North Carolinians will have more flexibility with their residential properties following Gov. Josh Stein’s approval of a legislation that amends the state’s zoning laws. 

Here’s a breakdown of bills he signed into law Tuesday:

Other WRAL Top Stories

Senate Bill 445. Stein signed what’s known as the “Regulatory Reform Act,” a 53-page bill that bundles together a wide range of environmental, housing, education and public safety provisions — some of which attempt to expand housing through deregulation. 

Local governments typically write the zoning and planning rules that determine what property owners are allowed to build throughout the jurisdiction. Cities with at least 50,000 residents must now allow homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs — often known as “granny flats.” Structures can include things such as garage apartments or backyard cottages on residential lots.

Under the bill, local governments would be allowed to regulate size and design but wouldn’t be allowed to prohibit ADUs in qualifying areas. Stein said in a statement that he signed the bill to help improve affordability across the state.

“North Carolina is growing rapidly, and the cost of housing is increasing. We need to build more housing units of all types to drive down rents and mortgages,” Stein said. “This bill cuts red tape to help produce more houses and apartments and deliver results for North Carolinians. It also makes it easier for families to install solar panels or battery systems to save on their utility bills.”

House Bill 834. This was one of two bills changing election laws that the legislature approved this summer. The other, House Bill 958, was hotly contested in the legislature by Democrats who said it'll make it harder for people to vote and easier for candidates to try overturning election results. Republicans said it's good for election integrity.

Stein has promised to veto that one, although he hadn't yet done so by Tuesday when he signed the other elections bill, HB 834, into law. That one passed the legislature with bipartisan support, and Stein made no comment on why he signed it into law.

It will now expand the time and manner in which people can fix procedural errors with their ballots to ensure they'll be counted. It also formalizes into law a rule that people who vote early but then die before Election Day can't have their ballots counted. The Wake County Board of Elections decided in the 2024 elections to count three such ballots from people who died after voting early, at the request of family members. The decision changed no results but conflicted with typical practice, leading the legislature to now make the rule a law.

It also allows lawsuits over election law issues to be filed anywhere in the state, not just Wake County. That will open up more opportunities for Republican judges to decide cases, since most Wake County judges are Democrats.

House Bill 268. Stein also approved a bill containing proposed changes to the recently passed state budget, including everything from modifying disaster relief funding to small items needed to fix errors or oversights in the new spending plan. Corrections contained in House Bill 268 also include bigger, more contentious provisions including power-shift provisions targeting the Democratic governor and Democratic Secretary of State Elaine Marshall.

The changes, which received final approval from lawmakers last week, would also spend up to $65 million on sporting events — bolstering next year’s Military World Games in Charlotte and paying the PGA to keep a golf tournament in Greensboro. The bill also contains other new spending aimed at bringing in economic development to the state, such as an extra $15 million for the film grant program used to lure movie and television shoots to North Carolina.

The bill also boosted loans and grants for hospitals and child care programs and adjusted deadlines for a teacher training program. Lawmakers initially proposed cutting hundreds of vacant state jobs in the budget, but they agreed to reduce cuts after receiving pushback from some agencies, House budget writers said last week. 

“This bill strengthens disaster relief, teacher workforce pipelines, and economic development programs,” Stein said in a statement. “It supports the Small Business Infrastructure Program and the Division of Community Revitalization, which are working tirelessly to support western North Carolina recovery. It also enables public schools to start teacher apprenticeship programs as early as this year and supports access to loans for North Carolina teaching fellows.” 

On the power-shifting provisions, Stein said: “I regret that the General Assembly saw fit to include some petty provisions that undermine the executive branch and impede the work of government on behalf of North Carolinians.” 

Stein also approved another budget-corrections bill on Tuesday. House Bill 562 fixed errors the legislature made in House Bill 268.