Brooks Pierce Capital Dispatch: Legislators Override Vetoes, Appropriate Funds, and Change State Government Powers
Legislators returned to Raleigh this week and acted on a number of bills, including storm recovery. In addition, Republicans selected their nominees for leadership in the next session.
New Leadership
Republican legislators met this week and selected their leadership nominees for the 2025-26 legislative session, which is tantamount to their election given the large Republican majorities in both chambers.
Republican Senators selected these nominees:
- President Pro Tem Sen. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham)
Berger will begin his 13th Senate term next year and has served in this leadership position since 2011.
- Deputy President Pro Tem Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell)
Hise will begin his 8th Senate term next year and currently is Co-Chair of the Senate Appropriations committee.
- Majority Leader Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus)
Newton will begin his 5th Senate term next year and currently is Co-Chair of the Senate Finance committee.
- Whips Sen. Amy Galey (R-Alamance) and Sen. Todd Johnson (R-Union)
Galey will begin her 3rd Senate term next year and currently is Co-Chair of the Senate Education/Higher Education committee. Johnson will begin his 4th Senate term next year and currently is Co-Chair of the Senate Commerce and Insurance committee.
- Caucus Liaison Sen. Carl Ford (R-Rowan)
Ford will begin his 3rd Senate term next year following three terms in the NC House. He currently is Co-Chair of the Senate State and Local Government committee.
House Republicans selected as their nominees:
- Speaker of the House Destin Hall (R-Caldwell)
Hall will begin his 5th House term next year and currently is Chair of the House Rules committee. He is a lawyer from Lenoir. Hall will replace current Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), who was elected this year to the US House.
- Speaker Pro Tem Mitchell Setzer (R-Catawba)
Setzer will begin his 14th House term next year and currently is Co-Chair of the House Insurance committee and Senior Chair of the House Finance committee.
- Majority Leader Brenden Jones (R-Columbus)
Jones will begin his 4th House term next year and currently is Chair of the House Appropriations and Transportation committees.
Veto Overrides
Both houses this week overrode two vetoes by Gov. Roy Cooper.
The two bills, which now are law, are:
The Senate voted 30 to 19 and House voted 72 to 44 to override the veto of this bill.
The bill includes these appropriations:
- $ 463.5 million ($248 million nonrecurring and $215.5 million recurring) for Opportunity Scholarships. These funds are for students attending nonpublic schools and the additional appropriation addresses a student wait list due to adjustments in parental income limits. This brings the total appropriation for Opportunity Scholarships for this fiscal year to $570 million.
- $24.7 million recurring to clear the North Carolina's Education Student Accounts (ESA+) program waitlist for children with disabilities
- $64 million recurring for Community College enrollment growth
- $95 million recurring for K-12 school enrollment growth
- $277 million recurring and $100 million nonrecurring for Medicaid
- $55.1 million for infrastructure improvements to support economic development in Chatham County
- $150 million for major transportation improvements at the Randolph County Toyota battery plant megasite
In addition, the bill facilitates the state receiving additional federal funds for high-speed internet in rural communities and includes a requirement for sheriffs to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by honoring immigration detainers from ICE.
This bill, among other things, changes laws about filing certain certified documents with the register of deeds, and modifies various laws related to summary ejectments and small claims actions.
Bill for Disaster Recovery, Budget Adjustments, and Changes to State Government
Legislators this week passed a 132-page conference report bill that among other things, reserves additional funds for storm recovery, makes changes in the state budget, and alters the power of a number of state officials including the Governor and Attorney General. The House passed the bill by 63 to 46 and the Senate passed it by 30 to 19.
Funding provisions in the bill include:
- Reserves an additional $227 million for the Hurricane Helene Fund
- Appropriates $25 million to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for debris removal
- Appropriates $50 million to the Office of Recovery and Resilience for homeowner recovery under the Rebuild NC program, which is responsible for rebuilding homes damaged by hurricanes Florence and Matthew
- Appropriates $33.8 million in grants to help keep child care facilities open
The bill changes a number of provisions related to state government decision making including:
- Shifts oversight of elections from the State Board of Elections, whose members are currently appointed by the Governor, to the State Auditor. The change would be effective July 1, 2025. Dave Boliek (R-Cumberland) was elected State Auditor earlier this month.
- Changes appointments to the Utilities Commission so the Governor does not appoint a majority of its members. Under the bill, the Governor would appoint two members, the legislature would appoint two members, and the State Treasurer would appoint one member. Brad Briner (R-Orange) was elected State Treasurer earlier this month.
- Restricts the Attorney General’s power to participate in certain lawsuits including when legislative action is being challenged in court. Jeff Jackson (D-Mecklenburg) was elected Attorney General earlier this month.
- Eliminates the state’s Energy Policy Council, which has been chaired by the Lt. Governor. Rachel Hunt (D-Mecklenburg) was elected Lt. Governor earlier this month.
- Removes the authority of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to appeal decisions made by the board overseeing charter schools and transfers the Center for Safer Schools from the Department of Public Instruction to the State Bureau of Investigation. Mo Green (D-Guilford) was elected State Superintendent earlier this month.
- Makes the State Highway Patrol an independent state agency. Under the bill, the Governor would appoint the Patrol Commander to a five-year term (the first term would begin July 1, 2025) subject to legislative confirmation.
December Legislative Meeting
Legislators will return to Raleigh on December 2 for an additional session. Among the things that can be considered are conference reports, veto overrides, and amendments to the North Carolina Constitution.
Information about bills and work of the General Assembly can be found at its website: www.ncleg.gov.For more information, contact a member of the Brooks Pierce Government Affairs Team.
Ed Turlington, Partner
Drew Moretz, Government Relations Advisor
Katelyn Kingsbury, Government Relations Advisor