Gov. Josh Stein signs six NC bills into law

RALEIGH, N.C.(WNCN) — Before heading into the weekend, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein put his support behind six bills.
House Bill 506 creates the North Carolina Investment Authority, which is tasked with overseeing state investments, taking some responsibility away from the state treasurer. The authority would be responsible for managing investments for retirement systems and the General Fund.
'We're changing the degrees that we're headed by a slight amount, but it will have profound differences for our state over long periods of time,' said State Treasurer Brad Briner. 'If we can deliver 1% more, we will able we will be able to deliver $2 billion a year more to our state budget, and that is why we're doing this.'
The governor also signed Senate Bill 231, which is designed to lower barriers for social workers to practice in or out of the state. North Carolina now joins an agreement with 29 other states allowing licensed social workers to practice in any state included in the agreement. Social workers say that Hurricane Helene showed the need for change after the storm displaced patients out of state.
'Licensed clinical social workers couldn't legally continue therapy with their clients unless they were licensed in each of those states, disrupting care at a time when it was most needed,' said Valerie Arendt, executive director for the National Association of Social Workers NC. 'The compact helps ensure continuity of care no matter where life takes rural residents.'
House Bill 50, also signed by the governor, aims to retain some of the state's most experienced law enforcement officers. Before this new law, after 30 years of service, an officer had the choice to retire or stay on the job and lose out on retirement fund dollars. The new law gives officers more options to stay on the job.
'If we make it hard to retain our most experienced law enforcement officers, we're doing ourselves a grave disservice,' said Stein. 'If we want to keep the best, we have to support them, and that's exactly what this legislation does.'
Most notably the governor did not sign or address three controversial bills on this desk. Two are related to cracking down on illegal immigration, and the third would allow concealed carry without a permit for adults over 18.
Governor Stein also signed the following bills into law:
House Bill 477: Retirement Death Benefits Rewrite
Senate Bill 248: Birth Certificates for Persons Adopted
Senate Bill 477: DNCR Agency Bill
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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