What THE NC Republican Legislature has done to North Carolina
The North Carolina Legislature is controlled by Republicans, and it has been under Republican control for over 10 years. In the State House the current composition is 72 Republicans and 48 Democrats. In the State Senate the composition is 30 Republicans and 20 Democrats. The NC Legislature has a veto-proof majority in both chambers and thus can override any veto by the Governor. Last year, voters elected enough Democrats to avoid a veto-proof majority, but when Tricia Cotham switched parties from Democratic to Republican she gave Republicans their veto-proof majority. Republicans have overridden the Governor’s veto 19 times since they gained that control.
So what has the Republican-controlled legislature delivered since they got the control back? They have:
Restricted access to reproductive health care, scaling back access to abortion from 20 weeks to 15 weeks.
Severely gerrymandered state and federal election districts to keep the Republican Party in control of districts for many years to come.
Made changes to NC Election Law by unbalancing members of the state election board and transferring the resolution of disputes to the General Assembly rather than the Governor’s party (judges temporarily blocked these changes).
Stripped millions of dollars from public schools, transferring those funds to unaccountable private and charter schools.
Blind-sided UNC campus governing boards with new program decisions.
Stripped the Governor’s office of appointment power to governing boards.
Passed the controversial “Parent’s Bill of Rights.” Here is what’s in the bill.
Stripped environmental safeguards to help the business community.
Unless we elect more Democrats in 2024 to break the Republican supermajority, we can expect: continued attacks on reproductive rights (maybe even restrictions on access to birth control); continued defunding of public education; continued erosion of local control by school boards; and a continued focus on the culture war. The latter is simply a ploy to distract North Carolinians from the transfer of power and tax payer dollars behind-the-scenes. The wealthy and large corporations will, no doubt, be the recipients of such GOP largesse.
Ultimately, what we can expect if the Republicans’ candidate for governor wins the election is that the great divider Mark Robinson, together with his “willing” GOP legislature, will further take rights from North Carolinians. As Robinson predicts, “If I had all the power right now, let’s say I was governor and had a willing legislature, we could pass a bill saying you can’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason.” The North Carolina Robinson and his supporters envision is one in which the bodies of pregnant women become wards of the state, one in which science and social studies will have no place in the elementary school curriculum, and one in which “traditional public schools might be a thing of the past.” A chilling image indeed.