Timing set for votes to override Cooper’s abortion veto in NC legislature

New restrictions on abortions in North Carolina could pass as early as Tuesday night.

The Republican-supermajority North Carolina General Assembly is planning to vote Tuesday on whether to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 20.

Cooper vetoed the bill, which restricts abortions after 12 weeks, at a rally on Saturday in downtown Raleigh. The House and Senate, which both have Republican supermajorities by one vote, passed the bill the first week of May.

Senate leader Phil Berger said Tuesday’s session of that chamber convenes at 4 p.m., with the override on the calendar for a vote.

Because it is a Senate bill, the override vote has to be called first in the Senate. Senate rules say that Rules Chair Bill Rabon, a Southport Republican, gives 24 hours’ notice to the Senate’s minority leader, Democratic Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh. However in the House, there does not have to be the same notice. Blue’s office told The N&O they were notified at about 3 p.m. Monday.

If the Senate is successful in overriding Cooper’s veto, the bill next goes to the House for an override vote. The measure could fail, as every single Republican House member would have to vote in favor, and be in attendance, for it to pass into law.

House Speaker Tim Moore’s chief of staff, Neal Inman, said in a tweet that the House “will vote to complete the override of the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 20 (Tuesday) evening sometime after the conclusion of the Senate session.”

If Republicans are successful on Tuesday, this would be the second successful veto override this year of a controversial bill, after the GOP’s repeal of a permit requirement for handgun buyers.

This story was originally published May 15, 2023 at 3:28 PM.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

The News & Observer

919-829-4877

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan is the Capitol Bureau Chief for The News & Observer, leading coverage of the legislative and executive branches in North Carolina with a focus on the governor, General Assembly leadership and state budget. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award, N.C. Open Government Coalition Sunshine Award and several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for politics and investigative reporting.