The North Carolina House just overrode Gov. Perdue’s veto of the Women’s Right to Know Act (HB 854) with a vote of 72 – 47, the exact amount needed to meet the three-fifths override threshold.
Rep. James Crawford (D – Granville) changed his vote to meet the one vote needed for the veto override.
According to the News and Observer he said, “I tried to support my party but my heart wasn’t in it, and I felt like this was the right way to go.”
A fiscal note was attached to HB 854 stating that the ratification of this bill would result in an approximate 2,891 additional children born each year.
Speaker Thom Tillis (R – Mecklenburg ) had previously said he would not place it on the calendar without certainty that the bill would pass the override vote, meaning the bill would be taken up later in the session, most likely in October or November. Crawford’s decision provided that certainty.
This bill now moves to the Senate where it is likely to successfully override the veto, as Republicans enjoy a 3/5 majority.
Essentially the difference between a veto override today and a vote later in the year is the approximately 700 women who will decide to choose life for their children between now and October as a result of this bill.
Rep. Crawford should be proud, today is a momentous day.
EXTREMELY HAPPY ABOUT THIS ONE