Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore responded Friday to Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of House Bill 239 which improves efficiency in the N.C. Court of Appeals by reducing the number of justices to align with a reduction in caseload and Senate Bill 68 which creates a bipartisan ethics and elections enforcement board.

Below is their joint statement:

“North Carolinians deserve a bipartisan ethics and elections board with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans to govern without partisan motivations, but Roy Cooper wants to rig the system for his own benefit, just like when he packed the Court of Appeals with Democrats while serving in the legislature. We have complied with the court’s order and restored the governor’s ability to make all appointments to that board, yet he is still fighting measures to increase bipartisan cooperation and undo his court packing scheme for no other reason than to preserve his own partisan advantage.”