Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Monday that would have given legislative leaders more control over the frequent lawsuits targeting state elections and other laws.
Republican leaders, upset over a once-bipartisan legal settlement last year that changed the state's absentee ballot rules shortly before the 2020 elections, sought to forbid the Attorney General's Office from settling lawsuits that involve the General Assembly without legislative leadership's approval.
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It only made sense, Republicans argued, for lawmakers to have to sign off on these decisions. But Senate Bill 360 passed on party-line votes, and Cooper blocked its implementation Monday.
"This bill is unconstitutional and unwise, and would prevent the Attorney General from doing his job to protect the people of North Carolina," he said in a statement.
Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, said in a statement that the bill was needed "to keep corrosive, secretly negotiated rule changes out of future elections."
"Gov. Cooper just deepened distrust in the electoral process at a time when we should focus on improving it," Newton said.
"Senate Bill 360 would have mitigated the political games played by the attorney general in our state and further strengthened the checks and balances in our state," House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement.