North Carolina General Assembly · 2025–2026 session
Showing 1969–1992 of 2,338 bills
Introduced by Carla Cunningham
This bill creates a faster legal process for property owners to remove squatters (unauthorized persons) from residential property in North Carolina. Property owners can file a sworn affidavit with a clerk of court or magistrate for a $25 fee, and law enforcement must remove the unauthorized person within 24 hours if conditions are met.
Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Introduced by Amos Quick
This bill restores the City of High Point's authority to initiate down-zoning (reducing allowed development density or permitted uses on property) without needing written consent from all affected property owners. The change applies retroactively to December 11, 2024, and reverses a restriction that was added in a previous 2024 law.
Local Government
Introduced by Tracy Clark
This bill allocates $800,000 in one-time funding from the state Highway Fund to the Greensboro Transit Agency for two purposes: $500,000 for the North/South Crossmax Orange Bus Route and $300,000 for a pilot program to transport high school juniors and seniors to Guilford Technical Community College campuses. The funding takes effect on July 1, 2025.
Transportation & Infrastructure
Introduced by Amy Galey
This bill legalizes the sale and use of certain consumer fireworks in North Carolina starting January 1, 2026. It establishes a permitting system for fireworks retailers, sets safety requirements and restrictions on where and when fireworks can be used, and imposes a 5% excise tax on consumer fireworks sales, with 25% of proceeds funding firefighter education and training.
Other / General Government
Introduced by Amber Baker
This bill creates a two-year pilot program that provides grants to North Carolina public schools to fund field trips to the Legislative Building, with up to $2,000 per school available for transportation costs. The program prioritizes funding for schools in economically disadvantaged counties and requires the Department of Public Instruction to manage applications and report on participation.
Education
Introduced by Mary Harrison
This bill increases public access to General Assembly records by requiring legislative records to be retained for at least 10 years before destruction and repealing previous exemptions that allowed the General Assembly to destroy records without following standard archival procedures. It also makes changes to campaign finance laws regarding federal political committees.
Introduced by Frances Jackson
This bill appropriates $16.564 million in state funds to the Town of Hope Mills for two capital projects: $13.134 million to construct a new community center and $3.430 million to design and renovate the Senior Center to meet ADA accessibility requirements. The funds are nonrecurring and designated for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Taxes & Budget
This bill gives Guilford County Schools flexibility to start the school year earlier than the current state requirement. Currently, North Carolina schools cannot start before the Monday closest to August 26, but this bill allows Guilford County Schools to start as early as the Monday closest to August 19 if the State Board of Education approves their request.
Introduced by Donna White
This bill appropriates $500,000 in state funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to Hispanic Grassroots, a nonprofit organization that provides education and outreach services to Hispanic communities in North Carolina. The funds would support programs including education scholarships, small business assistance, healthcare education, and civics classes.
This bill requires the Department of Public Instruction to study ways to increase teacher planning time or reduce teacher obligations that interfere with planning time. The department must report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by February 15, 2026, including cost estimates. The state will provide $5,000 in funding for the study.
Introduced by Todd Johnson
This bill revises North Carolina's bail bondsman licensing regulations to establish clearer rules for supervising new bondsmen, require out-of-state sureties to use licensed NC bondsmen for arrests, extend the new bondsman supervision period from 12 to 24 months, establish qualifications for supervising bondsmen, add grounds for license denial based on felony convictions, and adjust renewal deadlines and business address requirements.
Introduced by Carolyn Logan
This bill reinstitutes the North Carolina child tax credit for families with child care expenses, expands the NC Pre-K program to serve 32,000 additional eligible 4-year-olds, increases subsidized child care funding, requires public schools to provide free lunches to all students, funds child care programs at community colleges, and directs a study on creating high school child care apprenticeships.
Social Services & Welfare
Introduced by Brenden Jones
This bill allows the Town of Tabor City to transfer excess money from its wastewater system fund to its general fund if the wastewater fund has more money than needed for operations and future costs. The transferred funds would be used to support other town services.
Introduced by Mark Pless
This bill appropriates $80 million in state funds to Madison County to help relocate its courthouse, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Helene, to a location outside the floodplain. The funds would be available starting July 1, 2025.
Introduced by Laura Budd
This bill allows the Town of Pineville to establish a reserve police division and compensate reserve officers when they are called to work active duty shifts. Previously, the town could only have auxiliary police under state law, but this amendment creates a separate reserve division with the ability to pay these officers for their service.
This bill appropriates $88.395 million in state funds to Madison County for repairs and rebuilding of public infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Helene. The funds cover repairs to wastewater treatment plants, town halls, fire departments, housing facilities, libraries, parks, emergency communication systems, and waterway debris removal across Marshall and Hot Springs.
Introduced by Sarah Stevens
This bill enacts the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act in North Carolina, which clarifies how community property acquired in other states is handled when a spouse dies. It establishes that the surviving spouse automatically receives half of community property without going through probate, while the deceased spouse's half can be distributed through their will or estate.
Introduced by Kandie Smith
This bill appropriates $150,000 per year for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium from the state's General Fund to the Town of Pinetops to help cover staffing costs for its fire department. The funding becomes available starting July 1, 2025.
Introduced by Matthew Winslow
This bill expands the Town of Franklinton's corporate limits by adding specific North Carolina Department of Transportation rights-of-way (road corridors) to the town's boundaries. The additions include portions of US Highway 1, NC 56, and several local roads, becoming effective July 1, 2025.
Introduced by Ray Pickett
This bill allows the State Board of Education to waive the requirement that school years begin no earlier than the Monday closest to August 26, permitting schools in Ashe, Allegheny, and Watauga counties to start as early as August 12 if they meet 'good cause' criteria. Good cause is defined as schools in a county being closed at least 8 days per year due to severe weather, energy shortages, power failures, or other emergencies during any 4 of the last 10 years.
Introduced by Keith Kidwell
This bill changes when municipal elections are held in nine towns in Pamlico County (Grantsboro, Minnesott Beach, Oriental, Vandemere, Alliance, Arapahoe, Bayboro, Mesic, and Stonewall) by requiring all regular municipal elections to take place in even-numbered years, aligned with general elections. The bill extends current officials' terms by one year to transition to this new election schedule.
Elections & Voting
Introduced by Garland Pierce
This bill appropriates $52.5 million in state funding to the Southeast Regional Airport Authority for improvements at Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, including a $28 million runway extension, $15 million in airport capital projects, and $9.5 million in water and sewer infrastructure improvements. The funds come from the Highway Fund for fiscal year 2025-2026 and require quarterly reporting to legislative committees.
Introduced by Edward Goodwin
This bill increases the property tax homestead exclusion for disabled veterans in North Carolina from $45,000 to $54,000 in appraised home value. This means disabled veterans would pay property taxes on a smaller portion of their home's value, resulting in lower annual property tax bills.
This bill appropriates $545,588 in state funds to the Town of Pineville to construct a pedestrian hybrid beacon and crosswalk at Highway 51 and Main Street near Town Hall. The goal is to improve pedestrian safety and walkability in the town.