Several new bills in North Carolina went into effect Jan. 1. Not all have direct, widespread impact on residents, but several do, and some are parts of bills that incorporate changes over an extended period of time.

One of the first is the third Helene relief bill, Senate Bill 382, which faced both pushback from legislators and a veto from Governor Roy Cooper. Not because of a resistance to helping western North Carolina, but because most of the bill created big power shifts in the state leadership. Cooper’s veto was overridden but he and Governor-elect Josh Stein have challenged parts of the bill in court.

One of the parts of the bill that went into effect Jan. 1 that caused some backlash is the requirement that boards of election must finish counting provisional ballots by 5 p.m. “on the third business day after the election.” Those opposing the measure have said county boards of election do not have the resources to meet the requirement, but those proposing and supporting the measure insist voters are entitled to have election results sooner.

Senate Bill 452 will increase the minimum liability insurance requirement for cars. Currently, the minimum coverage required is $30,000 per person and $60,000 per incident. At the new year, those minimums go up to $50,000 and $100,000 respectively.

House Bill 259 is designed to gradually decrease personal income tax rates over several years, from 4.75 percent in 2023 all the way down to 3.99 percent in 2026. In January, it drops from 4.5 percent down to 4.25 percent.

A change in taxes on alcohol had bipartisan support. Under SB 527, liquor sales that reach at least $50,000 will be exempt from the state’s 30 percent excise tax. In addition, the bill also caps the maximum tax on qualifying liquor at $1,000.

House Bill 488, in part, bans sheathing inspections in most of the state that would ensure that parts of the frame can withstand category 4 hurricane winds. Opponents are concerned that the bill’s freezing of some residential building code updates may set the state back in structural safety and in energy efficiency in new construction.

Sheathing is what protects homes from high winds, and predictions are that hurricane-force winds will become more common throughout the state, not just in coastal areas, and inspections would ensure confirmation that parts of the frame of a structure can withstand category 4 hurricane winds.

In response to the disastrous cancelling of ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s ERAs concerts by TicketMaster, Stein worked with legislators on both sides of the aisle on a bill that will create more transparency on ticket prices. The new law requires ticket sellers, such as Ticketmaster and SeatGeek, to display upfront the full price of a ticket, including fees, for live events happening in state, instead of waiting until the actual purchase to show all fees and costs.

Under House Bill 1020, there will be administrative changes to the retirement systems for teachers, state employees, local government employees, consolidated Judicial retirement system and the legislative retirement system. One key change is that retirees who opt to return to work and choose to participate in the Optional Retirement Program will have their retirement benefits temporarily suspended. The bill also makes it clear that employees who are receiving severance pay are not eligible for retirement benefits while they are receiving the severance.

Finally, there are changes to juvenile justice laws that have some concerned about how the state deals with young offenders.