Lawmakers, Local Boaters Pushing to Override Gov. Easley's Veto

It's been on the books for decades, but now a law that limits how wide a boat can be when it’s towed down the road is stirring up a storm in our state legislature.

Gov. Mike Easley has called for a special legislative session for Wednesday morning in Raleigh.

Nine On Your Side’s Philip Jones explains why so many lawmakers are working to make history with an override of an Easley veto, and how their work could affect you.

Boat building is big business at Beaufort’s Parker Marine. So it's no wonder the owners of one of Carteret County’s largest companies are pushing for lawmakers to override Gov. Easley’s veto of a bill that eases boat towing restrictions.

“The laws that have been on the books have been there since the early ‘80s,” said Parker Marine owner Linwood Parker. “They haven't been enforced.”

Parker says few people knew about an old law that prohibits drivers from towing boats wider than eight and a half feet at night, on the weekends and on holidays until the state Highway Patrol started enforcing it within the last couple of years.

State lawmakers are aware now, too -- and this year they overwhelming approved a bill that eases those restrictions.

Easley vetoed that bill last week, though -- and said he believes the idea puts families and school buses at risk.

“I sincerely believe that this bill puts families at a risk on the highways and would result in death or serious injury,” Easley said through his official ‘Objections and Veto Message.’ “I am deeply concerned about 9 ½ foot boats meeting a school bus. The buses travel primarily on rural roads and often in the dark during early morning and early evening hours.”

Many lawmakers, like state Rep. Pat McElraft (R-Carteret, Jones), disagree.

“What the governor has done by stopping this bill is forced all these larger boats to travel during the day and on weekdays when the school buses are on the roads,” McElraft told Nine On Your Side Tuesday. “So if he truly feels that it's a safety issue, then why won't he allow these boats to travel on weekends and holidays when the school buses aren't out there?"

Parker says his company takes safety concerns seriously, but Parker Marine provided Nine On Your Side with video that showed a 9 ½ foot boat safely passing by traffic on a bridge.

And Parker says if the veto isn't overridden, it's our state's economy that will be hurting when boaters choose to head elsewhere.

“It really is significant, the number of people affected,” Parker said. “And [it’s] not just boat builders. The boat dealers, the marina owners, the restaurants, the motels, the hotels, the tackle shop. I mean, the list goes on.”

But he hopes the list -- and the law -- will stop with a veto override on Wednesday.

State Sen. Jean Preston (R-Carteret, Craven, Pamlico) says she also plans to push to override the veto.

If that happens, it would be the first time lawmakers in North Carolina have overridden a governor's veto.

Preston says there are about 370,000 registered boats in North Carolina -- the fifth highest number in the nation.