“We don’t have any additional comment.”
SB359
The Senate successfully overrode Cooper’s veto of SB359 by a 30-20 vote on April 30, 2019, by gaining the necessary Senate Democratic vote from Sen. Don Davis of Pitt County.
A veto override vote of SB359 was placed on the House floor calendar 10 times, only to be withdrawn each time until June 5, 2019, when the override attempt failed by a 67-53 vote. A successful House veto override requires at least 72 votes.
“There is a different General Assembly now with new members,” Krawiec said on March 30, 2021, when asked about resubmitting the proposed legislation.
“I hope that we will be able to pass this bill and, if necessary, override another veto.”
The 2019 version of the bill listed that providers who chose not to provide that level of care could have been charged with a felony and face active prison time, along with up to a $250,000 fine.
Krawiec said the 2021 bill changed the potential criminal penalty to a class A1 misdemeanor — the most serious type of misdemeanor under state law that carries up to a 150-day jail term and a discretionary fine.
Class A1 misdemeanors include offenses such as: assault with a deadly weapon; assault inflicting serious injury; assault on a female or a government employee; violation of a restraining order, and sexual battery.
