The N.C. House voted along party lines to override a veto on a bill that shifts power from newly-elected Democrats, including Gov.-elect Josh Stein and Attorney General-elect Jeff Jackson.
The bill contains a modest Helene relief package, changes campaign finance laws, and shifts power over the Utilities Commission and State Board of Elections to Republican-held offices.
House Democrat Robert Reives spoke out against the bill during debate.
“We need to help people get their lives back," he said, "That’s what we should have been doing today. That’s what we should have done a month ago. That’s what I wish we would concentrate on.”
House Republican Dudley Greene from Avery County pushed back, saying state aid has already helped in western North Carolina.
“To say we’re not doing anything … we’ve done it. And we continue to do it," he said. "We’ve allocated money that hasn’t had time to be spent yet.”
The general assembly appropriated $877 million in the first two relief packages, though much of that money has not reached its final destination yet.