Three controversial North Carolina laws went into effect Thursday after Republican legislators overrode recent vetoes by Gov. Roy Cooper.
The first law increases restrictions on wearing masks in public, creates new criminal and civil penalties for protesters and loosens campaign finance laws. Cooper vetoed the bill just over a week after it was presented to him, arguing that it threatened to undermine free and fair elections in the state.
“This legislation creates a gaping loophole for secret, unlimited campaign money in the middle of an election year,” Cooper wrote. “While voters are kept in the dark, this scheme allows anonymous out-of-state billionaires to flood North Carolina with campaign contributions to rescue extreme right-wing candidates that Republicans now fear will lose.”
The second piece of legislation rolls back juvenile justice reforms from 2019, enabling 16- and 17-year olds to be tried as adults for criminal offenses. The third law updates the state’s transportation policies, including a widely unpopular provision that loosens restrictions on roadside tree-cutting to make room for billboards.
The House voted Wednesday to override all three vetoes, and the Senate’s Thursday vote made the decision official. Five of the six votes were counted entirely along party lines, excepting the pro-billboards law which received some Democratic support in the House.
The move follows a string of similar actions against the Democratic governor by the North Carolina General Assembly in recent years, as Republicans currently boast a supermajority of over 60% of the state legislators.
Cooper’s seat is up for grabs in November, with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, and North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a Republican, vying for the position after winning their respective primaries. Green Party candidate Wayne Turner and Libertarian Mike Ross are also in the running.
North Carolina legislators in both chambers serve two-year terms, and all 50 Senate and 120 House seats will be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Masks, public safety and campaign finance
House Bill 237 — originally titled “Unmasking Mobs and Criminals” — contains a number of controversial policies, though the most significant backlash came in response to its repeal of a COVID-era exemption allowing North Carolinians to wear masks in public for health reasons.
H.B. 237 qualifies that permissible masks must be “medical or surgical grade” and updates the exemption’s language from “ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others” to “preventing the spread of contagious disease.” The bill also adds that mask-wearers must remove their mask for identification purposes upon request by a law enforcement officer or by the owner or occupant of private or public property.
Republicans have widely defended the bill, arguing that protesters have exploited the exemption to hide their identities at demonstrations. The new legislation was introduced amid an uptick in protests on college campuses and in public spaces in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, some of which have led to arrests in North Carolina.
Although proponents of the bill maintain that police will use “good common sense” to not arrest those who may be using masks for health reasons, many residents remain concerned that immunocompromised North Carolinians will suffer as a result of the policy change.
H.B. 237 increases civil and criminal penalties for protesters as well. Demonstrators who are wearing a mask while charged with a misdemeanor or felony will be charged one class higher than the underlying crime for which they are convicted. Additionally, those who impede the flow of traffic or obstruct emergency vehicles during a protest now face higher criminal penalties and civil liability for any injuries or deaths caused by the delay.
The bill also amends North Carolina campaign finance law in a move Democrats have decried as making it easier for corporations and wealthy individuals to anonymously donate unlimited amounts to political candidates by routing funds through political action committees and state political parties.
H.B. 237 was presented to Cooper June 12 and vetoed June 21. The House voted 70-46 to override Cooper’s veto, with the Senate concurring in a 30-14 vote.
Juvenile justice rollbacks
House Bill 834 undoes many of the changes implemented through the 2019 “Raise the Age” reform bill, which dictated that all defendants under the age of 18 would no longer automatically be charged in adult court for alleged nonviolent offenses.
Now, 16- and 17-year-olds are again automatically directed to adult court for a greater range of felonies, while previously, district attorneys were allowed discretion over placement for juveniles who committed nonviolent offenses.
Prior to the Raise the Age bill’s passage, North Carolina was the only remaining state in the country that tried 16- and 17-year olds as adults for all criminal offenses.
Rep. Marcia Morey, a Democrat representing Durham, strongly objected to the bill. She urged her colleagues not to override Cooper’s veto, reminding them that they are “dealing with minors.”
Duke professors expressed similar concerns, noting that trials in juvenile courts generally lead to better outcomes for those convicted than trials in adult courts.
H.B. 834 was presented to Cooper to be signed June 6, but he instead vetoed the bill June 14. The House voted 70-46 to override, with the Senate voting 30-14 in agreement.
Expanded tree-cutting rights
House Bill 198 amends existing transportation laws in accordance with recommendations from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Its provisions include appropriating funds for Hurricane Dorian recovery, soliciting proposals for new infrastructure upgrade programs and raising late fees for toll roads, among others.
However, Section 27 of the bill has sparked controversy for loosening restrictions around vegetation removal for outdoor advertising, which would allow billboard companies greater flexibility to cut trees alongside N.C. highways. The policy drew opposition from environmental and tourism groups who argue that cutting the trees would damage the natural environment and reduce the state’s appeal to visitors.
The tree-cutting provision was reportedly not among the DOT’s original recommendations for policy change.
H.B. 198 was passed May 22 and vetoed the next day. The veto was overridden after a 74-42 vote in the House and a 30-14 vote in the Senate.
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Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.