RALEIGH — The six most recent vetoes issued by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper were successfully overridden by the legislature on Aug. 16.
The overrides taken included House Bill 574 – Fairness in Women’s Sports, House Bill 808- Gender Transitions/Minors, House Bill 488 – Code Council Reorg & Var. Code Amend., House Bill 618 – Charter School Review Board, House Bill 219 – Charter School Omnibus, and Senate Bill 49 – Parents’ Bill of Rights.
All 14 of the vetoes issued by the governor so far this session have been successfully overridden.
In a set of statements on X, formerly known as Twitter, the NCGOP applauded the overrides, stating, “N.C. House votes to override SIX MORE of Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes in a win for parents, student-athletes, families, and businesses.”
“The overrides reinvigorate legislation to expand charter schools, prohibit biological men from competing in women’s sports, ban gender transition surgeries for minors, block costly new home building energy mandates and affirm parental rights over their child’s education,” the NCGOP statement said.
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton released a statement criticizing the lack of a budget and the overrides as part of an “extreme agenda.”
“After weeks out of the office, General Assembly Republicans are coming back from their vacations, not to pass a budget, but to prioritize going after trans kids with their extreme agenda,” Clayton said. “Republicans would rather go after vulnerable communities instead of expanding Medicaid and giving our public school educators the raises they deserve. North Carolinians deserve leaders who protect our people, not target them.”
Of note, North Carolina State Superintendent Catherine Truitt issued a series of comments on X about two of the veto overrides; the Parents’ Bill of Rights and Protect Women’s Sports bills.
“The North Carolina General Assembly overrode several vetoes on Wednesday that have a direct impact on education in North Carolina. The two most notable are the Parent’s Bill of Rights and the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” tweeted Truitt. “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act will help us maintain a truly level playing field in women’s sports. The inherent and intrinsic biological differences between men and women that impact athletic performance is unquestionable. We can respect individual gender preferences, but biological sex must be the basis for sporting events.”
“As a former public school teacher and parent of three, I see the Parent’s Bill of Rights as a key way to open lines of communication between schools and parents so that parents remain a primary part of the conversation regarding their child’s academic, health, and overall wellbeing,” Truitt went on to tweet. “This bill is about empowering, equipping, and informing parents so they can determine how to best advocate for their child and will give them greater confidence in how their child is learning, growing and excelling in North Carolina’s public schools.”
More Reactions by Bill
House Bill 574
The law established by the bill bars biological males from participating in female sports teams in the state, including any male claiming to be a transgender female. Per the bill, this law is effective as of the current 2023-24 school year.
“I am proud that today my colleagues stood up for female athletes in this state by overriding the Governor’s veto of this common-sense legislation,” said Rep. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson), the primary sponsor of House Bill 574. “Girls should not have to worry about having to compete against biological males in sports and this legislation will protect female athletes from such unfair and unsafe competition.”
Per a June 2023 Gallup poll, 69% indicated transgender athletes should only be allowed to compete on sports teams aligning with their biological sex. That percentage is up from 62% just two years ago.
Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell) helped guide the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act through the Senate and participated in a press conference held prior to the override votes.
“So-called feminists will tell you that in order to have full equality, women need to sacrifice the spaces they fought so hard to secure. That is unequivocally false,” Sawyer said. “We must take a stand now to protect women, otherwise, Democrats will do everything they can to eviscerate every even playing field women have. Our daughters should not be forced to compete against biological men and overriding Gov. Cooper’s veto of this legislation ensures our daughters do not have to worry about that.”
Arguably at the root of House Bill 574 is the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). The organization created a policy during the 2019-20 school year forcing the state’s K-12 schools to permit transgender athletes to play sports based on the gender they identify as with no other documentation other than the student’s gender claims.
The NCHSAA’s handbook under Sec. 1.2.4 permits students to participate in sports based on the gender on a student’s birth certificate or a student’s “gender identity,” as listed on a “Gender Identity Request Form” submitted by the student.
With the successful veto override of House Bill 574, the NCHSAA policy will have to be dismantled.
A spokesperson for the NCHSAA says they received 18 requests since the policy was implemented. Of the 18 cited by the NCHSAA, 16 were approved. Two were males wishing to play on female teams and 14 were females wishing to play on male teams. The count might have been higher since it wasn’t long after the policy went into effect that COVID-19 shut down most of the state, including schools and high school sports.
NC Values Coalition, a conservative advocacy group, has been working towards legislation to protect women’s sports over the past three years.
“Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field. Allowing males to compete in girls’ sports destroys fair competition and women’s athletic opportunities,” NC Values Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said in a statement.
NC Values and NC Faith & Freedom Coalition commissioned a statewide poll in January 2023 and found over 70% of North Carolinians believe biological males should not be permitted on female sports teams. A new nationwide Gallup Poll revealed 69% of Americans also agree, showing a 7% increase since 2021.
Fitzgerald went on to say it was “heartbreaking to hear Riley Gaines tearfully testify about the years of training and hard work that went down the drain when she was forced to race against a biological male swimmer.”
“To add insult to injury, Riley and all the other female swimmers at the NCAA championship last year suffered the degradation of having to undress in front of a fully intact biological male who paraded around the locker room exposing himself,” said Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald also thanked Reps. Balkcom, Gillespie, Pare, Baker, and Senators Corbin, Krawiec and Sawyer for sponsoring the bill and to those legislators who override the governor’s veto.
House Bill 808
The main provision of the new law prohibits gender-reassignment surgery, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones for minors in North Carolina. The bill’s various provisions have individual effective dates, most of which are retroactive to July 1 and Aug. 1 of this year.
“Statistically we have seen from studies in Europe high numbers of people who regret having undergone gender-affirming care as minors and many go through the detransition process,” Rep. Ken Fontenot (R-Wilson) said of House Bill 808. “Sadly, even after people detransition they cannot have children, and this is too serious and irreversible of a decision for minors to make before their brain is fully developed.”
North Carolina is now the twenty-second state to enact legislation protecting minors from so-called “gender-affirming care” that includes major surgeries, puberty-blocking drugs, and hormone treatments.
“In some of the most liberal parts of the country, children are allowed to permanently alter their bodies with off-label drugs for the purpose of changing their sex,” Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth) said in a statement regarding House Bill 808.. “While Republicans are protecting minors from such absurd open-door policies, Democrats are siding with the furthest left of their base and putting politics ahead of documented medical risks and consequences. We need to take a cautious approach and limit access to these life-altering medical procedures, and today’s vote to override Gov. Cooper’s veto does just that.”
Senate Bill 49
Twelve Parental rights related to a child’s upbringing, health, and education are enumerated under the new law, which also establishes parental grievance options related to educational materials as well as barring the teaching or discussion of any sexual topic or gender ideology for grade kindergarten through fourth grade.
“Democrats want to keep North Carolina’s education system shielded from parental accountability. They want to use our schools to advance their partisan political agenda instead of working to improve student outcomes,” Sen. Amy Galey (R-Alamance) said in a statement on the veto override of Senate Bill 49. “The ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’ fights back against those efforts. It increases accessibility to what’s being taught in our schools, notifies parents of the well-being of their children, and keeps school curriculum focused on core subjects.”
During floor remarks about the Parents’ Bill of Rights, Rep. Brian Briggs (R-Randolph) said, “This legislation codifies the rights of parents and guardians to guarantee their direct involvement in their child’s education. This bill brings much-needed transparency and openness to our schools.”
According to a Washington Post-KFF poll conducted in late 2022, 77% of adults believe teachers discussing gender and transgender identity ideologies with public school K-3 students is inappropriate.
House Bill 219
Various laws governing charter schools are revised under this law, such as allowing counties to use property taxes to fund charter school capital needs and removing growth caps on schools that are not low-performing. It also contains various prohibitions on local boards of education from discriminating against charter schools and bars the State Board of Education from considering impact statements from public school districts when it comes to charter approvals, closures or operations.
House Bill 618
Effective immediately, this law converts the current Charter Schools Advisory Board into the Charter Schools Review Board. The authority to approve charter schools by the State Board of Education will now reside with the Review Board. A right to appeal decisions made by the Review Board will still be sent to the State Board of Education.
“Education is not one-size-fits-all and charter schools are critical to ensuring families have the freedom to choose an education that best fits their child’s needs,” House K-12 Education Committee Co-chair Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) said of the two charter-school related bills. “By overriding the Governor’s veto, these two bills help further our efforts to promote school choice, expand educational opportunities and put kids first.”
Lindalyn Kakadelis, Executive Director of the N.C. Coalition for Charter Schools, thanked the lawmakers for the overrides of both of the bills but also took aim at the governor’s veto messages.
“Thank you to the legislators who voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of HB 219. Among other policies, the measure will remove enrollment caps for some public charter schools, a necessary move considering the 77,000 names on charter school waitlists last year,” Kakadelis said. “Despite Gov. Cooper’s claim to the contrary, HB 219 explicitly maintains enrollment caps for low-performing charter schools.”
On House Bill 619, Kakadelis called out Cooper for referring to appointees to the Charter School Review Board as “political friends and extremists.”
“The eleven members of the current charter school supervisory board have a combined 295 years of education experience. They are neither ‘political friends’ nor ‘extremists’,” Said Kakadelis. “Those who oversee charter schools approach their work with rigor and good faith. They deserve to be treated as the professionals they are.”
House Bill 488
Under this law, North Carolina’s Building Code Council is reorganized to create a new Residential Code Council. The law contains various changes to state building code provisions, land development regulations, and General Contractor licensing laws. Like many of the other vetoes that were overridden, this bill is now currently in effect.
“This bill prevents costly changes to the residential building code that will drive up costs and make it more difficult for hardworking people to purchase a new home,” said House Bill 488’s primary sponsor Rep. Mark Brody (R-Union) “I’m pleased that a bipartisan majority in the House voted to override the Governor and block these new excessive mandates on home construction.”
