RALEIGH — North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has issued three more vetoes, bringing his overall total since taking office in January to 14. His predecessor, Gov. Roy Cooper had issued nine vetoes by the end of July during his first year in office.
In response to the vetoes, House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) posted a “veto scorecard” graphic on X, and wrote “We’re keeping score. Overrides coming soon.”
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) did not immediately react to the vetoes.
Stein made comments on two of the bills that if lawmakers sent him “clean” bills that he would sign them.
The first bill vetoed is Firearm Law Revisions (House Bill 193), which makes two changes to already existing laws for firearms on educational grounds.
One change allows a private school employee or volunteer to carry a firearm or stun gun on school property if they have written authorization from the school’s administration or board of trustees and that school must have a related adopted policy. The person must have a concealed carry permit and complete required training.
The other change modified current law by adding a provision to let someone with a concealed carry permit have a firearm during religious activities on an educational property that also has a place of worship. The property must not have signage prohibiting the carrying of a firearm.
The measure also folds in provisions from other legislation filed this session, such as increasing criminal penalties for threatening an executive, legislative, court or local elected official, as well as protections for relocated law enforcement firearms training ranges.
In his veto message of the bill, Stein said it would “make our children less safe,” and that well-trained law enforcement should be the only one able to carry firearms on educational grounds. The governor said he did support the provisions offering increased protection to elected officials.
“I support, however, the provision in this legislation to better protect local elected officials from threats to their safety, and I urge the General Assembly to send me a clean bill with those protections so I can sign it,” Stein wrote.
The governor also vetoed The Personal Privacy Protection Act (Senate Bill 416) which would have added civil penalties for government employees who pressure nonprofits to hand over donor lists. The bill aimed to codify existing laws prohibiting state and local agencies from collecting or demanding information that identifies donors to 501(c) organizations, with exceptions only for federal mandates, subpoenas, or court orders.
“Our democracy works best when people are well-informed,” wrote Stein in his veto message. “This bill reduces transparency and creates more opportunity for dark money in our politics, especially relating to candidates’ legal funds. Furthermore, it makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the Department of Revenue to identify and crack down on certain types of tax fraud.”
Stein’s message on Senate Bill 416 is similar to that of his predecessor, Roy Cooper who vetoed similar legislation in 2021. Cooper’s veto message said the bill was “unnecessary and may limit transparency with political contributions.”
The legislature did not have the supermajorities needed to override Cooper’s veto that year and the current bill faces the same situation in the House, which is one shy of a supermajority. One of the three Democrats who voted to pass the bill would be needed for override success.
The final bill vetoed is Expedited removal of unauthorized persons (House Bill 96), a bill that adds a new article to current laws where a property owner may initiate an expedited removal proceeding of a squatter from a residential property.
The bill also creates a new statute for making the operation of pet shops uniform across the state by barring local governments from creating ordinances or resolutions that ban or restrict the sale of an animal by a licensed shop or that imposes additional operational requirements, licensing, or regulations beyond existing state laws.
Stein’s veto message says he supports the provisions on squatters, but objects to the pet shops provision, claiming it would “facilitate inhumane puppy mills in North Carolina.” He said if that provision were removed, he would sign it.
All the governor’s vetoes can be viewed on the General Assembly’s Bills and Laws page.
In addition to the vetoes, Stein signed nine other bills:
Reg’l Water Study/IBT Subbasin/TMDL (HB 694)
Interbasin Transfer Moratorium/Study (HB 850)
Timeshare Foreclosure/Paternity Matters (HB 992)
Board of Funeral Service Modifications (HB 1003)
Military and Veteran Support Act (SB 118)
The Law and Order Act (SB 311)
Harrison’s Law (SB 375)
2025 Public Safety Act (SB 429)
SCRIPT Act (SB 479)
