NC House votes to override Stein veto on tax break tied to private school tuition
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- North Carolina House voted 74-45 to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto
- The bill lets people who use private school vouchers opt into a federal tax credit.
- After the House override, the bill was sent to the state Senate for a vote.
The North Carolina House voted to override a veto from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein of a bill that would allow private school tuition donors to get a federal tax break.
The override vote on Wednesday of House Bill 87 was 73-46.
Two former Democrats — Reps. Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed — voted with Republicans. Cunningham and Majeed changed their political party preference to unaffiliated after losing their Democratic primaries in March.
Cunningham also voted for the bill in 2025, along with Democratic Rep. Shelly Willingham, who was not in the House chamber on Wednesday.
Stein vetoed the bill in August that allows North Carolina to participate a federal school-choice tax credit program passed under the Trump administration’s 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The State Education Assistance Authority would run the participation in the program, according to the legislation, and create the list of scholarship-granting organizations that are eligible. It would also be posted on its website.
The bill summary explains that it would allow “any taxpayer to receive a federal tax credit equal to the amount of their charitable contributions to qualifying scholarship granting organizations, up to $1,700, in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2026.”
In August, Stein said tax benefits shouldn’t come at the expense of funding for public schools. He said even though he was vetoing the bill, he believed the federal program could benefit North Carolina’s public school students, and plans to opt into the program after more guidance from the federal government.
After Stein’s veto, Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said: “Either you support school choice, or you don’t.“
“Gov. Stein could have made North Carolina a leader in school choice and parental freedom by signing the Educational Choice for Children Act, but instead, he’s attempting to usurp the General Assembly’s authority to set tax policy. I look forward to holding Gov. Stein accountable and overriding his veto to ensure North Carolina can participate in President Trump’s signature school choice initiative.”
After the House’s successful override on Wednesday morning, the bill was sent to the Senate, which has votes scheduled for this afternoon.
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 12:03 PM.
