Gov. Josh Stein says he’s doing a ‘thorough review’ of the crime bill on his desk
More than a week after GOP state lawmakers sent him a wide-ranging crime bill, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has yet to act on it.
The 21-page bill, which House and Senate Republicans drafted among themselves amid weeks of national discussion about the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train in August, was presented to Stein on Sept. 23 after clearing a final vote in the General Assembly.
If the legislature hasn’t adjourned sine die (for the final time in a two-year session) or for more than 30 days, the governor has 10 days after receiving a bill to either sign it into law, let it become law without a signature, or veto it.
That means Stein has until Friday to take action on the crime bill that includes stricter bail rules, a broader protocol for court-ordered mental health evaluations, funding for Mecklenburg County to hire 10 more prosecutors, and a death penalty provision that seeks to restart executions in North Carolina after nearly two decades of being paused due to legal challenges.
Stein has been asked about the bill multiple times since it was passed, including on national television last week, but has refused to comment on what he plans to do, saying he’s using the time afforded to him to review what lawmakers have sent him.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday after a meeting of the Council of State, the governor said he was doing a “thorough review” of the bill.
“This is an immensely complicated law, and it’s an immensely complicated subject, how do we promote public safety?” Stein said. “And I want to make sure the law is making us safer, instead of making us less safe, and so I’m doing a thorough review, as I hope people would expect me to do.”
What Stein has said about ‘Iryna’s Law’ so far
Stein has echoed concerns raised by legislative Democrats about the bill.
During an interview with CNN last week, Stein said the state needs more funding to isolate and treat people with mental health issues who could be a threat to themselves or others.
“People need a place to go when they’re having a schizophrenic attack,” Stein said. “If they are a risk to themselves, if they’re a risk to other people, we need some place for them to go, and one thing this bill doesn’t do is provide any funding to help us address that issue.”
The bill directs judges and magistrates to follow an expanded protocol for ordering mental health evaluations for defendants who may need to be involuntarily committed. Democrats said last week the bill would likely lead to an influx in people being evaluated or committed that mental hospitals wouldn’t be able to handle without additional funding.
Stein also said on CNN that the state needs to help fill vacancies in state and local law enforcement.
“What we need to do is make sure that in response, we are going to take measures to keep our communities safer,” Stein said. “We need a lot more police, who are well-trained, in our communities proactively, on the ground, engaging with people to promote safety. We need them on the transit system but we also need them throughout our communities.”
Appearing on Fox News last week, Senate leader Phil Berger said he hopes Stein signs the bill into law but said he wasn’t sure what the governor would do in light of staunch opposition from Senate Democrats.
“It’s the right thing for him to do, it’s the right thing for the safety of the people of North Carolina, it’s the right thing to show that we are serious about dealing with the crime problem,” Berger said.
Berger and other Republicans including House Speaker Destin Hall have criticized Stein for waiting to take action on the bill, saying in multiple social media posts in recent days that the governor should have signed the bill as soon as he received it.
Party line vote in Senate, but bipartisan vote in the House
The bill initially appeared to have bipartisan support as it was being debated on the Senate floor last week.
But a last-minute amendment to the bill directing state prison officials to implement alternative methods of execution if the state’s current method (lethal injection) is deemed unconstitutional, or is unable to be administered, prompted several Democrats including Minority Leader Sydney Batch to walk out, and refuse to vote on the bill.
The remaining Democrats voted against the bill. It passed 28-8.
Democrats in both chambers strongly objected to the late addition to the bill that could open the door to executions restarting in North Carolina, saying it was “exploitative” and “cynical” to use a bill named “Iryna’s Law” in honor of Zarutska to try to legislate on a controversial issue like the death penalty.
During debate in the House the next day, Democrats continued to raise objections about the GOP’s effort to restart executions, expressing concerns about the effectiveness of capital punishment in deterring crime, racial bias in trials and sentencing, and the potential for innocent people to be sent to death row.
They also criticized Republicans for not including more funding for mental health services and hospitals, and predicted that the more frequent evaluations and stricter bail rules included in the bill would put a greater strain on jails, prisons and the state’s system for involuntary commitment.
Ultimately, however, 17 Democrats including House Minority Leader Robert Reives joined Republicans in voting to approve the bill and send it to Stein.
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This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Gov. Josh Stein says he’s doing a ‘thorough review’ of the crime bill on his desk."
