The North Carolina General Assembly goes back into session Tuesday. Lawmakers will consider Governor Pat McCrory’s vetoes of two bills. One requires drug testing for certain welfare recipients. The other grants immigration exemptions for some seasonal workers.These two bills were just a small fraction of the laws passed during the General Assembly Session. Republican lawmakers were in control of both the house and the senate as well as the governor’s mansion. By any measure, this past session was a success for the GOP. But is the Republican Party as unified as they should be, and can they maintain their hold on control?
Becki Gray, vice president for outreach at the John Locke Foundation says the drug testing law veto will probably be overridden.
"This passed with bipartisan support with a pretty wide margin," she said, adding later, "...we're really starting to get indications that there is an appetite to override both of these bills."
GOP political consultant Marc Rotterman says that McCrory's veto of the the welfare drug law, and lawmakers' desire to override it, is an indication of GOP infighting.
"I would characterize this as a disagreement among the family," he said.
The measure exempting certain season workers from e-verify requirements is a concern of McCrory's because he worries that it could possibly allow undocumented immigrants to take the jobs of Americans. Brian Balfour, the director of policy at the Civitas Institute, said there could be some truth to that.
"I think there are some legitimate concerns...it will be interesting to see if they try to rework that bill at all or if it will be straight override."
