After the Veto: North Carolina Legislators' Perceptions of Executive-Legislative Relations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2001

Publication Title

State & Local Government Review

Publisher

Carl Vinson Institute

Volume

33

Issue

3

Abstract

In a 1996 referendum, the citizens of North Carolina granted the governor the veto. This article examines the impact of the newly granted veto power on the perceived balance of power between the governor and the legislature in North Carolina. The authors conducted a survey of members of the North Carolina General Assembly, and results show that a majority of the legislators believed a proper balance existed. Perception of the propriety of the power relationship was associated with party identification and when respondents entered the legislature. As expected, most of those legislators who cited an imbalance referred to the formal powers of the governor as the cause of the imbalance. Older legislators were most likely to mention the newly granted veto; newer members of the Assembly cited other reasons.

Keywords

Balance of power; Executive power; Governors; North Carolina; State legislators; Veto

Disciplines

American Politics | Politics and Social Change | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Language

English

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