Welcome to the Thursday, July 3, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoes REINS-style bill increasing legislative oversight of agency regulations
- A comprehensive look at 129 years of ballot measures in Utah
- On the Ballot examines the latest U.S. Supreme Court decisions
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein vetoes REINS-style bill increasing legislative oversight of agency regulations
On June 27, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) vetoed House Bill 402 (HB 402), a REINS-style bill, which would have established legislative approval and agency board supermajority vote requirements for new regulations with costs above stated thresholds.
HB 402 would have also required agencies to prepare a detailed fiscal note for each regulation. Under the bill, regulations that cost between $1 million and $10 million over five years would have required a two-thirds vote of approval from the rulemaking agency’s board. Regulations with a cost greater than $10 million would have required the board’s unanimous approval.
In his veto message, Stein said, “This bill would make it harder for the state to keep people’s drinking water clean from PFAS and other dangerous chemicals, their air free from toxic pollutants, and their health care facilities providing high quality care. It would impose red tape, including an unworkable unanimity requirement, that would hamstring the decision-making of agencies, boards, and commissions, making them less effective at protecting people’s health, safety, and welfare.”
State Rep. Allen Chesser (R), who sponsored HB 402, said, “What we are trying to do is create a layer of accountability for the people who are affected by the rules and give them someone to hold accountable…I personally believe that should be us, their elected representatives, not an appointed bureaucratic board that they have no control or no power over.”
North Carolina has a divided government in which Democrats control the governorship while Republicans control both legislative chambers. On June 10, the North Carolina Senate passed the bill 26-17 with all Republicans in support and all Democrats in opposition. On June 17, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed it 70-44 with 67 Republicans and three Democrats voting in support. No Republicans and 44 Democrats voted in opposition.
The bill now returns to the North Carolina General Assembly. A veto override requires a three-fifths supermajority vote in both chambers. That’s 72 votes in the state House and 30 in the state Senate. Currently, Republicans have a 30-20 majority in the state Senate and a 71-49 majority in the state House.
The state House had a Republican supermajority from April 2023 to January 2025. In 2023, Republicans gained their veto-proof supermajority in the state House when state Rep. Tricia Cotham (D) switched parties from Democratic to Republican, giving Republicans a 72-seat majority. In the 2022 elections, Republicans gained a 30-seat veto-proof supermajority in the state Senate.
When both legislative chambers had a Republican supermajority in 2024, the Assembly overrode all 27 of then-Gov. Roy Cooper‘s (D) vetoes.
In the 2024 elections, Republicans lost one vacant seat in the state House, ending their supermajority. Without it in 2025, any veto override attempt will require support from at least one state House Democrat. Republicans retained control of 30 Senate seats in the 2024 elections.
So far, North Carolina legislators have introduced 36 bills related to the administrative state in the 2025 legislative session. HB 402 is the only one that has passed both chambers.
We follow legislation like HB 402 as part of our analysis of the administrative state. REINS-style state laws are a type of legislative oversight over agency rules. It falls in our legislative control pillar, which focuses on the balance of power between administrative agencies and the legislative branch. The legislative control pillar is one of the five pillars we use to understand the administrative state.
In 2025, we are following 27 REINS-style bills or other bills increasing legislative oversight in 17 states. Five states have enacted these bills in 2025 so far.
Click here to learn more about REINS-style state laws, and here for more information on HB 402.
A comprehensive look at 129 years of ballot measures in Utah
Ballotpedia’s Historical Ballot Measure Factbook will document nearly 200 years of direct democracy in the United States. This ongoing research effort will provide an unparalleled resource for researchers, reporters, and the public on how ballot measures have evolved, the issues they have covered, and their role in our civic life.
Today, let’s look at historical ballot measures in Utah. Our comprehensive inventory of Utah ballot measures spans from 1895 to 2024. During that time, Utah voters decided on 220 measures, approving 140 and defeating 80—a 63.6% approval rate.
Of the 11 states we have completed Factbooks for, Utah has the fourth highest approval rate. Texas has the highest approval rate at 74.6% and Oregon has the lowest at 46.6%.
Utah ballot measures have addressed 116 unique topics. The most common topics are related to property taxes and exemptions (47 measures), public education funding (24 measures), and salaries of government officials (14 measures).
Here is a selection of important and interesting ballot measures in Utah:
- In 1900, Utah became the second state to approve a constitutional amendment establishing an initiative and referendum process. Voters approved the amendment 71% to 29%.
- In 1942, voters decided on the state’s first veto referendum. The referendum challenged a law that imposed a special tax and license fee on chain stores, defined as businesses operating 10 or more locations in the state. Voters decided to repeal the law 69% to 31%.
- In 1974, voters decided on an amendment that would have created the office of lieutenant governor, abolished the office of secretary of state, and required the governor and lieutenant governor to run together on the same ticket during an election, among other changes. Voters defeated the measure 45% to 55%. In 1980, voters decided on a nearly identical amendment. This time, voters approved the amendment, 56% to 44%.
- In 1976, voters decided on a measure that would have authorized citizens to recall any public officer through a vote during a special election. Voters defeated the measure 50.2% to 49.8%.
- Voters have decided on two citizen initiatives on school choice policy. In 1988, voters defeated Initiative C 70% to 30%. The initiative would have created an income tax credit program for private and homeschool education expenses. In 2007, voters decided to repeal House Bill 148 62% to 38%. The bill would have established an education voucher program in the state.
Click here to view our full Historical Ballot Measure Factbook for Utah.
On the Ballot examines the latest U.S. Supreme Court decisions
In this episode of On the Ballot, we’re catching up on the U.S. Supreme Court’s term-end decisions. Our host, Norm Leahy, sits down with SCOTUSblog’s executive editor Zachary Shemtob to discuss some of the Court’s noteworthy decisions from this term and their implications.
The Court—the highest judicial body in the country and leads the federal government’s judicial branch—began hearing cases for the term on Oct. 7, 2024. The Court generally releases the majority of its decisions in mid-June. As of June 26, the Court has issued 61 opinions this term.
To listen to this episode and more, click here. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app. Finally, click here for a full rundown of the Court’s decisions from this term.