Senator: Vetoes Should Not Impact Bond Effort

The state senate voted 32-16 to override a veto of a bill by Gov. Pat McCrory Monday. The bill gives court officials with religious objections to gay marriages a choice to opt-out of performing them. The bill now goes back to the state House, where the outcome is less clear.

It was one of two high-profile vetoes McCrory signed last week. That has raised concerns that legislators could be less inclined to advance two major bond measures the governor is pushing to have on the ballot in the fall.

State Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth County) says she doesn't believe the vetoes will have an impact on the legislature's vote on the bonds. Krawiec supported the bill McCrory vetoed, but that won't change her mind on the bonds. About a third of the money for highways would go toward the county's Northern Beltway, and Krawiec says it's badly needed.

“Many of those folks who have been waiting for a very long time would finally get to have their properties purchased and we would see that road finished and it would be great for Forsyth County," she says. "So I'm definitely going to be working as hard as I can to see that the bond proposal is a reality.”

One segment of the beltway is under construction, and three more will soon have funding in place. But it will an additional three more segments to complete the corridor from US 52 in northern Forsyth to US 311 toward High Point.

The proposal funds those three segments plus two more to extend the beltway west to NC 67 near Bethania.

McCrory has proposed two bond referenda - $1.5 billion in transportation funds, and another $1.5 billion in infrastructure programs that would, for example, add new building at Winston-Salem State and Appalachian State universities.

Krawiec says while she strongly supports the transportation effort, she hasn't yet reviewed the infrastructure proposal and hasn't taken a position on it.

She says some are worried that's there's not enough time to educate voters about the total $3 billion bond package.

Should the legislature ultimately supports the governor's proposal, it would then go before voters in the fall.