North Carolina just made it much harder to pass expensive regulations. HB 402, now law after legislators overrode a veto from Gov. Josh Stein, adds major hurdles for new and existing rules — including those that would limit PFAS and other toxic chemicals in drinking water.
The new law, also known as the REINS Act, requires any rule or regulation costing more than $20 million over five years to pass through the General Assembly and become a law.
Republicans celebrate the law as a way to increase accountability, arguing that our state’s costliest decisions should be made by elected officials in the legislature, not “bureaucrats” on the boards of state agencies. Important regulations will still pass if they are worthy, they say, pointing to the law as a way to protect businesses from burdensome and frivolous regulations.
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Environmental groups, on the other hand, are in a state of despair. Regulations on chemicals in the drinking water are expensive and have powerful, deep-pocketed adversaries. The law — which some characterize as a power-grab by the legislature — makes it much less likely that new rules will pass, they say. It also pulls existing regulations into question.
“Our state is not going to get any good rules on PFAS or 1,4-dioxane moving forward, or any environmental rules that provide broad protection to communities, because of this law,” Jean Zhuang, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, told Carolina Public Press.
“That’s going to directly affect communities suffering from these chemicals in their drinking water.”
The law heightens the requirements for less costly rules as well. A rule costing more than $10 million over five years must see a unanimous vote by the relevant board or commission, and one that costs more $1 million must get at least two-thirds.
Will the law mean that important regulations get passed less often? It remains to be seen. But for now, environmental groups are sounding the alarm.
In the case of PFAS, this unanimous or two-thirds vote would have to come from the Environmental Management Commission. That commission is heavily weighted against regulation, thanks to a 2023 law that grants more appointees to the legislature than the governor. Zhuang characterizes a unanimous vote from that commission as “nearly impossible.”
“The Environmental Management Commission went from a rulemaking body that protected North Carolinians to a rulemaking body that is folding to polluters who lobby it at every point,” Zhuang said.
Supporters of the law also emphasize the corruptibility of board members at North Carolina’s executive branch agencies. That’s why they want the most expensive regulations in the hands of elected legislators as a way to enhance “democratic oversight.”
“Some regulations are so substantial and so costly that they ought to be approved by the General Assembly rather than by unaccountable bureaucrats,” Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation, told CPP.
“If a rule is going to have that much of a financial impact on people, then it probably should be hard for it to get through.”
Republican legislators who sponsored the bill echo Kokai’s concerns. Rep. Grant Campbell, R-Cabarrus, told CPP that the bill will serve to enforce checks and balances.
Rep. Kelly Hastings, R-Gaston, emphasizes the way the bill could protect businesses and economic interests.
“We’re forcing men and women who have children and mortgages out of work just based on an arbitrary and capricious rule and regulation,” Hastings said. “We have seen how rules and regulations promulgated by people who aren’t elected can get out of hand and destroy businesses.”
Rep. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth, argues that North Carolina is over-regulated. Indeed the law applies to all rules and regulations, not just chemicals in the drinking water. All this regulation has a negative impact on the economy, he says.
“We’re so over-regulated across the board, and it’s a stealth inflation driver,” Zenger said. “In so many industries, regulation is driving up costs. Those costs get passed onto the consumer. We’re regulating ourselves into serfdom.”
However, the financial impacts of PFAS will likely be felt regardless of regulations.
If the state won’t regulate harmful chemicals at the source, drinking water utilities will have to remove the contamination themselves. The costs for the required upgrades and equipment, in most cases, will be passed onto ratepayers through higher bills. The costs don’t disappear, Zhuang argues, they just shift from polluters onto consumers.
Some water utilities feel similarly about the cost of limiting regulations.
“We are disappointed to see HB402 become law, which will now make it harder for North Carolina’s water utilities to successfully advocate for regulatory standards on contaminants like PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane,” writes Cammie Bellamy, spokesperson for the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority.
“CFPUA has long advocated for statewide standards to limit discharges of harmful contaminants. We will continue to work with our region’s legislators and the Environmental Management Commission to find solutions that protect ratepayers and hold polluters accountable.”
Environmental advocates say the timing couldn’t be worse, with federal environmental protections also under threat from the Trump administration. The convergence of rollbacks leaves advocates without a lot of room to breathe.
“With EPA shirking their responsibility, and DEQ currently not using their existing authority, HB 402 is a huge barrier to protecting North Carolinians from toxic PFAS pollution,” Zhuang said.
Despite this major setback, environmental groups aren’t giving up on the need for regulations to safeguard drinking water.
“It’s not defeat,” Stephanie Schweickert, director of environmental health campaigns for the NC Conservation Network.
“I’m unwilling to accept defeat on something so important. But the REINS Act is a step backward for environmental health in North Carolina.”
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