North Carolina Republicans have taken the first step to cancel Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the state budget.
The state Senate voted 34-14 Tuesday to override the governor's veto of the two-year spending plan approved by the legislature last week. The margin was well over the three-fifths majority required in the state constitution. Only a similar House vote stands in the way of the budget becoming law.
Cooper said Monday he was vetoing the budget because it is short-sighted and should have spent more on education and economic development instead of cutting taxes for the highest wage-earners and corporations.
Senate leader Phil Berger said during the override debate that the budget contained many ideas that Cooper sought publicly, including a tax cut for the middle class and increased education spending.