North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoes first bill of 2024 legislative session

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In his first veto of the 2024 legislative session, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday blocked passage of a transportation bill that contains billboard rule changes that he said would hinder the state’s natural beauty.

The bill includes several changes to transportation laws, many of which were recommended by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It adds higher processing fees for people who haven’t paid road toll bills, increases the number of pilot transportation projects the department can award contracts for and renames several bridges across the state.

But most criticism of the bill, including from Cooper, centers around a provision that expands the area where billboard owners are permitted to cut down vegetation along roadways. It would allow for redbud trees, a previously protected species that blooms with pink flowers during spring, to be removed during the clearing process.

“Redbuds and other trees that were threatened by this ill-conceived bill support carbon sequestration, pollinator propagation, and wildlife habitat,” North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club director Erin Carey said in a statement supporting Cooper’s veto.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> The late Rev. Billy Graham is immortalized in a statue unveiled at the US Capitol </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Despite revenue downgrade, North Carolina anticipates nearly $1B more in cash </bsp-custom-headline>