the three-judge panel had a liberal makeup, and that 33 states have enacted some form of voter ID requirement. In July 2013, McCrory signed tax reform legislation that created a modified flat-tax system for the state by specifying a single income-tax rate and a larger standard deduction but eliminating the personal exemption. It also repealed North Carolina's estate tax. In August 2013, McCrory signed into law the Regulatory Reform Act of 2013. The legislation, according to the bill, was "an act to improve and streamline the regulatory process in order to stimulate job creation, to eliminate unnecessary regulation, to make various other statutory changes, and to amend certain environmental and natural resource laws." The law requires all previous rules and regulations not mandated by federal law to be reviewed over ten years by the Rules Review Commission through a three-step process. In June 2014, McCrory signed the Energy Modernization Act of 2014 into law. The bill allows hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," in the state, and criminalizes the disclosure of fracking chemicals, lifting a 2012 moratorium that blocked fracking permits. "We remain intensely focused on creating good jobs, particularly in our rural areas," McCrory said. "We have watched and waited as other states moved forward with energy exploration, and it is finally our turn. This legislation will spur economic development at all levels of our economy, not just the energy sector." Once the state completes its regulations, the law will allow for permits to be issued without additional approval. The bill also criminalizes the disclosure of chemicals or substances used by oil and gas companies during the fracking process. The legislation also bans local governments from interfering with oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities. During a special session, after having conceded defeat in the 2016 election, McCrory signed legislation into law that would reduce the power of the North Carolina governorship. On December 30, 2016, a state judge temporarily blocked the law from going into effect, and a panel of judges extended the block on January 5, 2017. Vetoes McCrory issued his first veto as governor in August 2013, of a bill that would have required people applying for welfare benefits to pass a drug test. He later also vetoed a bill that extended from 90 days to nine months the amount of time that an employee could work without undergoing a background check in the E-Verify system. Both