Gov. Bev Perdue let House Bill 342, High School Accreditation, become law without her signature, the N&O reports. I wrote a story on the measure earlier this session. Basically, it allows the State Board of Education, rather than an outside agency such as AdvancEd, accredit schools.
That’s divisive — at least in Wake County, where many believe that AdvancEd is trying to punish the school system for its departure from a diversity busing policy, but others regard the accrediting agency as a white knight riding in to save the system.
Not sure what all the state-level political dynamics are on this, but the fact that this escaped Perdue’s veto pen is interesting. The bill didn’t gain a veto-proof majority of votes in the House and Senate, so it’s possible a Perdue veto would have been sustained.
So, why didn’t she veto it? My guess is because she can’t veto every bill that has a hint of partisanship attached to it without becoming Gov. No. Better to expend ammunition on other legislation — such as voter ID, medical malpractice reform, and (soon) the informed-consent for abortion bill.
