McCrory on Sweepstakes, light rail in the Triangle, incentives

"I think they ought to enforce the law," McCrory said, but added that may still allow for legal gray area. "There seems to be so many loopholes the industry is looking for to go around the current laws, I'm going to have to do more study and evaluation once I get my resources in place."

Asked if it was an issue he would likely be dealing with, McCrory said, "I think it's going to be revisited regardless, because of all the legal maneuvering and interpretations....This is kind of ridiculous at this point in time. I'm going to have discussions with the leadership of the (Senate) and House on this issue."

"If they meet the same criteria that I asked for when I mayor of Charlotte regarding federal match and also to meet the ridership potential and the right land use, I will be working with my (Secretary of Transportation) to support those types of efforts," McCrory said. "But regardless of where you put roads or transit, they have to meet certain criteria before they have my support."

During the campaign, McCrory pledged to bring down the state's unemployment rate and be judicious with his use of incentives. Asked about his plans for creating jobs, McCrory said he has discussed the matter with his new Commerce Secretary, Sharron Decker.

"We spoke a long time about that," McCrory said of Decker. "We talked about ... reviewing the existing incentive program and seeing what works and what doesn't work. I'm giving my cabinet secretaries a lot of independence. I want to hear from them first," McCrory said, adding that cabinet secretaries would be asked to evaluate what needs to change. "One part of leadership is to listen, to learn and to lead."