The North Carolina General Assembly is back briefly in Raleigh in early 2020 with Republicans and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper facing the same impasse they had for most of 2019.The legislature prepared to gavel in at midday Tuesday for what's expected to be a one-day session.
Senate Republicans are prepared but not required to call a vote to override Cooper's veto of the GOP's two-year state government budget from June.
Democrats have said they feel confident all of their members would vote to uphold the veto, thereby blocking a budget Cooper doesn't like because it lacks robust teacher pay raises and Medicaid expansion. House Republicans overrode the budget veto in September.
Cooper says Republicans should come to the table for a compromise, but GOP leaders say he's the one who won't bargain because he insists on Medicaid expansion.
Senate Republicans put two other potential vetoes override on the chamber's floor calendar. Legislators also could consider other bills involving scholarships for children of wartime veterans and largely technical tax changes.
Groups representing teachers backing Cooper and gun-control activists also plan to lobby the Legislative Building on Tuesday.