Sometime around noon today, the North Carolina House of Representatives will gavel into session and decide whether to override Governor Cooper's veto on S 382--a bill that was initially intended to streamline licensing for dentists who practice at medical schools, changed to one that included Helene relief in the title, and ultimately transmogrified into one that allocated some money to Helene relief, and added another 120 or so pages that, if passed, will fundamentally change who has access to the levers of power in North Carolina government.
In a piece in Made by History/Time Magazine, I wrote a bit about the history of these sorts of power grab bills in North Carolina and why North Carolina and other competitive states provide the perfect petri dish for more of the same to follow in the future.
These same themes are also explained in the introductory chapter of my recent book, Anatomy of a Purple State.
None of this should imply, of course, that the current bill is unimportant, or business as usual. If passed, it will represent a fundamental restructuring of who has access to the levers of powers in North Carolina.
What to Watch Today
The House is scheduled to gavel in at noon today. All eyes will be on Karl Gillespie, Mike Clampitt, and Mark Pless--the three Western North Carolina state house members who voted against the bill on its first pass-through.
While those three legislators are indeed critical, smart observers will also be watching the Democratic legislators who weren't present on the original vote. Remember that the Republicans need 3/5 of the legislators present to override the veto--two Democrats absences would mean that the Republicans could have one defector and still override the veto.
If you want to watch, the live stream is here and I'm sure that the North Carolina capitol press corps will be tweeting, skeeting, threading, posting, and writing about the whole thing.
What Will Happen After the Vote?
If the veto is sustained, I expect this one is truly dead. If the veto is overriden, I expect litigation to be filed by happy hour this evening. As for the specifics of any potential lawsuit and the potential for success--your guess is as good as mine.
Dr. Christopher Cooper is Madison Distinguished Professor and Director of the Haire Institute for Public Policy at Western Carolina University. His book, Anatomy of a Purple State, makes a nice gift for any holiday.
