Governor Perdue Using More Red Ink on GOP Bills

Governor Beverly Perdue vetoed two Republican bills Wednesday evening. One was HB7  allowing Community Colleges to opt out of federal loan progam.

Here’s a link to her statement on that one: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/UploadedFiles/d3d57a55-eb1b-49ac-b5c1-fc6681c039d9.pdf

The other was the changes to the State Health Plan in SB265 that would require payments from state employees.

Here’s the link to her statment on that one: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/UploadedFiles/0e59dd27-eb4e-4750-811e-827ee20b148f.pdf

Not much later Republican Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger released a statement on Perdue’s veto of the Health Plan bill.

Gov. Beverly Perdue today put the health coverage of all teachers and state employees at risk by vetoing a bill that closes a half-billion dollar deficit in the State Health Plan.

Like Perdue’s budget proposal, SB 265 would have required employees to pay a small premium – about 5 percent of the cost of coverage – for quality health insurance. The Senate’s plan, however, keeps copays for affordable generic prescriptions at $10, while the governor’s plan raises them to $15.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina endorsed the major components of SB 265.

That makes four vetoes in less than two months from Perdue, who pledged to work with the Republican-led General Assembly.

“Our bill makes changes very similar to those in the governor’s budget. But with the health plan on the verge of financial collapse, she recklessly chose to cater to her political base and play politics with the health coverage of teachers and state employees,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger. “Governor Perdue’s her-way-or-the-highway attitude is making it tough to get the state back on track.”