RALEIGH — Lawmakers in the North Carolina legislature overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of House Bill 10 last week.
The House overrode the veto on Nov. 19 by a vote of 72-44. Three Democrats crossed the aisle to override the governor’s veto: Reps. Carla Cunningham (Mecklenburg), Shelly Willingham (Edgecombe) and Michael Wray (Northampton).
The following day, the Senate completed the override with a vote of 30-19.
Cooper has issued 103 vetoes during his eight years in office — 75% of the 138 total vetoes since governors were given that power in the late 1990s. Including House Bill 10, the legislature has overridden 51 of Cooper’s vetoes.
The law directs state law enforcement to cooperate with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding detainers placed on illegal migrants who have committed crimes and are in police custody. Jail or facility administrators are directed to determine whether an inmate is legally in the country by asking the individual or reviewing relevant documents. If citizenship cannot be determined, ICE must be contacted.
The new law also clears the more than 56,000 Opportunity Scholarship program (OSP) waitlist backlog with a $463.5 million appropriation in two parts.
Nonrecurring funds of $248 million will come from the Education Reserve, which is established by the bill as a part of the state’s General Fund. The bill transfers the funds from the Education Reserve to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina to be distributed as necessary through the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA), which oversees the OSP.
Recurring funds of $215.5 million are also included for scholarship awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. That money will be transferred from the General Fund to the OSP Reserve fund.
The backlog funding is retroactive by directing private schools to reimburse families who have already paid their tuition within 60 days of receiving funds from the NCEAA.
The new law directs $825 million from the General Fund to the OSP Reserve Fund beginning with the 2032-33 fiscal year and each fiscal year after that. The annual budget amount for the OSP Reserve Fund will also be updated to keep up with the expected demand for the program, with more than $1.862 billion in increases spread across the next seven years.
More than 72,000 new students applied for OSP funds this year after Republicans expanded the program in 2023 to allow any student in the state to apply.
ESA+ waitlists that cover children with disabilities will also get $24.7 million in recurring funds.
Since the legislature expanded the OSP for all students, Cooper has repeatedly called for a moratorium on the program. He has ignored or stripped funding from the program in every budget proposal during his eight years as governor.
Cooper continued his criticism of the OSP by attacking lawmakers in the days before the override, claiming the funding for clearing the OSP backlog should be used for Hurricane Helene relief instead.
“Western NC legislators should demand immediate state funding for Helene recovery – including small business and local gov grants – instead of billions of dollars for private school vouchers for the wealthy that hurt rural public schools and fund mostly urban counties,” Cooper wrote in a Nov. 13 post on X that was signed “-RC,” meaning he issued the post personally.
Leadership at the General Assembly has said there will be successive rounds of targeted Helene funding as needed. Not including the third installment of Helene relief passed last week, the legislature has appropriated over $944 million. More than $644 million was in the second round of funding that focused on small businesses and local government needs.
During discussion on the House floor, Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) chastised Cooper and Democrats for trying to tie hurricane relief to OSP funds, calling it a “false choice.”
“It is shameful for our governor to try and set up a fight between hurricane victim relief and children,” Cotham said. “They are not the same.
“It is extremely unfortunate and disingenuous that we keep hearing the same political rhetoric over and over and over about the Opportunity Scholarship program. This program is about children. It’s about families being able to pick what is best for their child.”
NCSEAA data shows 37,143 students are currently utilizing the OSP across North Carolina as of Nov. 4. Most current enrollees are in Tier 1, with students typically in households of four with an income up to $57,720. Awards for Tier 1 are the highest, maxing out at $7,468.
