RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoing the General Assembly’s state budget (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
North Carolina Republicans have taken the first step to cancel Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the state budget.
The state Senate voted 34-14 on Tuesday to override the governor’s veto of the two-year spending plan approved by the legislature last week. The margin was well over the three-fifths majority required in the state constitution. Only a similar House vote stands in the way of the budget becoming law.
Cooper said Monday he was vetoing the budget because it is short-sighted and should have spent more on education and economic development instead of cutting taxes for the highest wage-earners and corporations.
Senate leader Phil Berger said during the override debate that the budget contained many ideas that Cooper sought publicly, including a tax cut for the middle class and increased education spending.
___
11:40 a.m.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has officially vetoed the state budget bill approved by legislative Republicans.
Cooper returned the measure with his veto stamp Tuesday morning to the Senate, where the measure originated. The Democratic governor had already announced Monday his plans to reject the two-year spending plan, which he says neglects public education and the state’s economy while giving tax cuts to the highest wage-earners and corporations.
Republicans counter that the plan increases education spending by $700 million and gives personal income tax breaks to nearly everyone, including low- and middle-class people.
GOP legislative leaders have vowed to override the veto, which they have the votes to accomplish if Republicans remain united.
The Senate would get first crack at an override vote.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.