Rep. Nasif Majeed, U-Mecklenburg, had a change of heart. Nine months after voting against proposed legislation opting North Carolina into a federal tax credits educational scholarship program, he flipped Wednesday to override Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto.
House Bill 87 would allow North Carolinians to collect up to $1,700 in annual tax credits for contributions to educational scholarship granting organizations, in accordance with President Donald Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
The tax credits measure supports both public and private elementary and high school students in households making under 300% of the area median income. The scholarships may cover tuition, fees, tutoring, supplies, transportation, technology, after-school programs and special education therapies, among other educational expenses.
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Rep. Neal Jackson, R-Moore, who sponsored the bill, said the tax credits program supports all students at no cost to the state.
“It allows taxpayers to voluntarily fund student scholarships, and it gives more students access to quality educational environments,” he said Wednesday.
Wake County Democrat Julie von Haefen argued that the tax credits policy would actually hurt public school students. It will reduce the amount of federal tax revenue that can be distributed to states, while requiring North Carolina to fund oversight of the program to avoid fraud and abuse.
“All voucher programs direct funding and resources away from underfunded public schools,” she said.
In his veto message, Stein struck a similar note. He said that he supports school choice, but that he wouldn’t support this legislation until it benefits public school students more.
“Cutting public education funding by billions of dollars while providing billions in tax giveaways to wealthy parents already sending their kids to private schools is the wrong choice,” he wrote.
The tax credits scholarship program bill now heads to the Senate for the second time, where Stein’s veto is almost certain to be overridden.
To override a veto, three-fifths of lawmakers must approve, instead of the typical majority vote. Since House Republicans are one seat shy of a supermajority, they need at least one Democrat or unaffiliated legislator to vote with them to override vetoes.
Majeed, Rep. Carla Cunningham, U-Mecklenburg, and Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, are three of the non-Republican lawmakers who vote with Republicans the most. Each lost their primary elections by wide margins after a series of high-profile veto override votes last year.
Since, Majeed and Cunningham have switched their party affiliation from Democratic to unaffiliated. They cannot run in November’s election as independent candidates, though, thanks to a so-called “sore loser” law.
Originally, Cunningham and Willingham voted for HB87. Cunningham stuck to her vote Wednesday, while Willingham was absent. Majeed switched from a no to a yes vote.
Majeed did not make any statements during the debate. He also did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
The veto override on the tax credits scholarship program was the first domino to fall after months of patience from House Speaker Destin Hall. Day after day, Hall has placed each of the six outstanding vetoes on the calendar to consider.
Three of the outstanding vetoes limit diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in state agencies and public education. One would allow North Carolinians 18 and older to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Another would require various state law enforcement agencies, like the Department of Public Safety, Department of Adult Correction and the State Highway Patrol, to cooperate with federal immigration officials, including by performing some immigration enforcement.
Those may be harder to override.
Cunningham, Majeed and Willingham are Black representatives, and have each previously expressed an unwillingness to override diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Two Republicans originally opposed the concealed carry bill, making the veto override math much tougher. It’s possible that the immigration veto could be overridden, but Hall told reporters that he hasn’t had substantive discussions with Cunningham, Majeed or Willingham on that bill or the other vetoes yet.
Hall is optimistic, though.
“There’s still a possibility that we’re going to override all of those vetoes, and they’ll be on the calendar till the end of session,” he said.
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