The Weekly Memo is an email from Progress NC Action featuring messaging, talking points, and links of interest for the week ahead.

Republican-led NCGA overrides 3 of Gov. Cooper’s vetoes; New laws include changes to campaign finance laws, mask ban targeting protesters

North Carolina Republicans spent the last week and a half of the legislative short-session struggling to agree on just how bad of a budget they want to pass. There was no intra-party struggle on several other important issues, though – like overriding three of Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest vetoes.

On Wednesday, House Republicans overrode three of Cooper’s legislative vetoes. On Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted to override those same bills, meaning that they are now the law in North Carolina. The bills covered issues ranging from juvenile justice reform to cutting down trees to creating loopholes in campaign finance laws to allow money to be funneled directly into Mark Robinson's gubernatorial campaign.

One bill will undo some of the juvenile justice reforms the state implemented in 2019.

Another bill will allow billboard companies to cut down more trees on the side of the road to make their billboards more visible and will also raise toll road late fees by up to 50%.

The third – and most controversial bill – bans some people from wearing face masks in public, enacts new criminal and civil penalties that specifically target protesters, and will change state campaign finance laws to create loopholes around the state's ban on groups or people making unlimited or anonymous donations to political candidates.

The section of the law that changes campaign finance laws was a late addition to the bill and is meant to help Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's gubernatorial campaign, which is struggling to raise money because people don’t want their donation and name associated with a hate-monger like Robinson.

According to campaign finance watchdog Bob Hall, the proposal would give wealthy donors new ways to give as much money as they want (potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars) to support a specific state candidate without their name being identified with the donation.

But Wait, There’s More:
In case you haven't heard, Progress North Carolina Action has a new podcast that we're pretty excited about! If you've ever wondered about what goes on behind the scenes in North Carolina politics then you'll want to check out our podcast, Beards & Banter - Talking NC Politics, where we'll be speaking with lawmakers and advocates to learn more about what's happening on the ground and in the backrooms of the legislature.

Our second episode, which features state Rep. Vernetta Alston, just dropped on Thursday and both episodes are available to stream wherever you get your podcasts. We're also on YouTube (second episode coming soon!) if you feel like watching and listening. Also, please remember to share, like, subscribe, sign up for notifications, become an auto-downloader, etc. – it means a lot to us!

In Case You Missed It:
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NC Newsline: House advances bill requiring State Board of Elections to work with ‘election integrity’ groups
Cardinal & Pine: Op-Ed: The North Carolina Senate’s only LGBTQ member on the importance of representation in politics
The Associated Press: Biden pardons potentially thousands of ex-service members convicted under now-repealed gay sex ban
WRAL: New version of NC medical marijuana bill would ban recreational marijuana in the future