Gov. Josh Stein signs and vetoes a slew of bills, with more to go. What they do
Before the General Assembly went on vacation the week of the Fourth of July, they sent a slew of bills to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.
Stein, a Democrat, signed or vetoed many of them, but he still has a pile on his desk waiting for action.
Good Sunday morning to you, and welcome to our Under the Dome newsletter that focuses on the governor. I’m Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.
Every Stein veto sets up the next round of legislative action, with Republicans one vote short of the three-fifths majority required to overturn a veto. The Senate has a Republican supermajority, but the House GOP needs at least one Democrat to vote with them, or enough people absent so the math works out to three-fifths of the lawmakers on the floor voting in favor of a veto override.
On Thursday, Stein vetoed three anti-DEI bills, which would eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in K-12 education, higher education and state government. You can read more from my colleague Kyle Ingram of what the bills would do.
At the same time, Stein vetoed one bill on gender identity and signed a second bill, T. Keung Hui reports.
Stein said the bills he blocked are “mean-spirited,” come at a time when there’s still no budget and were a distraction “by stoking culture wars that further divide us.”
Stein also signed Senate Bill 600, which passed the House and Senate unanimously and would allow someone to sign up to be an organ and tissue donor on their income tax return form. The same bill changes the law to expand use in schools of epinephrine delivery systems, which are used for severe allergic reactions, to also include FDA-approved nasal sprays along with injectors.
Also on Thursday, he signed:
▪ Senate Bill 655, extending certain rights to the Catawba Indian Nation which are already granted to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
▪ House Bill 763, which allows occupational licensure recognition for residents who have licenses in neighboring states.
▪ House Bill 357, regulations requested by the Department of Insurance.
▪ Senate Bill 125, which reorganizes part of state law and extends a date for school safety grants.
▪ Senate Bill 307 impacts limited liability company memberships.
▪ Senate Bill 133 would allow the state community colleges system to solicit a learning management system for all schools.
Just a day earlier, Stein vetoed bills shifting more power to the state auditor and the state charter schools board.
He vetoed a bill allowing planned cuts to greenhouse-gas emissions to be delayed.
And he signed seven noncontroversial bills into law, ranging from coastal regulatory reform to real estate law changes and more agency requests.
He also signed House Bill 928, which allows physical therapists to evaluate potential concussions of middle and high school athletes. The addition of PTs to be part of the protocol is effective immediately.
And in case you missed it, we had even more coverage of Stein’s action on bills this week. Catch up by reading about the new state law banning cellphones being used by students in classrooms as well as a law that shields public universities’ NIL contracts.
Plus my colleague Mary Ramsey at the Charlotte Observer wrote about Stein’s signing of a Charlotte transit bill.
More bills awaiting action
Stein headed into the Fourth of July weekend with another 18 bills on his desk, waiting for action. He has the coming week to sign or veto them, until the action clock runs out at 10 days since he received a bill.
Pending legislation takes on a variety of issues including law enforcement, the military, guns and removing people from private property.
Any vetoes will add to the list of potential overrides the General Assembly will take up when they come back to Raleigh next.
As of Thursday, no date has been agreed upon, but dates in both July and August have been proposed.
Thanks for reading. Contact me at dvaughan@newsobserver.com. Not a newsletter subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily. Be sure to listen to our Under the Dome podcast, which posts every Tuesday.
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