STATE BRIEFLY
Credit: LA Times Crossword
Sylvia Bursztyn and Barry Tunick

The same two letters, in the same order, will change each of the following words into new ones.

BIN
RAT
RING
PRICE

HINTS:
#1: The two letters are placed in the same position in all four words.
#2: The two letters are placed at the beginning of each word.

Answers:

The two letters are CA - as in California - a state, briefly:

CABIN
CARAT
CARING
CAPRICE