Editorial: Haste makes waste on NC laws

Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 8, 2011

North Carolina’s Legislature hasn’t been in session all year. It just seems like it has.
The most recent gathering of legislators was the fourth since the year’s main session ended in June. Leaders promised a shorter “long” session and kept their word. But that accomplishment has been negated by the practice of convening again and again for a few days at a time.
Some Democrats suspect it’s a political strategy, designed by the Republicans in power to catch them off guard. Several bills that were vetoed by Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue earlier this year were set aside until Republicans could find an advantageous time to bring them up for an override vote.
Enacting a voter ID requirement; creating openings for possible oil and natural gas exploration offshore or the practice of “fracking” inland; and stopping paycheck withholding for teachers’ dues to the North Carolina Association of Educators were listed on the House calendar for potential action. Because a veto override requires a three-fifths vote of those present, poor attendance by Democrats could have kept them from sustaining the vetoes. As it turned out, Democrats did attend and these measures were not brought up for a vote.
The Senate took the only substantive action of the mini-session, repealing the controversial Racial Justice Act. Now it must wait to see whether the governor vetoes the repeal.
This was important enough to merit public hearings and extensive debate. But there was no time for deliberation during a three-day session. It begs the conclusion that the intent was to win a quick vote, if the votes could be lined up, not to thoroughly air arguments on both sides of the issue.
The tactic of pressing an advantage at an opportune time wasn’t invented by the Republican leaders of the 2011 General Assembly. In August 2005, Marc Basnight, then the Democratic leader of the Senate, summoned that body back into session after previously announcing it was done for the year. Basnight had one purpose: to call a hasty vote on the lottery, which had appeared to stall earlier. This time he gained a tie vote, which was broken in favor of the lottery by then-Lt. Gov. Perdue. So now-Gov. Perdue won’t stand on the highest ground if she complains about current legislative shenanigans.
The public deserves better. …
— News & Record of Greensboro