RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper signed the following bills into law:

• Senate Bill 274: Senior Care Options.

• Senate Bill 409: Various Changes to Criminal and Civil Laws.

Governor Cooper made the following statement on his signing of SB 409:

"This new law provides much-needed cancer coverage benefits to North Carolina’s firefighters, both paid and volunteer, who work around the clock to protect our communities. It also strengthens criminal penalties and gives prosecutors more tools against theft. I am signing this bill because of the important changes for firefighters but I strongly disagree with the unconstitutional legislative intrusion into the executive authority of state officials by directing employment of individual state employees.”