Your weekly legislative updates from Jackson Cozort, RGEA Director of Government Relations
July 28, 2025
Both the House and Senate Republican Majority Leaders have stated that they are coming back into session this week and are poised to override the fourteen bills that Governor Josh Stein has vetoed this year.
As we previously stated, the Republicans need a three-fifths majority PRESENT to override these vetoes. In the Senate, if everyone shows up the Republicans can override the vetoes along party lines with a vote of 30-20.
The House will be much more interesting. The House has a much closer margin and many more lawmakers. Of 120 representatives, 71 are Republicans and 49 are Democrats. A three-fifths supermajority is 72, so House Republicans are short one vote if they are trying to override a veto along party lines. It is all going to come down to who shows up!
While these controversial policy issues continue to take center stage, there is still no budget agreement in sight. The number one priority for the legislature during the long session is to create a budget that is responsible for not only funding education, healthcare, and public safety, but also teacher and state employee raises, as well as inflation relief for retirees.
Considering that the House and the Senate could not come up with a budget in 2024, it is more important than ever that they pass a budget this year that provides inflation relief for retirees in 2025. If the legislature cannot come up with a budget this year, it is a very real possibility that they will just continue running off the 2023 budget, which means there is a very real possibility for no teacher or state employee raises, as well as no inflation relief for retirees.
We will keep you all updated throughout the week as these votes unfold.
Click this link and look under “News and Information” to see the list of all the bills Governor Stein has vetoed.
July 18, 2025
Once again, the legislature did not meet this week, and there are no comments being shared by leadership on any beginning of negotiations between the House and the Senate on a final budget. We do have some movement, though, as far as an actual date for veto overrides. Governor Josh Stein has vetoed 14 bills this legislative session, and for these bills to become law, the legislature will need to override his veto. Here is a brief overview of how veto overrides work in North Carolina.
North Carolina state law does not require a simple majority of votes to override a veto, as it does to pass a normal bill; it requires a three-fifths supermajority to override a veto from the governor. But that number isn’t three-fifths of total lawmakers, it is three-fifths of total lawmakers ON THE FLOOR at the time of the vote. The math changes depending on who is there. Senate Republicans hold a supermajority because they comprise 30 members, while Democrats have 20 Members. So, if every Republican senator is present and votes in favor of a veto override, it will be successful with 30 of the 50 votes.
The House has a much closer margin and many more lawmakers. Of 120 representatives, 71 are Republicans and 49 are Democrats. A three-fifths supermajority is 72, so House Republicans are short one vote if they are trying to override a veto along party lines.
The House may be the first chamber to watch, as they have already scheduled and calendared the veto overrides for July 29th; however, being on the calendar does not always mean they will take up the overrides. It will come down to numbers. If the Speaker sees that he has enough people present to override the vetoes, he will go ahead with the veto overrides; if he sees he is short a vote or two, he will pull them off the calendar and try again another day.
It is shaping up to be an interesting time on Jones Street starting July 29th. Although both chambers are in session and it would be a good opportunity to begin final budget negotiations, our contacts in both House and Senate leadership say that it is unlikely to happen at this time. Let’s hope that these chambers can break through this roadblock sooner rather than later.
If you would like to see a list of the bills Governor Stein has vetoed, they are under “News and Information” at www.ncleg.gov.
July 11, 2025
The legislature continues to be in recess as budget negotiations, as well as all other legislation, remain at a complete standstill. Meanwhile, Governor Stein vetoed additional bills from the legislature, bringing the total number of vetoed bills up to fourteen. The Speaker of the House acknowledged these latest vetoes on social media, stating that overrides were coming soon. Keep in mind that it takes votes from both the House and the Senate to override the Governor’s vetoes, so both chambers will have to come back into session to take up the overrides. This could provide an opportunity for the leadership in both chambers to start negotiating and piecing together a final budget, but as of now, we have no real timeframe for when these potential overrides or budget negotiations might take place.
On a positive note for the pension, Treasurer Briner reports record returns for the N.C. Pension Plan for the first half of 2025. This week at the Council of State, Treasurer Brad Briner reported the plan yielded $8 billion in investment returns since he took office on Jan. 1. This is approximately $3.5 billion more than our assumed return. These kinds of returns could have very positive impacts for both LGERS and TSERS retirees. Click here for a great article that goes into more detail.
July 7, 2025
As expected, the legislature took the entire week of the 4th off. Both the House and Senate are also expected to remain out for the rest of July, with no clear timeline for their return. Meanwhile, Governor Stein has vetoed more than 10 bills, so if the legislature wants these bills to become law any time soon, they’ll need to reconvene session to do veto overrides.
Hopefully within a week or so, we should at least learn when the House is planning on coming back in. We hope this time off helps ease budget tensions between the chambers so they can return ready to negotiate a final agreement. We will keep you updated on when this might happen as soon as we hear more.
If you have not registered already, I encourage you to attend July’s Lunch and Learn with myself and Ashley Perkinson, Lobbyist for RGEA. Join us for NC Legislature and You: Know & Grow RGEA’s Advocacy! next Monday, July 14 at 12:30 pm. We will focus on these legislative updates, the status of budget proposals, and we’ll also share tips and opportunities for practicing grassroots advocacy. Registration ends this Thursday, and I hope to see you there! Click here to register.
Jackson Cozort became the Director of Government Relations at RGEA after 12 years as a contract lobbyist. Besides representing our retirees, he also represented numerous municipalities and counties, non-profits, large corporations such as Dell computers, and even the Rockingham Speedway. Jackson’s favorite part about his new role here at RGEA is hearing the questions and concerns of the individual retiree. So, if you have any questions or concerns whether it be legislative, government, or otherwise, do not hesitate to reach out to him! A fun fact about Jackson, before he was a lobbyist he was a professional musician based out of Charlotte, NC.
Need to revisit our webinar with Treasurer Briner? Click the link below to watch it on our YouTube channel.
In case you missed our July Lunch and Learn webinar where we offered some tips on how to be an effective citizen advocate, click the link below.