NC NAACP Statement on Midnight Veto Override Vote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 5, 2012

For More Information:        Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                           Mrs. Amina Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700

                                           Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator, 919-682-4700

(DURHAM) The current leaders of the General Assembly believe they can hide their shameful acts in the darkness of the night. They need to know we are watching. No amount of darkness will mask the disgraceful acts they continue to carry out.   

Under the cover of darkness, in an unscheduled late-night legislative session, the ultra-conservative Republican leaders in the General Assembly used trickery and distortion to attack North Carolina's teachers and overturn one of Governor Perdue's vetoes.  The legislature met in Raleigh yesterday to take up only one issue, an override of Senate Bill 9, a bill that would repeal the Racial Justice Act.  When it became apparent the votes were not available to override the bill, the tea party backed majority leadership of the legislature called another unannounced special session to convene just after midnight so they could take up other issues that were not on the agenda.  This unannounced session was intended to take advantage of the fact five Democrats were absent due to illness, deaths in the family and foreign travel and that as the night dragged on other members had to leave due to illness or age.

They used this unconstitutional and unethical session in the middle of the night to consider overriding three more of Governor Perdue's vetoes, the Voter ID bill (H351), the drilling/fracking bill (S709) and Senate Bill 727, which stops the North Carolina Association of Educators from collecting dues from teachers' paychecks via payroll deduction.  They were successful in overriding Senate Bill 727, a bill that was introduced merely as retaliation against the teachers' union for opposing the destructive budget bill passed last summer. The budget bill was another regressive and harmful bill that was taken up in a midnight session of the General Assembly last summer in an effort to escape the eyes of the public.

We will continue to fight against these regressive forces that are trying to take North Carolina backwards.

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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.