Overall, Governor Josh Stein Earns an “A” for His Actions During His First Year as Governor

Governor Stein is off to a strong start in his first term as Governor. With his legislative actions and statements, Stein has acted in favor of the environment in his first year in office. While his environmentally-friendly record as Attorney General makes his moves as Governor more predictable, Stein maintains a notable streak of acting in favor of the environment. 

Hurricane Helene Response

The start of Stein’s term was notably marked by his Hurricane Helene response. Billions of dollars have been allocated and used in North Carolina to help with recovery. This money has been used to rebuild personal homes and infrastructure in the affected areas. So far, Stein has signed five relief packages into law, making a $2 billion dent into an estimated 60 billion dollars in damages. Stein has been encouraging increased tourism to Western NC to stimulate and bring cash flow to small businesses in the Mountain region and encouraging FEMA and the Trump Administration to stick to their commitments. 

Fighting Against Attacks on Our Environment and Democracy

Governor Stein has had the opportunity to use his veto powers over these first six months. As of July 2025, Stein has vetoed 14 bills, some with notable environmental impacts, including SB 266, HB 402, and HB 171. SB 266 takes away North Carolina’s interim climate goals and creates a Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) clause, making ratepayers responsible for the cost of power plant construction without benefitting from the power plant coming online. HB 402 pushes more of the regulatory power reserved for the state agencies to the legislature, delaying the rapid response of agencies to the needs of constituents. Lastly, HB 171 destroys any DEI effort made by the state, making it impossible to collect any data on minority groups. In an environmental context, providing aid to groups that might be targeted by unjust regulations would no longer be allowed, ensuring that the most at-risk groups stay in harm’s way. 

Clean Energy Champion

Finally, Governor Stein has made a tremendous push for clean energy and affordability. In addition to continuing to recruit clean energy companies to North Carolina, he also recently signed Executive Order 23 to establish a new task force on energy affordability. The 26-member Task Force includes bipartisan representation from the state legislature, state government agencies, industry, public utilities, and clean energy advocates. The task force will develop recommendations for how to manage increasing electricity demand while maintaining adequate reliable, affordable, and clean electricity for North Carolina. The Task Force may also address current and future energy needs and goals or recommendations that promote economic development for North Carolina and the state’s clean energy economy.

Know the Score: See the Full Scorecard

To see how your legislators scored, and to learn more about the 2025 bills and votes, see the full 2024-2025 Scorecard.