As NC Republicans steamroll legislation, opponents are muzzled and flaws are missed | Opinion

North Carolina’s Republican lawmakers wrangled privately for months over a bill banning abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy before they passed it along party lines and overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of it.

But after Planned Parenthood South Atlantic filed a lawsuit challenging the new law’’s contradictory language about limits on medication abortions, Republicans hastily drafted a second bill to clarify the first.

The fix reflects a pervasive weakness in how Republicans, particularly since gaining a veto-proof majority, are rushing to pass laws without a level of review and comment that would bring such flaws to light.

“The abortion bill is a fair example of the public not being heard adequately to the point where mistakes are rushed through,” said Bob Phillips, executive director Common Cause North Carolina, a good government advocacy group.

While some bills need repairs after passage, even more are passed with constitutional problems that lead to courts striking them down. If Republicans gave opponents more opportunity to speak, the legal issues would become clear before passage.

Phillips remembers when Democrats, who were in the majority before 2011, trampled the legislative process and ignored Republicans, but he said Republicans back then promised they wouldn’t do the same.

“They said, ‘We do not want to see what happened to us,’ ” he said, “but unfortunately once they have the power it’s hard to resist strong-arming things through.”

Phillips said Republicans once objected to Democrats’ gerrymandering and the practice of stuffing legislation into unrelated bills or putting major policy changes – such as Medicaid expansion – into the budget bill.

Now Republicans do the same. “It was wrong until it wasn’t,” Phillips said.

Opposition to bills is stifled in a variety of ways. Public hearing rooms have become smaller. When the number of people who want to attend exceeds the capacity, they are shut out. Those who do get to speak often are allotted so little time to make their point.

For instance, the House K-12 Education Committee recently held a hearing on the controversial “Parents Bill of Rights” that saddles teachers and principals with requirements about what they teach and how they interact with students. There was 33 minutes of discussion – a long exchange compared to the typical rushed approach – but all of the talk was among lawmakers. The room was full of advocates who never got to speak.

As time for the meeting expired, House K-12 Education Committee Co-Chair Tricia Cotham, a Charlotte Republican, said, “I was hoping for public comment, but that may not be possible.”

Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat and a member of the committee, said the tight limits on public comment ill-serve citizens who want to be part of the process. “I feel sorry for those who have driven two or three hours and they’re given a minute to speak or they are sent home,” she said.

Morey has also objected to another subversion of the process. When the House votes to override a veto, Republican leaders cut off debate by immediately calling for a vote. Republican leaders say there is no need for debate because the vetoed bill has already been debated.

Last week, House Republicans cut off debate and amendments before approving the “Parents Bill of Rights.” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives, a Chatham County Democrat, objected to the move. He said, “Just because you can steamroll doesn’t mean you should steamroll.”

Morey said such cutoffs silence the representatives of millions of North Carolinians. “We’re in the minority. To be able to say why a bill is bad or good is the least we should be able to do,” she said. “We’re there to represent the people and if the people can’t be heard, what are we doing?”

While Common Cause is dedicated to promoting open government, Phillips concedes that generating public demand for a more transparent and inclusive approach to lawmaking is unlikely.

“Improving the legislative process is unfortunately a non-sexy issue,” he said. “It is near impossible to get any traction on it.”

But improving the legislative process isn’t just in the public’s interest. It’s in Republicans’ interest. Listening better will lead to stronger legislation. And it might set a standard that will hold even if Republicans once again become the minority party, a status they are likely to reach if they continue to listen only to themselves.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com