AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n
Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n North Carolina Republicans on Wednesday overrode a series of Gov. Josh Stein\u2019s vetoes on diversity, equity and inclusion practices and immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Read more NC Republicans advance toned-down version of sprawling elections bill<\/a><\/p>\n The bills broadly ban DEI in schools and government and require further cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. All but one of the bills have already been overridden by the Senate, so they now become law.<\/p>\n Stein, a Democrat, vetoed the bills nearly a year ago, but House lawmakers did not take up the override votes until now, as Republicans are one seat short of a veto-proof supermajority.<\/p>\n However, two key lawmakers were absent for Wednesday\u2019s vote, despite having been present in a committee hearing earlier in the day. Those were Democratic Rep. Shelly Willingham and now-unaffiliated Rep. Carla Cunningham, both of whom lost their primaries in March.<\/p>\n Their absences gave Republicans the numbers they needed to override Stein\u2019s vetoes.<\/p>\n The veto overrides came in quick succession, as leaders limited debate and gave each side three minutes to speak on each vote. Rep. Deb Butler, a New Hanover Democrat, attempted to object to the restrictions, but House Speaker Destin Hall said the change was within the rules of the chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just simply the way our government works, the way it\u2019s worked in this state for a long time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On the overrides, Stein said in an email statement that \u201cas the legislature leaves teachers and law enforcement officers waiting for hard-earned and desperately needed pay raises, members of the General Assembly are stoking the culture wars that divide us rather than fulfilling their long-overdue responsibility of passing a budget.\u201d<\/p>\n He wrote that it was \u201ctime for them to do their jobs\u201d rather than \u201cwhitewash the diversity that makes our state strong and to take state law enforcement officers away from their existing state duties, forcing them to act as federal immigration agents.\u201d<\/p>\n The state budget is nearly a year overdue but Republican leaders have said they expect to pass one soon, possibly by the end of this month.<\/p>\n The four overrides on Wednesday cleared the House\u2019s calendar of pending overrides except for one bill,<\/a> Senate Bill 50, to allow people to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. On the prospects of that bill moving, Hall told reporters the bill \u201cstill has a chance of moving\u201d but \u201cit\u2019s not one that is quite there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n On conversations with Cunningham and Willingham, Hall declined to say if he had spoken with them ahead of the votes, but when \u201cI got on the dais today and saw we had the votes \u2014 as I\u2019ve said the whole session \u2014 whenever we have the votes on an override, we\u2019re going to take them up.\u201d<\/p>\n House Republicans successfully overrode Stein\u2019s veto on three bills that target DEI.<\/p>\n The first, House Bill 171<\/a> bans local and state governments from using DEI concepts<\/a> in hiring decisions or giving differential treatment or special benefits on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation and more.<\/p>\n It also bans government agencies from using state funds to support DEI programs or applying for federal grants that require compliance with DEI policies. The Republican state auditor would regularly audit state agencies for compliance with the ban, and violations could result in a $10,000 civil penalty.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world does not look one way. As we invite the world and even see the world on our televisions watching the World Cup, we see the power of diversity and equity and inclusion,\u201d Rep. Amos Quick of Guilford County said before votes. \u201cI ask you to sustain the governor\u2019s veto or be on the wrong side of history.\u201d<\/p>\n HB 171 must now go to the Senate for a final override vote.<\/p>\n Senate Leader Phil Berger told reporters \u201cwe\u2019ll see where the votes are. If we\u2019ve got the votes, we\u2019ll take the vote.\u201d<\/p>\n The other two bills, Senate Bill 227<\/a> and Senate Bill 558<\/a>, ban DEI in K-12 public schools and higher education, respectively.<\/p>\n Both measures would require schools to dismantle any DEI offices and restrict the instruction or promotion of what they label \u201cdivisive concepts.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more Triangle\u2019s ABC11 says the FCC is threatening to pull it off the air. Here\u2019s why<\/a><\/p>\n A total of 12 are spelled out in the bills, including the notions that a person\u2019s race or sex makes them \u201cinherently superior\u201d to others, makes them \u201cinherently racist, sexist, or oppressive,\u201d determines their \u201cmoral character,\u201d or makes them responsible \u201cfor actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill is about keeping our schools focused on what they\u2019re built to do, teaching children with respect to every student and prepare them for life,\u201d House Majority Leader Brenden Jones said. \u201cNo child should be told that they\u2019re inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, guilty, or morally defined because of the race or sex they were born with. That\u2019s not censorship, that\u2019s common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Zack Hawkins, a Durham Democrat and former public school teacher, said that SB 227 hinders the opportunity for growth for students in the state, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter how much the state of North Carolina continues to grow, you want to tear down the progress that was made over the last 50 to 70 years,\u201d Hawkins said. \u201cIt is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones said SB 558 is necessary to prevent universities from \u201cteaching students how to think, not requiring them to repeat political doctrine.\u201d<\/p>\n House Minority Leader Robert Reives debated the bill at length, saying North Carolina would be better if everyone had opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want true competition and progress, you\u2019ve got to let folks learn, be healthy, and have opportunities. And today, that\u2019s all we\u2019re doing is killing those opportunities,\u201d Reives said. \u201cThere\u2019s not an amount of money you can pay (students) to go live somewhere that hates them.\u201d<\/p>\n Hall told reporters Reives has \u201ca job to do in leading the caucus and obviously they disagree with those policies, but I would just say with the bills that are eliminating DEI in the state simply seek to take race and all of those things out of the decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n The immigration bill, Senate Bill 153<\/a>, requires state and local law enforcement to further cooperate with ICE and carry out immigration enforcement duties usually performed by federal agents.<\/p>\n Named the \u201cNorth Carolina Border Protection Act,\u201d the bill was introduced in February 2025 by Berger.<\/p>\n