RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — Senate Democrats walked out of North Carolina’s legislative session Thursday morning after Republicans blindsided them with campaign finance provisions in the controversial masking bill that gained national attention in May.
Senate Democratic Whip Jay Chaudhuri said the campaign financing updates tacked on to the end of the bill were provided to Democrats with so little notice that they have yet to fully review them, and that a nonpartisan staff member briefing them was unable to sufficiently explain the bill.
The financing provisions address campaign funds and would limit gifts from federal committees and organizations. It would remove reporting conditions that currently bind federal political committees before they may contribute to a candidate or committee, and would require them to file with the state board and regularly submit contribution reports.
Chaudhuri voiced concerns that the new provisions were a response to political ads that began airing a few days ago, including one from gubernatorial candidate Josh Stein that includes quotes from his Republican competitor, Mark Robinson, telling women to keep their skirt down to avoid needing an abortion.
In an online post, Chaudhuri said Democrats believe the rule change could allow millions of dollars in political donations without disclosure.
“We walked out today because it’s critical we shine a light in a dark-of-night rushed process that will undermine our democratic process,” he wrote.
Speaker of the House Tim Moore said the new rules are intended to balance the spending of outside partisan groups.
“At the end of the day, what we are seeking to do is to level the playing field, so everyone plays by the same rules,” he said.
House Bill 237, which passed 28-0 in the Senate, also adds a medical exemption for mask wearing. The first time it passed the Senate it banned masks for medical reasons, reversing the legalization of medical mask wearing that had been added during the Covid pandemic. Before Covid, North Carolina had a public ban on masks meant to disguise the wearer dating back to 1953.
Democrats had raised concerns over the potential impact on people who continue to wear masks in public for medical reasons, including those who are ill and undergoing treatment, such as cancer and other immunocompromised patients. Republicans had argued that it only criminalized mask wearing intended to hide the wearer’s identity while they were committing a crime.
Now, the bill provides an exemption for wearing medical or surgical masks, but not any other face covering worn for health reasons. This excludes using keffiyehs, which many pro-Palestinian protestors used to disguise their identity during university protests. North Carolina Republicans have raised concerns in the past that masks are being used to anonymize protestors while breaking the law.
The bill would create escalating charges if a person wore a mask to hide their identity while committing crimes, and establishes civil penalties for blocking traffic, in response to protestors’ sit-ins on major roads and highways.
Under the new changes, individuals wearing masks in public would be required to comply with officers and property owners who are attempting to identify them, and temporarily remove their mask.
Moore described the bill as a “good way to strike a balance” between concerns over masked crime and mask-wearing for health reasons, and said the Department of Health and Human Services was consulted in making changes.
HB237 was expected to go to the Rules committee Thursday morning, and then to the House after, but the committee meeting was canceled at the last minute. Moore said that House Republicans had a lot of questions about the changes, and decided not to rush the process. The bill is expected to skip the committee, and go to the House floor next week. If the House votes, it will then be sent to Governor Roy Cooper.
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