NC House votes to override Gov. Josh Stein veto, with Senate expected to follow
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State House overrode Gov. Josh Stein's veto on HB 87 this past week.
- Majeed and Cunningham became unaffiliated after losing primaries and cast key votes.
- Property tax levy limit, income tax cap amendments will be on 2026 ballots.
Good day to you and welcome to our Under the Dome newsletter. I’m Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan, and this edition focuses on Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.
The state House voted to override a Stein veto this past week, the first veto override vote of the General Assembly’s short session that began in April.
House Bill 87, which allows private school tuition donors to opt-in to a federal tax break, was overridden by Republicans and two unaffiliated representatives.
Reps. Nasif Majeed and Carla Cunningham, both of Mecklenburg County, changed their party affiliation from Democrat to unaffiliated after they lost their primary elections in March. Stein worked to help one of Cunningham’s primary opponents defeat her, with a rare endorsement. Governors generally don’t endorse against incumbents, but it has become more of the norm since former Gov. Roy Cooper did so with his fellow Democrats who had broken from the party bloc for some key legislative votes.
The Senate is also expected to override Stein’s veto of HB 87, which would overturn the governor’s decision.
Cunningham and Majeed also were the key votes Republicans needed to achieve a three-fifths supermajority of votes required to pass a constitutional amendment. In keeping with the tax theme of the voting session, two amendments that passed successfully with the two lawmakers’ help will ask voters if they want a cap of 3.5% on the personal income tax rate, and if they want the legislature to instill a levy limit on property taxes.
Here’s more on all three tax bills:
- NC House votes to override Stein veto on tax break tied to private school tuition
- Constitutional amendment to let voters cap the income tax will be on NC ballots
- NC constitutional amendment to limit property tax hikes will be on 2026 ballots
Since there is all this talk about taxes, what about sales tax? And pausing the gas tax, like other states are doing? I asked House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger, the two Republicans who have final say on what bills move, what they think about those ideas. While Hall said his caucus would be open to it, Berger had a different take.
Lawmakers are taking a break from Raleigh this week, including the Memorial Day holiday.
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Be sure to listen to (or watch on YouTube) our Under the Dome podcast. I host a new episode that posts on Tuesdays. Our latest episode featured higher education reporter Jane Sartwell and UNC athletics reporter Shelby Swanson. On our new episode coming up on Tuesday, I’m joined by congressional impact reporter Danielle Battaglia and democracy reporter Kyle Ingram.
Thanks for reading. Reach me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com or the entire politics team at dome@newsobserver.com.
