RALEIGH — The N.C. legislature, called into special session Aug. 27 to consider over-riding Mike Easley’s veto of a heavily-supported boat-towing bill, slam dunked the governor’s opposition at the General Assembly.
It was the first over-ride of a governor’s veto in N.C. history, as the bill became N.C. law at 11:39 a.m. The legislature granted the governor veto power in 1996.
The House voted 92-7 to override Easley’s veto and adjourned within 13 minutes following an 11 a.m. gavel, reading of the bill and the governor’s opposition, then the vote. The Senate took slightly longer, 30 minutes, as Sen. Ed Jones (D-Halifax), a retired state trooper, was the only member in either body to speak against the measure. However, his vote was nullified as it was coupled with a “shared” pro vote from an absentee Senator and wasn’t recorded (the two votes cancelled one another so the recorded Senate vote was 39-0).
“I made a mistake (initially) by voting for this (bill),” Jones said. “When we have trailers over 10-feet wide and inexperienced drivers, it’s dangerous. Anyone can pull a trailer without a CVL (commercial vehicle license). And it’s physically impossible for two 9 1/2-foot trailers to pass each other on an 18-foot wide bridge.”
Jones’ opposition was flattened by Senate Pro Tempore Marc Basnight (D-Dare), who pointed out the bill’s regular-session examination involved many committee hours, several rewrites and a near unanimous approval by the House and Senate.
“I would not vote for towing over-wide boats if Senator Jones’ concerns were real,” Basnight said. “But we’ve been pulling these boats since they’ve been made in North Carolina, and we can get no documentation that shows anything in print (of great numbers of boat-towing accidents). We found only two or three in the last three years (out of 230,000 accidents).
“If there is no problem, I see no reason for government to participate in creating a problem, and to potentially damage the boat-building industry is wrong.”
The new law means N.C. drivers who tow boats less than 10-feet wide (including trailer width) on the state’s highways won’t need a permit and boats to 9 1/2-feet wide can be towed without a permit any day of the week, including weekends and holidays, and at night. Boats wider than 10 feet may be towed only during daylight hours with a permit.
The law also means anyone needing an oversize towing permit can apply for an annual permit instead of a single-trip permit.
Rep. Arthur Williams (D-Beaufort) sponsored HB 2167 and said the legislation made sense.
“I think this bill stands on its own merit and the people have spoken out,” Williams said.
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