South Raleigh News

Attorney General Josh Stein Reacts to Legislative Actions

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today released a statement following the legislature's adjournment on Thursday. "I thank the General Assembly for working with my office to help make people safer. By passing H495, which bans money laundering, the legislature has given law enforcement and prosecutors new and better tools to go after drug traffickers and protect North Carolina families from the scourge of fentanyl. This was a top recommendation of my law enforcement Fentanyl Task Force, and I’m pleased lawyers in my office were able to strengthen the bill language. I thank Governor Cooper for signing the bill into law today."

Stein also expressed gratitude for the passage of H591, stating, "I also want to thank the General Assembly for passing H591, which my office helped to draft, to modernize sex crimes laws to protect kids and families from the emerging threats of artificial intelligence. This bill will help keep North Carolina kids and families safe from artificial intelligence sex crimes, including child pornography, sextortion, and revenge porn."

He commended bipartisan efforts on consumer protection: "I also commend the legislature for working on a bipartisan basis to protect people’s hard-earned money and tackle hidden fees when people buy entertainment tickets online. A provision in S607 will require ticket companies to display the total price of a ticket up front, not right before a customer completes a purchase. I’m proud to have worked with industry leaders over the last six months to help put an end to deceptive price displays and make it easier for North Carolinians to make informed decisions on how they spend their money."

However, Stein criticized certain legislative shortcomings: "While this progress is important, the legislature has fallen short in other ways – opting to fuel culture wars and chaos instead of prioritizing education and public safety. Specifically, I am disappointed that they have failed to fund strategies to address law enforcement recruitment and retention. We have to do more to support overburdened and under-resourced law enforcement officers so that they can protect North Carolina families."

He further addressed issues in childcare funding: "The legislature nominally funded childcare and education raises but did little to actually address these pressing problems. They funded childcare centers through a stopgap measure that will expire. They refused to give hardworking teachers and caretakers the full raises they need and deserve. That’s not how a state that values our children, public education, and our state’s future treats its valued employees – our teachers are critical to our children’s success, and they should be paid accordingly."