North Carolina becomes tenth state to rein in bureaucracy with legislative oversight of costly regulations

Raleigh, North Carolina; July 29, 2025: Today, North Carolina became the tenth state to adopt a legislative review process for new regulations. These laws are often called Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) and are vital to increasing government accountability and protecting the constitutional separation of powers.

House Bill 402 requires the General Assembly to affirmatively approve new agency regulations with an estimated cost of $20 million or more over the first five years in effect. Without approval, new regulations cannot take effect.

Last month, Governor Stein vetoed the bill, but today, the General Assembly voted to override that veto.

“We applaud North Carolina lawmakers for enacting this important legislation. Creating a legislative review process for new regulations will ensure that state agencies continue to work for and represent the will of those who elected them,” said Jaimie Cavanaugh, state policy counsel at Pacific Legal Foundation. “PLF was proud to support this bill alongside partners like Americans for Prosperity, John Locke Foundation, and Goldwater Institute, who work to make North Carolina more prosperous and freer.”

During a press conference on the bill earlier this year, one of the bill’s sponsors, Representative Allen Chesser, said, “Right now, unelected bureaucrats can impose regulations with major financial consequences without direct oversight from the General Assembly. The current process is not transparent. We can do better, and we owe it to the people whom we serve to do better.”

Visit PLF’s resources page to learn more about legislative oversight and PLF’s efforts to restore accountability in rulemaking.