Thread by @APDillon_

Senate is back in session.
Motion made to add veto override to top of the calendar.

#ncpol #ncga #sb37
dashboard.ncleg.gov/Audio/2021/S

Sen. Ballard: I am appalled the governor continues to withhold in-class instruction to students even as we progress in vaccinating our teachers.
#ncga #SB37

Ballard highlights CDC guidelines on distancing.
Says K-12 settings should be last to close, first to reopen.
Gov. Cooper has shown we can open schools, all other industries are open, incl. bars now partly opened.
#ncga #SB37

Ballard: More kids have committed suicide in the last six months; Duke/ABC Collaborative said that rate is doubling.

#ncga #SB37

Ballard moves the bill becomes law, despite governor's objections.
Sen. Lee now speaking. He was out with COVID but talks about the recent news of failing test scores across NC.
#ncga #SB37

Lee: Doctor I talked to today called the continued closing of schools a "dumpster fire."

#ncga #SB37

Lee: ER visits are up, 3 kids in one night in ICU who tried to commit suicide.
It's the second leading killer of kids.
#ncga #SB37

Lee: "All the science, all of the statistics, the toolkit, all of these documents" point to opening schools -- "we have to do something."
#ncga #SB37

Sen. Blue (D-Wake) says he doesn't disagree with most of what he just heard, we have to return kids to in-person learning.
#ncga #SB37

Blue says kids need to go back, "But... we need to do it safely." Says his four grandkids "will do just fine."

Starts talking about vaccines for kids, which aren't available yet.

#ncga #SB37

Blue seems to be trying to tie vaccines to the bill.
Teachers are getting vaccinated but the CDC director said that's not necessary to reopen schools. Mentions 'dimmer switch' method of reopening.
#ncga #SB37

Blue's overall argument is that the bill is somehow making school reopening unsafe yet the same mitigation strategies will likely stay in place.
#ncga #SB37

Blue says he believes Sen. Ballard is "sincere" in her support of this bill, then shifts to logistical problems. Says we shouldn't open schools "willy nilly."
Now he's pulling in Leandro.
#ncga #SB37

The bill is only three pages long.
It does not conflict with the StrongSchools Toolkit, because it follows it in the text.
dashboard.ncleg.gov/CalendarItem/2…
#ncga #SB37

Blue now talking about how deadly COVID is and how it is mutating. Says "we have to be sensitive to what is happening around us."

#ncga #SB37

Sen. Blue is coming up on 10 minutes of remarks now.
Says we should follow Gov. Cooper; pay attention to Gov's concerns, then says they should discuss those concerns to see if they are valid.
#ncga #SB37

Blue urges sustaining Cooper's veto.
"We need to be confident we are getting it right."

#ncga #SB37

Sen. Berger is speaking now, questions if issues being brought up for not overriding the veto are valid or not.
Says he would hope those who voted for the bill wouldn't let politics get in the way.
#ncga #SB37

Berger: The science is pretty clear.
The bill doesn't force Plan A, but it does make districts give parents the choice.

"The current situation is damaging children."
#ncga #SB37

Berger: All the science and all that we've learned in the past year tells us that schools are not the place super spread events occur.

Cites Duke study.
#ncga #SB37

Berger: The folks most affected are not the ones in the classroom; governor has moved school personnel to front of vax line.
Cites Person County saying they can get all school EE's vaxed by next week.
#ncga #SB37

Berger: Is this about the adults or the children that would let this veto stand?
Urges override vote.
#ncga #SB37

Huge blow to kids and their families, the motion to override does not make the three-fifths threshold.

#ncpol #SB37

Here's the article: N.C. Senate failed to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of SB 37, the bill to return all students to in-person instruction. The final tally was 29-20, one vote short of the three-fifths requirement.
nsjonline.com/article/2021/0… #NCPOL #NCGA #NCGOV

The vote roll call has posted:
ncleg.gov/Legislation/Vo…

Sen. Clark, a co-sponsor who voted for passing the bill, got an excused absence from the override. His vote, were it a Yes, would have made the three-fifths needed.

#ncga #nced #ncpol #sb37

Recap: #SB37 override was one vote short.
Worth noting Sen. Clark's excused absence and Sen. Lowe justifying his veto to the News & Observer, saying that “He asked. I am a Democrat. He’s the governor, and a Democratic governor.”
#ncpol #ncga #sb37