Source: Editorial Board
State legislators returned to Raleigh on Wednesday to begin a new two-year session and Republicans wasted no time proving that they have no interest in governing.
Republican House Speaker Tim Moore held a vote on new proposed rules for the chamber which would allow him to call for a vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes without providing any advance notice. The rules passed on a party-line vote, WRAL reported.
House rules approved for the last legislative session said that members couldn’t vote to override a veto by Cooper “until the second legislative day following notice of its placement on the calendar.”
Republicans have a supermajority in the state Senate and are one seat shy of having one in the House. In simple terms, if one single Democrat is not on the House floor – whether that’s for a bathroom break, family emergency or anything else – Moore can call a vote and override a veto with a supermajority of Republicans.
Tim Moore is making a workplace that is inhospitable to working parents, those with health problems, caregivers, and others by dismantling important rules and disregarding precedent.
North Carolinians’ freedoms deserve better protection and our democracy deserves fair participation from all the representatives that voters elected. If Republicans acted in good faith on behalf of those who elected them, they would not need to resort to “gotcha” tactics and cheating.
The House will come back into session on Jan. 25 and legislators will have the opportunity to debate the new rules package. Democratic Leader Rep. Robert Reives said, “we do look forward to having that debate.”
