Lawmakers refuse to wait for Ag-Gag bill, force bill through override vote

State legislators voted to override Gov. Pat McCrory’s Friday veto of N.C. House Bill 405, also known as “the Ag-gag Bill,” on Wednesday, despite McCrory’s suggestion that some language in the bill be cleared up before being sent back to his desk. 

The bill, covered in detail by Creative Loafing in today’s issue, brought ire from animal and workers’ rights groups for attempting to hold whistleblowers financially liable for damages to their employers as a result of filming illegal or harmful business practices in the workplace. 

On Friday, McCrory asked lawmakers to include language to protect “honest employees” who aim to uncover abuses on the job by taking them straight to law enforcement while still allowing employers to sue activists who take a job with the intent to film harmful practices and show them to the public.

Instead, the House and Senate both voted to force the law through as is. A three-fifths majority is needed in each chamber to override a governor’s veto. A debate on the Senate floor preceding the override vote took only 15 minutes, reportedly. 

In a statement from the Humane Socity of United States President and CEO Wayne Parcelle, he implied that GOP  representatives were playing on the same team as special interest groups in the agriculture industry.

“Today House Republicans did the blocking and tackling for the state’s poultry factory farms and enacted a law that will potentially shield cruel and even illegal behavior,” Parcelle said. “This new law turns whistleblowers into criminals, and it provides special protections for corporations and individuals that do terrible things to animals and even vulnerable people.”

Although similar laws applying to farms have been passed in four other states, this is the first such law to apply to all businesses, including nursing homes and day cares.

In a statement from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the organization pointed to a recent study from an independent research group showing that 74 percent of North Carolina voters support undercover investigations by animal welfare groups on farms.

“The ASPCA is deeply troubled by the veto override of HB 405, which will silence whistleblowers and keep North Carolina residents in the dark about horrific abuses that take place on factory farms,” said Matt Bershadker, ASPCA president and CEO. “Siding against the public and allowing unscrupulous farmers and businesses to keep their atrocities secret is a shameful decision that hurts responsible businesses and stains the integrity of the state legislature.”

Speaking over the phone from Raleigh, where she was lobbying lawmakers to kill the bill, Chloe Waterman, senior manager of legislative strategy for ASPCA, said she was frustrated with the entire process carried out by North Carolina legislators. 

“I’ve covered a lot of different legislation in a lot of different states,” she said. “I’ve never seen representatives ignore their constituents in this way.” 

In its statement, ASPCA thanked McCrory and other representatives who had spoken against the bill, including Rep. Becky Carney of Mecklenburg County. Rep. Rodney Moore of Mecklenburg County was a sponsor of the bill. The law will take effect January 1, 2016. 

This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2015.