North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein signed four bills Monday addressing public safety, housing, and state employee benefits.
Before lawmakers left last week for a break from session, they sent Stein nearly two dozen bills, including the long-overdue state budget. He told reporters he plans to take action on the budget Tuesday.
Two of the bills Stein signed Monday stemmed from violent deaths in the state over the past year.
Republicans introduced Jaleeyah’s Law after 13-year-old Jaleeyah Tune was shot and killed in Goldsboro in December 2025. While her family hasn’t spoken publicly about what they think happened that day, they’ve pushed lawmakers to increase penalties for gang-related crimes.
Jaleeyah’s Law lowers the threshold for law enforcement to charge someone with being a gang member or engaging in gang activity.
“What Jaleeyah’s law would do is, it would give prosecutors and law enforcement the tools to really go after those perpetrators and make sure that they do not hurt anyone else in this state,” primary bill sponsor Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) said.
The legislation marks some of the biggest changes to North Carolina’s gang laws since the state passed the Gang Suppression Act in 2008.
“I cry daily because I miss my daughter,” Jaleeyah’s mother, Whitney Brown-Tune, said. “My kids are hurting, we are hurting, and this is not going to stop all the violence, but it will help.”
Under another new law, involuntary commitment evaluations will move from hospitals to jails.
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