North Carolina General Assembly · 2025–2026 session
Showing 361–384 of 2,338 bills
Introduced by Michael Garrett
This bill directs the State Education Assistance Authority to study whether North Carolina should create a student loan forgiveness program for graduates of public universities and community colleges in the state. The study must examine program structure, costs, eligibility requirements, and how it might help retain graduates in North Carolina, with a report due by October 1, 2027. The bill appropriates $150,000 to conduct this study.
Education
Introduced by Mary Harrison
This bill allows people injured during civil immigration enforcement to sue individuals who violate the U.S. or North Carolina Constitution during that enforcement, and removes various legal immunities that might otherwise protect defendants. It also funds a $50,000 educational pamphlet about rights during immigration enforcement encounters.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Introduced by Laura Budd
This bill establishes new rules for how electric utilities provide service to large data centers (facilities using over 20 megawatts of power). It requires utilities to file special rate plans with the NC Utilities Commission that ensure data centers pay the full cost of infrastructure needed to serve them and that other customers are not burdened with those costs. The bill also repeals certain tax provisions related to data centers.
Taxes & Budget
Introduced by Donny Lambeth
The Dominique Moody Safety Act creates a Child Welfare Case Escalation Team within the Division of Social Services to provide additional oversight of high-risk child abuse and neglect cases that involve complex histories. The bill also requires child protective services workers to gather photographic or video evidence during investigations, establishes new protocols for home visits, and funds training programs for CPS employees on recognizing abuse and neglect.
Social Services & Welfare
Introduced by Lindsey Prather
This bill appropriates $1.047 billion to update Medicaid funding to reflect current enrollment and costs, allows Medicaid health plans to create restricted provider networks specifically for research-based behavioral health treatment, and removes statutory rules that would automatically end Medicaid coverage for the expansion population under certain conditions.
Healthcare
Introduced by Julie Mayfield
This bill allows North Carolina residents to use small portable solar energy devices (up to 1.92 kilowatts) without needing utility company approval or paying installation fees, as long as the devices are primarily for personal use and have safety features. The bill also provides $100,000 in funding to expand the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors' public awareness program about electrical code requirements.
Environment & Energy
Introduced by Todd Johnson
This bill creates a seven-member North Carolina-Ireland Trade Commission to encourage bilateral trade, investment, and cultural exchanges between North Carolina and Ireland. The commission will be administratively housed in the Department of Commerce, meet at least twice yearly, and submit annual reports to the General Assembly. The state will appropriate $10,000 in nonrecurring funds to support the commission's administrative operations.
Business & Labor
Introduced by Maria Cervania
This comprehensive healthcare reform bill aims to lower costs and improve affordability through multiple strategies: establishing a state-supported low-cost health insurance plan option on the marketplace (by 2028), creating a purchasing consortium for public health buyers, expanding chronic disease prevention programs, increasing price and billing transparency, regulating hospital facility fees, strengthening protections for rural healthcare, updating insurance prior authorization rules, and requiring state review of significant hospital transactions to preserve competition.
This bill exempts menstrual hygiene products (tampons, pads, menstrual cups, and similar items) that are certified as free of intentionally added PFAS chemicals from North Carolina's state sales tax. It also creates a certification program through the Department of Commerce to verify which menstrual products meet PFAS-free standards, and appropriates $100,000 to the Department of Revenue for implementation.
This bill authorizes North Carolina to issue $50 billion in state bonds for public school construction, renovation, and repairs if voters approve it in a November 2026 election. The bond proceeds would be distributed to counties based on factors like student enrollment, facility age, and whether counties are low-wealth, with funds used for new buildings, renovations, technology infrastructure, and security improvements.
Introduced by Lisa Grafstein
This bill appropriates funds to increase salaries for public school teachers, state employees, community college workers, and UNC employees for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, and provides cost-of-living increases for retirees. The bill only takes effect if the state's regular budget (Current Operations Appropriations Act) does not pass, and it also establishes automatic 5% salary increases for future years if budgets continue to fail to pass.
Introduced by Kyle Hall
This is North Carolina's 2026 state budget bill, which appropriates approximately $35.4 billion in General Fund spending for the fiscal year 2026-2027 and sets salary schedules for state employees, teachers, and officials. The bill includes funding for education, health and human services, transportation, and other state operations, along with various policy changes affecting education, taxation, and state administration.
Introduced by Carolyn Logan
This bill modifies the penalty that North Carolina counties impose when taxpayers submit checks or electronic payments that are returned due to insufficient funds. Instead of the current penalty of $25 or 10% of the payment amount (whichever is greater, up to $1,000), the new penalty would be $25 plus 1% for the first two violations within five years, or $50 plus 2% for any additional violations, with the same $1,000 cap. The bill also provides $15,000 to the Department of Revenue for educational materials.
Introduced by Dana Jones
This bill allows North Carolina taxpayers to deduct tips from their state income tax calculations. Tips that are already reported to employers would no longer be counted as taxable income for state tax purposes, effective for tax years starting January 1, 2026.
Introduced by Natalie Murdock
This bill requires all public schools in North Carolina to provide free breakfast and lunch to every student. The state would appropriate $116 million annually starting in 2026-2027 to fund these meals, with the State Board of Education distributing funds to school districts based on factors like school size and number of low-income students.
Introduced by Zack Forde-Hawkins
This bill makes it illegal for drivers to hold a live animal in their lap while operating a motor vehicle on public roads or highways in North Carolina. Violations are treated as infractions with a $100 fine plus court costs, and no driver's license points are assessed.
Introduced by Ralph Hise
This bill allows people age 18 and older to carry self-defense devices such as pepper spray, tasers, mace, and ordinary pocket knives on North Carolina college and university campuses. It also provides $10,000 in funding to publicize this change to students, staff, and the public.
Introduced by Monika Johnson-Hostler
The Ciji Graham Act establishes four maternal health initiatives in North Carolina: a care navigation program with nurse consultants in each Medicaid region to help high-risk pregnancy patients access care, a statewide hotline providing clinical guidance to healthcare providers, a digital information hub with clinical guidelines and provider directories for high-risk pregnancies, and standardized referral pathways for patients. The bill appropriates $10 million in recurring annual funding to the Department of Health and Human Services starting in fiscal year 2026-2027.
Introduced by Phil Rubin
This bill increases teacher salaries in North Carolina starting in 2026-2027 and locks in annual 3.67% raises through 2032-2033, with a dedicated funding reserve to protect these raises from budget delays. It also reduces funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Program (private school vouchers) and tightens eligibility requirements for that program.
Introduced by Sophia Chitlik
This bill establishes the Learning and Enrichment in Afterschool Programs (LEAP) Grant Program, which provides funding to community organizations, schools, and local governments to offer afterschool and summer youth activities. It creates an advisory council to guide the program and appropriates $19.5 million for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, with grants directed toward rural and underserved communities.
Introduced by Deb Butler
This bill increases transparency and public participation in North Carolina's state budget process by requiring at least one week of public comment time, public hearings, and committee meetings before budget votes, and by making legislative budget requests public records once the budget becomes law. The bill allocates $250,000 annually to support these new requirements.
Introduced by Jonathan Almond
This bill modifies how North Carolina calculates wastewater design flow rates for new homes connecting to multi-unit wastewater systems. It allows the Department of Environmental Quality to approve lower flow rates (down to a minimum of 55 gallons per day per bedroom) if a permittee demonstrates that actual usage data supports the lower rate and there is no harm to public health or the environment. The bill also appropriates $10,000 to the Department to review these proposed flow rate calculations.
Introduced by Kevin Corbin
This bill modifies Cherokee County's occupancy tax (a tax on hotel and lodging rentals) by allowing the county to levy up to an additional 3% tax on top of the existing 3% occupancy tax, and restructures the Cherokee County Tourism Development Authority that manages these tax revenues. The bill specifies how the authority should be composed and how tax proceeds must be used for tourism promotion and related expenditures.
Introduced by Jim Burgin
This bill reforms North Carolina hospital authority boards by increasing the minimum number of commissioners from six to eight and the maximum from 30 to 38, requiring at least four public members (who cannot be healthcare providers or their spouses) and at least four elected officials from counties or municipalities within the hospital's service area. The bill also allocates $50,000 to help hospital authorities comply with these new requirements by December 1, 2026.