Stein signs criminal justice, state employment bills; expects action on NC budget Tuesday

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed four bills Monday addressing public safety, housing, and state employee benefits. 

Before lawmakers left last week for a break from session, they sent Stein nearly two dozen bills, including the long-overdue state budget. He told reporters he plans to take action on the budget Tuesday. 

Stein signs public safety bills for police retention, online safety for minors in NC

Two of the bills Stein signed Monday stemmed from violent deaths in the state over the past year. 

Republicans introduced Jaleeyah’s Law after 13-year-old Jaleeyah Tune was shot and killed in Goldsboro in December 2025. While her family hasn’t spoken publicly about what they think happened that day, they’ve pushed lawmakers to increase penalties for gang-related crimes. 

Jaleeyah’s Law lowers the threshold for law enforcement to charge someone with being a gang member or engaging in gang activity. 

“What Jaleeyah’s law would do is, it would give prosecutors and law enforcement the tools to really go after those perpetrators and make sure that they do not hurt anyone else in this state,” primary bill sponsor Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) said.

‘Jaleeyah’s Law’ proposes biggest changes to North Carolina gang laws in years

The legislation marks some of the biggest changes to North Carolina’s gang laws since the state passed the Gang Suppression Act in 2008. 

“I cry daily because I miss my daughter,” Jaleeyah’s mother, Whitney Brown-Tune, said. “My kids are hurting, we are hurting, and this is not going to stop all the violence, but it will help.”

Under another new law, involuntary commitment evaluations will move from hospitals to jails.

House Bill 1104 makes changes to Iryna’s Law, a judicial reform package passed after the August 2025 killing of Iryna Zarutska by a person with mental illness. The measure required more suspects to receive psychiatric assessments in emergency rooms. 

NC senators advance bill shifting involuntary commitment evaluations to jails

But hospital leaders were worried about the safety of staff and patients, saying they’d prefer those assessments take place in jail. 

H1104 allows law enforcement agencies to use telehealth to conduct psychiatric assessments in jails, rather than tying up officers and creating long lines and potentially unsafe situations in emergency rooms. 

The bill also requires studies into ways to further improve the involuntary commitment process, such as mobile crisis units and stronger training for examiners. 

“We see far too often that mental health crises are funneled through the justice system instead of the mental health treatment system,” Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai said. 

State employees will have 12 weeks of paid parental leave under a new law that changes how the state hires and retains employees. Previously, state employees giving birth received eight weeks of parental leave, while other state employees received four weeks. 

Senate Bill 1041 is the state’s most comprehensive human resources modernization in about 50 years, according to Stein. It passed the state legislature with the backing of state human resource officers and had overwhelming bipartisan support.

The new law gets rid of longstanding administrative rules for state hiring, making it easier and faster for state agencies to hire workers, and helps spouses of service members to find jobs in state government.

Pregnant state employees and new moms with their babies surrounded Stein as he signed the bill. One parent holding twins handed off a baby to the governor as others spoke about the new law’s benefits.

“With this state policy, we’re making it easier for parents to succeed in the state’s workforce,” the governor said. 

Stein also signed House Bill 162, which bans municipalities from requiring housing developers to include a minimum number of parking spaces. 

The measure aims to create more affordable housing and increase flexibility for developers.

“We need to remove unnecessary and expensive barriers like burdensome parking lot requirements that lead to higher housing costs,” Stein said. 

Additionally, H162 allows local governments to offer incentives to developers when implementing stormwater controls. This would protect properties by reducing flooding.