NORTH CAROLINA — In a 30-19 vote, Senate Bill 382 is a step closer to becoming law after the GOP Senate supermajority overrode the governor’s veto.
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The House also has to take up the bill, though it will not reconvene until Thursday; however, it’s unclear when the vote will happen.
Dubbed a disaster relief recovery bill, S.B. 382 has been called a “power grab” for Republicans, who lose their supermajority in the House come January.
Folks flocked into the state chamber Monday to protest its passing.
“It destroys the will of the voters — it’s voter suppression!” Karen Ziegler yelled, before being removed.
Others broke out in chants and applause.
Exiting Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, who presided over the vote, asked the crowd to settle.
“Folks, this is not a football game or a concert — the applause will not be tolerated,” he said. “You’re welcome to be in here, but we need silence.”
As the pushback grew louder, he attempted to clear the gallery due to the disruption. Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus (District 41) chimed in, objecting.
“Mr. President, you can’t clear the whole gallery,” Marcus said. “A lot of the people here are being respectful and here to see what’s happening. This is the people’s house. You should not clear the whole gallery. It’s undemocratic.”
Robinson called for a 10-minute recess instead as people gathered outside yelling “shame, shame, shame” and holding signs scribed with “Stop the Steal” and “All power comes from the people.”
The ire drawn comes from dozens of provisions in S.B. 382 not relating to disaster recovery. While the bill transfers $227 million from the state’s savings reserve to its Helene fund, it notes resources shall remain unspent until further review by the General Assembly.
In total, the bill is 131 pages and includes restructuring of the executive branch of the state government and amending elections processes, for instance.
MORE: Election association warns SB 382’s ballot-counting timeframe is ‘logistically impossible’
A few items included are:
- Transferring authority over State Board of Elections appointments from incoming Gov. Josh Stein — a Democrat — to Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek
- Moving up several deadlines to return and count ballots during elections
- Providing elections boards only three days post-election to cure ballots with discrepancies for addresses or I.D. verifications, eliminating six days
- Allowing industrial hog waste producers to receive renewable energy credits for creating biogas facilities in economically distressed tier-one counties
- Organizing utility authority overhaul by stripping the governor’s majority appointment authority of the Utilities Commission
- Deleting from state statute a provision granting the attorney general authority to appear before agencies in proceedings on behalf of the state; this will prevent Democrat Jeff Jackson, who won the 2024 election, from intervening in Utilities Commission proceedings, for instance
- Removing the seats of two elected Superior Court justices who have ruled against GOP-backed election changes and creating two new judicial positions appointed by the General Assembly
- Prohibiting the governor from increasing unemployment insurance during emergencies, as Cooper recently did for Helene victims
The surprise legislation was unveiled an hour before the House held a contentious debate and voted to pass it on Nov. 19. The bill did not go through normal rounds of committees.
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed it a week later on Nov. 26.
“This legislation is a sham,” Cooper wrote in his veto note, also read in the chamber Monday. “It does not send money to western North Carolina, but merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh. This legislation was titled ‘disaster relief,’ but instead violates the Constitution by taking appointments away from the next governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and commander of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the attorney general’s ability to advocate for lower electrical bills. For consumers, instead of giving small business grants to disaster counties, it strikes a cruel blow by blocking the extension of better unemployment benefits for people who have lost jobs because of natural disasters.”
ALSO: Helene recovery bill prohibits governor from increasing unemployment insurance during emergencies
Three House Republicans representing western North Carolina — Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Swain), Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood), Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Graham) — first voted against the bill. Incoming House Speaker Destin Hall has expressed confidence the House representatives will vote in favor of Cooper’s veto override.
Republican Sen. Ralph Hise Jr. (District 47) called it a good policy, in spite of the governor’s “spicy language” painting it otherwise.
There was no debate on the floor before taking Monday’s vote. However, before it was called, Robinson reacted to Marcus defending constituents inside the hall.
“There is a time for protest, but it’s not in the halls of this chamber,” he said. “And anyone that sits in this seat that tolerates it should not be here, because we have to keep order in here. I don’t mind hearing these folks’ voices, but I won’t tolerate it on this floor — and no one should.”
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