RALEIGH -- State lawmakers made history Wednesday when they voted to overturn Gov. Mike Easley’s veto on a boat towing bill.

Members of the State House and Senate voted to enact a bill that would allow wide boats on roads across the state. Last week, Gov. Mike Easley vetoed the idea, citing safety concerns.

But lawmakers took less than an hour to agree to overturn the veto.

"The passage of the bill was not done lightly," said Rep. Joe Hackney, who serves as Speaker of the House. "I think they thought it was the right thing to do."

The new bill allows boats up to 10 feet wide on roads during the day, and boats 9 and a half feet wide after dark.

The governor wanted to stick with the old law that required a special permit and flags on boats up to 10 feet wide, but state lawmakers said those restrictions were too burdensome.

"If you have a pontoon boat that is 9 foot wide, you would have to get a $100 permit and you couldn't move it on a Saturday or Sunday," said Sen. Marc Basnight, Senate president pro tem. "Well that was costly and unneeded."

Though the governor and state Highway Patrol worried that allowing wider boats on state roads could compromise safety, state lawmakers disagreed.

"I think that the fact that rules similar to this had not been enforced in the past was a significant factor, and obviously the members of the House did not think it was a safety concern," Hackney said.

The new law takes effect immediately. Lawmakers returned to Raleigh to talk about the bill after the governor called for a special session on the issue.

North Carolina lawmakers have never overridden a veto since the state’s governors were given the power in 1996.