Gov. Bev Perdue and GOP lawmakers formally crossed swords this week, as Perdue vetoed her first bill of the legislative session and Republicans sent her a measure on the politically divisive issue of exempting North Carolinians from the federal health insurance individual mandate.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle also ramped up their rhetorical war. Democrats accused Republicans of using their newfound power to settle old political scores and to rush through legislation without adequate debate.

“You said the election was about jobs. This isn’t about jobs. It’s about settling old political scores,” said House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange, while debating the health care opt-out bill on the chamber floor.

Republicans say they’re giving voice to issues that Democrats haven’t allowed a vote on in past sessions.

“I don’t think we’re moving too fast,” said Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. “I think we are raising issues that are out there, have been out there for a long time, and we’re giving people the opportunity to be heard.”

Fiscal, health care duel

Perdue’s veto of Senate Bill 13, Balanced Budget Act of 2011, was the top headline of the week. Perdue opposed the bill for snatching too many funds from pots of money designed to help her attract businesses to the state.

Although critical of the veto, Republicans shrugged off an attempt to override it. The GOP has a veto-proof 31-seat majority in the Senate, but they would have needed at least four Democratic defectors in the House to overcome Perdue’s veto.

Instead, Republicans introduced another measure — Senate Bill 109, Spending Cuts for the Current Fiscal Year — placing the burden on Perdue to find cuts. On Wednesday, Republicans also released their own spending priorities that target $1.4 billion less than the propsed budget Perdue released last week.

In another contentious move, the House on Tuesday gave final approval to House Bill 2, Protect Health Care Freedom. It would exempt residents from the federal health care reform’s individual mandate and compel Attorney General Roy Cooper to join a multistate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new law.

Reps. William Brisson of Bladen County and James Crawford of Granville County were the only Democrats to vote for H.B. 2.

Perdue has said she plans to let the bill become law without her signature. But in another twist, Cooper sent a memo to Perdue and legislative leaders shortly after the opt-out bill passed claiming the measure is “unenforceable” because the state can’t disobey a federal law.

A spokeswoman for the governor’s office now says the “fate of the bill is a lot less certain,” hinting that Perdue might veto it after all.

In a statement, Berger assailed Cooper’s memo. “The Attorney General should be defending the constitutional rights of North Carolinians, not the political interests of Barack Obama and national Democrats,” he said.

Charters, guns rights passed

Beyond the fiscal and health care debate, other major actions this week included the Senate passing a charter-schools reform bill and giving tentative approval to a measure that would expand the right of gun owners to defend themselves.

In the first instance, Senate lawmakers voted 33-17 on Thursday to pass Senate Bill 8, No Cap on Number of Charter Schools. Two Democrats — Sens. Malcolm Graham of Mecklenburg County and Eleanor Kinnaird of Orange County — joined all Republicans in voting for the measure. The bill now goes to the House.

In addition to lifting the 100-school cap on charters, the legislation would establish an advisory committee under the State Board of Education to approve or reject applications to launch charter schools. The committee would wield ample power — the Board of Education would need a three-fourths vote to override committee recommendations.

Democrats proposed several amendments, without success, that would have required charter schools to participate in the federal government’s free and reduced-price lunch program and to provide bus service for low-income students.

Senate Bill 34, The Castle Doctrine, tentatively passed the Senate by a 37-13 vote on Thursday. The measure would expand protections for individuals who use deadly force in threatening situations. A final vote is scheduled for Monday.

Other items

The Senate sent an annexation moratorium bill back to the Finance Committee for more tweaks. Another Senate committee began work on a measure that would revamp the state’s medical liability laws.

On the House side, lawmakers unanimously OK’ed new rules for their chamber, including a ban on blank bills and a 10-bill cap on the number of bills that individual legislators may introduce.

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.