Limit Rules With Substantial Financial Costs.

"Limit Rules With Substantial Financial Costs." That title does exactly what the bill does... it frames every regulation purely as a cost. Not a protection. Not a safeguard. A cost.

The bill used to be called the NC REINS Act, which at least told you what it was about... reining in executive agencies. They changed the name. The new title makes a massive separation-of-powers shift sound like routine fiscal housekeeping. What it actually does: any state agency rule costing $20 million or more over five years has to be approved by the General Assembly before it can take effect. Rules costing $1-10 million need a two-thirds board vote. Rules over $10 million need a unanimous vote. Unanimous. The legislature doesn't even hold itself to that standard for veto overrides.

Governor Stein vetoed it, saying the bill would make it harder to keep drinking water clean from PFAS, air free from toxic pollutants, and healthcare facilities providing quality care. Critics in the Wilmington area pointed out that regulating known PFAS polluters like Chemours just got a lot harder. The override passed 73-47 in the House and 30-19 in the Senate. Two Democrats crossed over to provide the deciding votes.

The title says "substantial financial costs." It doesn't mention the substantial financial costs of not having clean water regulations. That's the trick... framing only one side of the ledger and calling it neutral.