Madison County hears update about veto overrides from state legislative consultant

MARSHALL - The Madison County Board of Commissioners heard updates on its potential state legislative assistance during the board's July 9 meeting.

Dodie Renfer, president of Electus Governmental Affairs, appeared before the board to provide a state legislative assistance update. Based in Raleigh, Renfer is a graduate of Mars Hill University and assists with state and federal government relations and consults on legislative, regulatory and policy matters.

Renfer provided an update on the state legislative's short session worklist, as the General Assembly is currently on summer break but is working toward a number of goals.

Renfer said the legislative has targeted the end of this month to meet with the goal of overriding vetoes handed down by Gov. Roy Cooper.

"There are going to be a number that we can attempt, and the likelihood that we will achieve that, depending on vacations of what members will be back, it's pretty likely that we will be successful in overriding some additional vetoes," Renfer said.

On July 8, Cooper vetoed Senate Bill 445, an act to allow certified copies of court-filed documents to be recorded without meeting certain conforming requirements of the register of deeds.

“This bill creates legal ambiguity regarding when eviction orders become effective and may harm low-income individuals by making it harder for them to appeal as indigent in small claims court," Cooper said in a release from his office July 8, a day in which he also signed an additional 12 bills.

For Madison County, Renfer said local residents should highlight November on their calendars.

"We have unfinished business," Renfer said of the state House and Senate, which are both Republican-controlled.

"Nov. 19 through 22, that's the potential budget vote, or a supplemental budget that's unfinished," Renfer said. "We don't have a supplemental budget. We're still operating off the continuing resolution from the first year of the biennium. The only thing that we did accomplish in passing from this particular short session, as of now, are two mini budgets, and we don't really like mini budgets, but we have two that have been passed and the governor has signed them into law."

The first mini-budget is a $67 million appropriation to fund state child care centers, and a separate appropriation for teacher salaries, raises and school administration salaries and raises.

Following the November session, the state legislature will reconvene on Dec. 11.

"A lot of folks think that we're out and we're done, but we're certainly not - we'll continue to be back in quite a bit between now and the end of the year," Renfer said.

Renfer referenced a number of vetoed bills as potentially having an impact on Madison County and its three municipalities, including one that proposed state Department of Transportation changes. Additionally, Renfer said the "mask bill," House Bill 237, contains provisions that deal with political action committees and campaign contributions to state political candidates.

The N.C. House of Representatives voted 70 to 46 late afternoon June 26 to override the governor’s veto of House Bill 237. Among other things, the legislation regulates when and where face coverings can be worn in public. The state Senate voted June 27 to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s June 21 veto.

Renfer also agreed to send the county commissioners a bill tracker spreadsheet, adding that she and her team are currently tracking 30 bills pertaining to Madison County.

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.