The North Carolina legislature overrode the governor's veto in order to approve a bill that could slow future environmental regulations. 

What's happening?

Having already passed through the State House and Senate this past spring, House Bill 402 was vetoed by Democratic Governor Josh Stein in June. Republican lawmakers found enough votes to override the veto in late July, making it law, along with another seven previously vetoed bills.

Also known as the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny — or REINS — Act, HB 402 aims to place additional restrictions on the passage of any new environmental regulation in the state.

According to North Carolina Health News, the new law will require any environmental regulation "with a projected financial impact" of $1 million over five years to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the body making the rule. For anything over $10 million, it requires unanimous approval. And for any regulation projected to cost $20 million or more, it requires formal approval from the state's General Assembly. 

Why is this concerning?

This law could make it virtually impossible for any kind of real, substantive regulation to be implemented, environmental advocates say.

"Lawmakers who passed this bill did not have the best interests of North Carolinians at heart," said Mary Maclean Asbill, director of the state's Southern Environmental Law Center's office. 

"This new law marks an awful turning point for families and communities across North Carolina when elected officials in the state legislature ignore serious illnesses and deaths in favor of polluters' profits," she continued in a release, per NCHN.

The outlet noted that House Speaker Destin Hall, a Republican, said, "What we had in the REINS Act was a situation where if you have a regulation that is extremely expensive, our position is that it's something that [the legislature] needs to take a look at." 

Meanwhile, environmental advocates say that viewing each new regulation through a strictly financial lens — rather than through a lens that weighs the cost against the potential benefits for public health and essential ecosystems — will make passage of new legislation practically unobtainable.

What's being done in North Carolina?

While this legislation's finalization is certainly a blow to many environmentalists and public health advocates, their hopes are not completely lost in North Carolina. A pair of bills, HB 569 and Senate Bill 666, could still have major impacts on the state's environmental regulations, according to NCHN. 

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HB 569 would require polluters to reimburse public water systems for clean-ups of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. SB 666 would charge the Environmental Management Commission with setting regulatory limits on PFAS.

It's unclear how either bill could be impacted by HB 402 becoming law, though, and the status of both bills remains uncertain at this stage.

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