By a 72-46 margin, the House voted to override the veto on Wednesday, making the bill that provides Hurricane Helene relief but also weakens the powers of certain statewide offices.
The vote was originally scheduled for Monday, then pushed to Tuesday, and took place Wednesday.
"NC11 commends every western NC legislator for their vote to override Governor Cooper's veto of SB382," said Michele Woodhouse NC11 GOP District Chair. "These legislators reflect their independent-minded western NC mountain constituents. This legislation brings critical hurricane relief to families and communities that have been failed from day 1 by President Biden and his FEMA."
The bill directs $227 million toward Hurricane Helene disaster relief from the state savings reserve. This marks the third round of public support in the aftermath of Helene.
"This state right now, we've got $5 billion or so in our disaster relief fund, appropriated roughly a billion dollars of it," said Rep. Destin Hall, R-District 87. "Even if today we passed a bill spending $5 billion in hurricane relief for western North Carolina, the reality is the $1 billion that's already been sent has not even been spent."
After the vote, Democratic Rep. Robert Reives, the House Minority Leader, was critical of the process.
"This isn't our money. This is tax money from people in North Carolina. And I've not heard one North Carolinian say, don't give my tax money to western North Carolina. Not one," Reives said. "So if all of North Carolina is in agreement, what are we doing?"
SB 382 also enacts a series of unrelated changes that would weaken the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction. All offices are slated to be run by Democrats next year. The legislation would also cut down on the period to correct provisional ballots, installing a deadline of Friday at noon following Election Day.
"The people of western North Carolina are desperate for help from their state government. Yet, this bill is a power grab, not hurricane relief. It is despicable for the Republicans in the General Assembly to use folks' incredible need for aid to cloak their political pettiness," said Attorney General and Gov.-elect Josh Stein, a Democrat. "The legislature needs to step up and do its job. If they do, they will find a good-faith partner in me. I'm ready to get to work."
The Senate already voted 30-19 to override Cooper's veto last Monday.
The vote sparked anger from members of the public who packed the galleries - some of whom were yelling at legislators in protest, many chanting "shame" before they were escorted out of both the chambers and ultimately the building.
"We should have done more sooner. We talk about figuring all this out," said Rep. Eric Ager, a Democrat who represents District 114, which includes part of Buncombe County. "The people in western Carolina are tired of hearing help is on the way. It's not coming. That's the way people feel. We've just got to do better. We're not here to talk to each other and slowly drip money out. We know that flexible quick money is how we get through disasters, and that's what we need to do."
In what could be seen as a key test of Hall's leadership, as he's set to take over as Speaker next month, Republicans were able to utilize their supermajority status. This was not a foregone conclusion, as three House Republicans initially voted against the bill when it was introduced last month.
Republican Rep. Mark Pless was one of those who initially opposed the legislation.
"Part of what we do here is we need to examine the effects that legislation is going to have," said Pless, who represents District 118, which covers several western counties. "And I don't think we did that with this. I would love to hear some of the reasoning for some of the things that we are tackling in this bill, both in policy and in the hurricane relief. That's my biggest focus, is I want to hear why we are where we are."
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee blasted the legislation, saying North Carolina Republicans "have lashed out in a blatant 11th-hour power grab."
The left-leaning North Carolina Association of Educators expressed similar frustration about the veto override.
"This bill is a farce and a last-ditch effort to grab power before the Republican supermajority is broken. It does absolutely nothing to help our schools, educators, children, or the people of Western North Carolina who are still grappling with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Worse, it undermines the will of North Carolinians, who made their voices heard this past fall by electing new leadership," the NCAE said. "This legislation reflects neither the needs nor the desires of the people of our state."
Republicans in the general assembly lost their veto-proof majority in the Nov. 5 election.
"Unfortunately, western North Carolina had to watch as every Republican in the General Assembly shamelessly put their desire to strip political power away from recently elected Democrats ahead of the aid and relief their communities need," said Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. "Using the guise of Hurricane Helene relief is a new low, even for General Assembly Republicans."
Republicans roundly rejected those claims and focused on the increased relief for hurricane victims.
"The NC House of Representatives has done the right thing for WNC and overridden the shameful veto of SB 382," said Jason Simmons, NCGOP chair.
Hall, who was part of a delegation that met with officials in Washington on Tuesday, continued to express that more needed to be done concerning disaster relief from a federal funding perspective.
"We come back in 2025, I expect to be speaker of this party, my sole priority from Day 1 will be this hurricane relief," Hall said. "Every member in this body who wants to work with me - whether it's Republican or Democrat - I'll work with you."