John Locke Foundation’s Mitch Kokai writes for Carolina Journal’s Daily Journal:
Just seven weeks remain for veto-proof Republican supermajorities in the N.C. General Assembly. That gives GOP lawmakers plenty of time to craft, unveil, and approve new legislation.
They don’t need support from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. They need no input from Democratic colleagues in the House or Senate. Acting on their own, Republican legislators face a relatively clear path to enact their favorite policies.
The urge to end the 2017-18 legislative session with a bang will prove tempting. Lawmakers should fight the temptation.
Regardless of the supermajorities, the General Assembly has plenty of work to do when it reconvenes Nov. 27 in Raleigh. The post-Thanksgiving session also offers lawmakers a chance to practice for the new political reality voters have created for 2019.
That reality includes a House and Senate still under control of Republican leadership. But GOP members will no longer enjoy the luxury of sidestepping all objections from the Democratic caucus. Nor will Republican leaders be able to ignore complaints from the Executive Mansion.
With a new legislative lineup taking office next year, a united GOP will need at least one Democratic senator and a half dozen Democratic representatives to help them override a Cooper veto. That’s not impossible. But it will require work.
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