an equal say this structure does not favor a
party nor does it favor a single elected official
And thus the inherent fairness should help restore voter confidence
Instead it allows 100 and 70 legislators from Murphy to
Manteo to work together to appoint the best candidates for
the boards of election
Our current board structure allows the party of the governor
whichever party that is it allows it to manipulate the
system
And we saw that actually happen here in North Carolina
in 2020
It actually happened
So this is not theoretical
This this is important to the integrity of our electoral
process
The new structure will not allow either party to have
control of our elections process as we look to the
2023 and 2024 elections
It's important for the General Assembly to come together to
ensure that our elections administration works on behalf of voters
not a political party party or a single elected official
And this bill does just that
It's for that reason Mister President that I move that
Senate Bill 749 no partisan advantage in elections become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor
Thank you discussion or debate Senator Murdoch for what purpose
to speak on the motion without question Senate Bill 7
49 will create chaos and gridlock in our elections sowing
distrust in our democracy
This bill puts legislators and the majority party in control
of local boards of elections making it easier to discount
votes and election outcomes
While the bill creates an eight member board as was
just described evenly split between the two major parties
The issue is it also requires unanimous decisions or it
kicks those decisions to this body which does not have
a great track record of being objective and considering election
results
This effort to exert more political control over our elections
will create more partisan gridlock and threatens election integrity in
North Carolina with evenly split election boards we will have
less less security and less certainty in our democratic process
split
Election boards mean decisions on early voting sites recounts and
count candidate eligibility go to the legislative majority which is
the same in both chambers
I'm no sports expert
I guess we got a lot of sport uh analogies
today
Uh but it sounds like a lot of calling the
balls and strikes in your own game
Our current system even provided Governor mccrory with the ability
to have a full recount in my county in Durham
when he ran for re-election in 2016
The majority has tried for years to take away early
voting opportunities under SB 7 49 A T decision by
county boards on how where or how many early early
voting sites each county should have will result in reducing
the county to one location
Only more North Carolinians voted early on then on election
day in 2022
So why would we move forward with this bill that
could potentially take away voting opportunities that are based on
the needs of our local counties
This bill was never about strengthening our elections
It's about a power power grab senate bill 7 49
is a clear violation of our state's constitution legal scholars
lawyers and even the far right John Locke Foundation
I think this is the first time in three years
I've ever quoted the John Locke Foundation in my speech
today but it was appropriate
Um and they spoke out against this blatant violation of
the separation of powers upheld in our constitution
As stated by the John Locke Foundation in 2016 special
session the state legislator passed legislation modifying the state board
of elections moving forward the eight appointments
So away from the governor and giving them to the
Speaker of the House and pro TEM of the Senate
Instead the Superior court established that the board of elections
must be under executive authority and rejected the idea of
legislative appointments
Sidon mccrory V Burger
The court was correct in ruling against the state legislator
as the administration of elections is inherently under the executive
branch's authority
And again this was stated in um the John Locke
Foundation website voters have already rejected this partisan power grab
by a 61% margin during the 2018 elections
And similar efforts have been blocked by the State Supreme
Court
Time and time again all living governors Republicans and Democrats
along with two thirds of North Carolina voters and the
courts have all rejected this deceptive takeover of our democratic
process
Democracy dies in the darkness
So was it our duty to shed light on these
anti democracy bills that are before us today I urge
all of you to sustain Governor Cooper's veto and preserve
the will of voters in our state for the discussion
or debate
Hearing that question for the Senate is that senate Bill
7 49 become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor all in favor will
vote a all oppose a vote
No five seconds be allowed for the voting clerk record
the vote
30 having voted in the affirmative 19 in the negative
The motion to override the governor's veto of Senate Bill
7 49 passes by 3/5 of the members present in
voting in accordance with article two section 22 per one
of the constitution of North Carolina Senate Bill 749 together
with the governor's objections and veto message will be sent
to the House by a special message for reconsideration
Message from the house clerk will read Mr President
It is ordered that a message be sent to the
Senate informing the honorable body that the House of Representatives
has passed House Bill 600 ratified and account an act
to provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of North
Carolina
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor pursuant to article two
section 22 of the North Carolina Constitution
The bill together with the objections and the veto message
are hereby delivered to your honorable body for consideration
Respectfully James White principal clerk I just Governor Roy Cooper
objections and veto message House Bill 600 an act to
provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of North Carolina
This bill is a hodgepodge of bad provisions that were
resolved in dirtier water discriminatory permitting and threats to North
Carolina's environment
It also undoes a significant policy to fairness and state
contracting for his his historically underutilized businesses as it blocks
efforts to encourage diverse suppliers for state purchases rules that
would save taxpayer dollars and help businesses grow
The rules minor
The successful approach used for 18 years in state construction
contracts and they were enacted with extensive feedback from the
state agencies and vendors that they were approved by the
rules review commission which has all of its members appointed
by the Republican controlled legislature
Therefore I veto the bill
Roy Cooper
Governor
Mhm
Mister Reagan
For what purpose Your eye a motion please state your
motion
Thank you Mr President House Bill 600 ra reform of
2023 has come over from the house and been read
in by the reading clerk
Move that be added to today's four calendar
so ordered
House Bill 600 Clerk of Reed House Bill 600 Regulatory
Reform Act of 2023
Senator Sanderson is recognized to explain the motion
Well thank you Mr President members of the Senate
I think this is about the fourth time that we've
seen this piece of legislation come through the Senate
Uh Maybe it'll be the last time for this year
You've already heard some of the things that uh House
Bill 600 does
Uh re Regulatory Reform Act of 2023
Uh It provides critical regulatory relief to the citizens the
business community manufacturers farmers state agencies and brings better protection
for our coastal communities
It includes stormwater program changes which remove discrepancies and encourages
redevelopment
It reforms the dated wastewater peak daily flow right rates
that are stifling needed workforce housing supply and economic development
in North Carolina
It has new procedural requirements for the coastal area management
program to increase transparency
It modifies the repa and buffer and floodplain rules for
airports to encourage investment and expansion in our world class
airport infrastructures
It allows developers working in the Brown Fields Development program
to perform inspections and investigations without approval from the state
to speed up redevelopment gives the commissioner of agriculture the
authority to implement any emergency measure and procedures needed to
mitigate an imminent threat to or a disruption of the
agriculture supply chain
It protects our coastal communities by phasing out un encapsulated
polystyrene
Restoring the 2009 building codes for docks and piers prohibiting
certain dredging moratoriums and implementing a new fish harvest reporting
system
And I just wanted to say finally that uh to
my understanding everything that has to do with the environment
uh has been uh worked out with Deq and uh
I don't know of a single thing that they're not
on board with us in the language that we have
put in this bill
So Mr President I move that House Bill 600 Regulatory
form Act of 2020 through three become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the government discussion or debate
It's in Robinson for what purpose
to debate the report the conference report and the motion
and Robinson you recognize thank you Mr President Senator Sanderson
and I talked earlier about this section of House Bill
600
And so I want to stand to give some clarifications
to this discussion
Some of you think you're giving handouts to women and
minorities through the H program
So we talked about this Senator Sanderson and you admitted
that you were not aware of this being in the
bill
So let me let me talk about this a little
bit
There's an erroneous assumption that there's a quota system in
North Carolina
The correction is that you're simply as a as a
state providing equity and opportunity
So businesses white business owners who and minorities of all
races have an equal opportunity to be it for contracts
These businesses receive certification and training so that they can
be a part of the state procurement effort
I was recently speaker for the Carolina Association of General
contractors
They graduated 25 minority and women owned businesses that were
trained and certified to do business in our state
North Carolina is home to over 8000 certified hub businesses
that's historically underutilized businesses
These businesses include black native American Asian Hispanic and women
which are white mostly women owned businesses over the years
Because of these good faith efforts there has been success
in hub businesses winning contracts in our state
This is because of statutory efforts made to include all
businesses in the supply chain
In 2022 the state spent a total of $10 billion
in goods and services with over only 645 million spent
with her firms
Much of the hub spend is with women owned businesses
The good faith efforts do not guarantee any business a
contract
The efforts only allow all businesses regardless of their ethnicity
or gender to participate in the supply chain
The state awards contracts based on the lowest bid and
nothing will change with the procurement process
Consideration should be made to include good faith efforts language
to in to ensure that all businesses in North Carolina
have a fair opportunity to participate
And Senator Sanderson you said to to Senator Murdoch and
to me on this floor that you would seek some
technical corrections and some bill to rectify this language
I I repeat again to all of you
This is 2018 years that this state has made a
good faith effort to make sure that small businesses all
of these races of people and white women who have
not had an equal opportunity to bid for businesses that
they have a fair chance
So I'm gonna hold you to that commitment on this
floor
Senator Sanderson and hope that Senator Jackson is going to
help you Senator Jackson because we worked on this for
years
Thank you Mr President
Further discussion or debate Senator Sanderson for what purpose was
to speak to the motion The second time this will
be your first time
First time was an explanation
Senator Sanderson is recognized
Thank you Mr President Senator Robinson we had did have
that conversation and I assured you that we would look
into that in the short session to try to find
some remedy to this problem
This has nothing to do with this chamber trying to
eliminate the hub program
Absolutely nothing
This was brought to us by another division a department
of state government that because the Department of Administration which
is supposed to be administering this program is pushing a
lot of their workload on to other departments they don't
have the man manpower to to keep up
And so I told you what we would do is
and is to my knowledge
Department of Administration never came to any appropriations committee in
this chamber and requested more money so they could hire
more people to do the job
And so we will take a look at it but
this is only because state agencies have come to us
and said we cannot do the workload that is being
pushed down the pipeline to us
And so that's what we need to work on to
get the proper amount of people in the proper places
so that they will be able to do the job
that the part of administration is tasked with doing
So thank you further discussion or debate Senator Robinson for
Perp Shiraz speak to the motion a second time
It is a motion
I believe the rules
I know I'm supposed to do just one Mr President
but I know that you're good about allowing just a
little exception
And just to just to see Senator Robinson if I
if I say yes to you but just a question
to the to the bill sponsor Mr President just to
clear it up for you
I tell you what I'll I'll let you speak but
let's go ahead and move along
Ok
I'm going to make it quick
Senator Sanderson just this morning
I did talk to Department of Administration and they do
need the funds however they are supportive of keeping this
language in the statutes
So I just want to clarify that for you
Thank you Mr President for your leniency
Further discussion or debate hearing no question for the Senate
is that House Bill 600 become law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor all in favor would
vote
I all oppose the vote no five seconds be allowed
for the voting clerk to record the vote
Sarah low no
30 having voted in the affirmative 18 in the negative
motion to override the governor's veto of House Bill 600
passes by 3/5 of the members present and voting in
accordance with article two section 22 per one of the
North Carol of the Constitution of North Carolina
House Bill 600 becomes law
Notwithstanding the objections of the governor at 1:22 p.m. the
House will be so notified
Ok
I believe that completes our calendar
Are there any notices or announcements Senator Alexander for what