Vegetation near highway billboards cited for latest veto attempt | North Carolina

(The Center Square) – Extending his record for the 95th time, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a General Assembly bill, this time related to vegetation near highway billboards.

Six House Democrats favored including transportation laws, and his choice to lead the state Department of Transportation was included in the process. Legislators are 19 of 19 trying to circumvent the project since the collective start of this two-year term in January 2023.

The legislation, DOT.-AB legislative changes, was led in part by Senators Michael Lazzara, Tom McInnis and Vickie Sawyer of the House Transportation Committee. All will jointly chair the panel. Lazzara is from Onslow County, McInnis from Moore and Sawyer from Iredell.

Their statement in response to the veto noted that Cooper's pick, Secretary Joey Hopkins, “helped put in place” the changes. The wording of the bill indicates that the recommendations were made by the Ministry of Transportation.

The proposal was primarily sponsored by House Representatives. Brendan Jones, R-Columbus; Phil Shephard, R-Onslow; Jeffrey McNeely, R-Iredell; and Steve Tyson, R-Craven.

Support for approval after the bill's return from the Senate included Democratic Reps. Cecil Brockman and Ashton Wheeler Clemmons of Guilford County, Carla Cunningham of Mecklenburg County, Marvin Lucas of Cumberland County, Garland Pierce of Scotland and Michael Wray of Northampton County. No Democratic senators voted for the bill.

Cooper's statement said: “Protecting the beauty of North Carolina should be a top priority, but this legislation authorizes the felling of trees and destruction of native plants around billboards. In February, I signed Executive Order 305, which sets comprehensive goals for restoring and protecting natural areas, prioritizing native plants and planting 1 million trees. North Carolina's picturesque landscapes are one of the reasons our state has just broken records in its tourism economy and why we have one of the most beautiful places in the world to live.

Cooper's executive order was filed on February 12; the bill received the stamp of receipt from the Clerk of the House on February 23.

The senators responded: “House Bill 198 is bipartisan compromise legislation that the governor’s own transportation agency helped craft. Governor Cooper's partisan veto of this bill shows that he values ​​his relationship with Green New Deal advocacy groups more than implementing good policy. We look forward to overriding Governor Cooper's latest ill-advised veto.

A three-fifths majority in each chamber is required to override the governor's veto, and the Senate and House each have that many Republicans in number. Cooper, in this 2023-24 session, is 0 for 19 on vetoes. Since reaching the governor's mansion in January 2017, he has a rating of 0 out of 42 when Republicans have a three-fifths majority in each chamber, and 13 out of 13 when they did not from 2019 to 2022.