Governor shows he can lead practically - as he claimed

Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, August 17, 2013.

A lot of bills have crossed Gov. Pat McCrory’s desk since he took office in January as the first Republican in the office in 20 years. But it wasn’t until Thursday that he issued his first two vetoes, and good for him.

As self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives, North Carolina’s legislative leaders pledged to make sure the taxpayers’ money is spent wisely, and that the state spends no more than necessary to run an efficient government. Yet the Honorables approved a costly program to identify drug abusers among welfare applicants, an idea that has proven ineffective in other states.

McCrory vetoed that bill and a second one, House Bill 786, which was intended to ease

E-Verify requirements for farmers who depend on seasonal migrant labor. But the governor says the General Assembly left a loophole that could allow other businesses to get around the requirement to ensure they are hiring legal residents.

House Bill 392 would require the Department of Health and Human Services to administer drug tests on Work First applicants suspected of drug abuse. People who test positive would have to pay the cost of the test. Taxpayers would be on the hook for the rest. “This is not a smart way to combat drug abuse,” McCrory said in a news release. He is right.

The Senate had passed a much more objectionable bill in April that would have required everyone who applied for Work First, the monthly payment most people think of when they use the term “welfare,” to submit to a drug test and to pay the cost of that test up front.

The compromise was more palatable but still posed concerns about effectiveness and cost. The governor cited both factors as reasons for vetoing HB 392. He issued an executive order to put in place a second provision in the bill that required the state Justice Department to provide criminal background checks on public assistance applicants to a social services agency. Federal law prohibits fugitives and probation or parole violators from receiving federally funded welfare benefits.

No thinking person, regardless of political or social leanings, wants publicly funded benefits going to people who aren’t eligible. Unless legal experts determine that the order oversteps the governor’s authority, executive order seems like a sensible way to impose the requirement.

It is unfortunate that he has not used his veto powers in an attempt to modify other, more controversial bills that have put North Carolina in the national spotlight (and not in a good way). For example, the much-maligned voting bill will cost money to provide free photographic IDs to residents, and legal fees will add up in defending the lawsuits that already have been filed. It would have been heartening had McCrory used the veto to urge lawmakers to soften aspects of the bill that come off as an effort to make voting harder.

And given the vote on the two vetoed bills, it is possible that the House and Senate will override his decision.

Nevertheless, it’s encouraging to see that he is willing to reject legislation that seems both unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible, and to point out the gaping loophole in the immigration bill titled the “Reclaim NC Act.” In an administration-produced video explaining his decision, McCrory sounded like a leader who can look beyond partisan lines to consider how certain legislation might hurt rather than help the state.

We’d like to see more of that governor.