North Carolina governor vetoes controversial DEI and transgender bills

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein has vetoed four controversial bills that target diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and transgender rights, setting up a political clash with the Republican-led General Assembly.

Stein, a Democrat, blasted the three DEI-focused bills as being “mean-spirited” that would “marginalize vulnerable people” and took aim at Republicans who failed to pass a fiscal budget for the year that just began.

The DEI bills ought to ban DEI training, hiring practices and staff positions in state and local governments as well as outlawing the use of state funds for DEI programming. The legislation would have imposed civil penalties on workers who violate the rules. No Democrats supported the three DEI bills.

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“At a time when teachers, law enforcement, and state employees need pay raises, and people need shorter lines at the DMV, the legislature failed to pass a budget and, instead, wants to distract us by stoking culture wars that further divide us,” Stein said in a statement.

“These mean-spirited bills would marginalize vulnerable people and also undermine the quality of public services and public education. Therefore, I am vetoing them. I stand ready to work with the legislature when it gets serious about protecting people and addressing North Carolinians’ pressing concerns.” 

The measures cutting or eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state and local governments, K-12 public schools and the university system have been a major priority for GOP lawmakers. They argue the programs targeted have overemphasized identity to the detriment of merit and societal unity.

The transgender bill began as a bipartisan measure to curb sexual exploitation by enforcing age verification and consent rules for pornography websites. But lawmakers later added controversial provisions, including a ban on state-funded gender-affirming procedures for prisoners.

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It also affirms the recognition of two sexes and requires the state to officially attach a transgender person’s new birth certificate to their old one if they change their sex assigned at birth.

Stein said in a veto message that he strongly supported the anti-sexual exploitation provisions in the bill, but the final measure went too far. “My faith teaches me that we are all children of God no matter our differences and that it is wrong to target vulnerable people, as this bill does,” he added.

One Democrat backed the fourth bill before Stein vetoed it. All four bills now return to the General Assembly, which could reconvene later this month to attempt veto overrides. Republicans are one vote short of a veto-proof supermajority in the House.

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The vetoes bring Stein’s total to 11 since taking office in January — all within the past two weeks. Stein was previously North Carolina’s attorney general since 2017 after serving in the state Senate from 2009 to 2016.

The progressive attorney and politician campaigned on a platform of lowering the cost of housing, increasing job creation, expanding access to abortion and improving education. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.