Gov. Josh Stein signed two bills and let one become law on Tuesday, but “Iryna’s Law” wasn’t one of them.
“It’s just an immensely complicated law, and it’s an immensely complicated subject: how do we promote public safety, and I want to make sure that the law is making us safer instead of making us less safe, and so I’m doing a thorough review as I hope people would expect me to do,” he told reporters after Tuesday’s Council of State meeting after being asked what the holdup was in signing HB 307.
It was presented to the governor after the North Carolina House of Representatives approved it on Sept. 23 by a vote of 81–31. House Bill 307 is a sweeping criminal justice reform bill introduced and advanced after the murder of Iryna Zarutska just one month earlier on the Charlotte mass transit system. The House vote came only a day after the measure swiftly cleared Senate committees and passed on the Senate floor 28-8 following a lengthy debate.
It also tightens pretrial conditions for the release of violent offenders, eliminates cashless bail, establishes a new protocol for ordering mental health evaluations in the criminal justice system, and sets a firmer timeline for appeal in death penalty cases. In addition, it also allows for death by a firing squad if the death penalty is used in a case.
When asked if he would approve of such a provision, given his support of the death penalty as attorney general, Stein, a Democrat, said that he and his office are studying the bill in its entirety to understand what its full impact would be.
Carolina Journal asked the governor if he had a comment on Monday’s US House Judiciary Committee field hearing on Victims of Violent Crime that came about after the murder of Zarutska. He apologized and said he didn’t get a chance to view it after being tied up at a press conference in Southport, addressing a shooting that left three dead and five injured at a waterfront bar and restaurant.
He did say, however, that everyone should be and feel safe, regardless of where they are.
“Every North Carolinian deserves to be safe and deserves to feel safe,” Stein said. “You know, if they’re going home after a long day’s work, like Iryna was, or whether they’re having dinner with their partner on the dock by the water. Whether they’re going to church like those people in Michigan, so people deserve to be safe, and what they deserve from policymakers are real solutions that will actually advance their safety and not politicized efforts.”
The governor did sign another “mini budget” bill, HB 358, Continuing Budget Operations, Part II.
The measure directs $65.5 million in one-time dollars to storm relief, while also spending on infrastructure around Raleigh’s Lenovo Center, where the Hurricanes professional hockey team plays. The site is also home to the North Carolina State University’s football and basketball arena. The bill also includes funding for a public dock and road project in Hertford County, and airport and capital upgrades.
“This law makes helpful investments across the state,” he said in a press release. “Tropical Storm Chantal destroyed infrastructure and left debris throughout central North Carolina, and this bill provides necessary state funding to draw down even more federal resources to support recovery. The law also supports the state’s broader economic development efforts, including in Hertford and Brunswick counties.”
It also directs $35 million in non-recurring funds to the Centennial Authority for “a regional entertainment and sports arena” that the authority owns in Raleigh. The project is planned to expand the facility to include an entertainment district, retail, parking with tailgating suites, and eventually a hotel and other facilities.
The bill also gives the Office of the State Auditor two additional floors of the Albamarle Building in downtown Raleigh. The auditor already has two floors and has been hiring additional staff to cover growing duties assigned to the office by the legislature. The bill includes permission for NC Central to sell the school’s chancellor’s residence and deposit the funds to buy another residence for the chancellor.
It also lets previously appropriated community-college funds carry forward, adjusting support for early college high schools, and providing tuition grants tied to UNC’s specialty high schools. Also in the bill, technical policy changes such as accreditation rules and limited recurring funds for the Department of Labor and the state’s residential schools.
Stein also signed SB 245, Expand Remote Drivers License Services. It allows for remote renewals of drivers licenses, eliminates the driving log requirement, and authorizes remote issuance for full provisional licenses.
“This law will enable more people to renew their drivers license online, helping them avoid lines at DMV offices,” he said. “It will also strengthen the state’s ability to protect against cyber threats.”
The governor allowed HB 925, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2025, to take effect without his signature. It allows authorized on-site wastewater evaluators to prepare a site denial letter for subsurface wastewater systems, an APA exemption for rules to modernize wastewater permitting, and reduces the frequency of oversight for certain public water system supplemental treatment facilities, among other items.
“The bill includes a handful of common-sense regulatory reforms, and I appreciate the legislature’s engagement with state agencies on a number of the provisions, Stein said. “However, I remain concerned about provisions that negatively impact water quality.”