NCPoliSearch — NC Legislation Made Simple

Modify Nonprofit Corp. Act/Charitable Org

This bill makes several changes to North Carolina's nonprofit corporation laws. It allows charitable and religious nonprofits to merge with certain limited liability companies, requires all nonprofits to file annual reports with the Secretary of State, permits nonprofits to change their state of incorporation (domestication), allows nonprofits to have just one director instead of three, and aligns state disclosure rules for charitable organizations with federal tax requirements.

House2026-07-08

H600Introduced

Recognition of the Tuscarora

This bill officially recognizes The Tuscarora Indians of Kahtenuaka Territories as a state-recognized Native American tribe and grants them representation on the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs and the American Indian Heritage Commission. The bill is based on the Tuscarora's historical treaties with North Carolina dating back to 1712-1717 and their continuous presence as a community in the state.

House2026-07-01

H315Passed

Prohibit Litigation Invest/Amend WC Benefits

This bill has two main parts: it prohibits litigation investments (third-party funding of lawsuits in exchange for a share of any settlement or judgment) in North Carolina civil cases, and it increases workers' compensation benefit amounts for certain injuries, including raising maximum awards for facial disfigurement from $20,000 to $40,000 and other injury categories from $10,000-$20,000 to $20,000-$40,000.

House2026-06-22

H1159Introduced

Investing in Teen Mental Health

This bill appropriates $1,290,626 in state funding to the Department of Health and Human Services to expand Teen Mental Health First Aid training programs across North Carolina. The training teaches high school students (grades 9-12) how to identify mental health and substance use challenges in their peers and connect them with trusted adults for support.

House2026-05-04

H1141Introduced

Protecting Medicaid & Autism Services

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.

House2026-05-04

H1178Introduced

The NC Teacher Pay Competitiveness Act

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.

House2026-05-04

H1138Introduced

Aging With Dignity Act

This bill addresses North Carolina's growing senior population by establishing policies that prioritize home and community-based care for Medicaid beneficiaries aged 55+, requiring medication reviews and behavioral health integration, and funding new initiatives including an integrated senior housing pilot program ($120 million), expansion of the long-term care ombudsman office ($3.5 million), a geriatric workforce development program ($10 million), and a family caregiver support stipend pilot ($13.5 million). The bill also creates a study commission on aging to recommend future policies.

House2026-05-04

H1136Introduced

Cape Fear IBT Moratorium/EMC IBT Reductions

This bill pauses new water transfers out of the upper Cape Fear River Basin until 2030 while a comprehensive study is conducted to assess the basin's water supply sustainability. It also expands the Environmental Management Commission's authority to reduce existing water transfers between river basins if necessary to protect water resources.

House2026-05-04

H1175Introduced

Affordability in Healthcare Act

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.

House2026-05-04

H1081Introduced

Funds for Veterans/HBOT

This bill appropriates $3 million in state funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to provide free hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) treatment to North Carolina veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The funds will be directed to a nonprofit organization called HBOT 4 HEROES to deliver approximately 15,000 treatments to roughly 350 veterans, with progress reported back to the legislature by June 30, 2027.

House2026-04-30

H1127Introduced

Affordable Maternal Access & Cancer Care Act

This bill establishes three healthcare access programs in North Carolina: a $5 million Maternal Care Access Grant Program to fund community-based organizations addressing maternal health disparities, a $2 million Prostate Cancer Control Program providing free or low-cost screenings for uninsured/underinsured men, and insurance coverage requirements ensuring that diagnostic and supplemental breast imaging have the same patient cost-sharing as screening mammograms.

House2026-04-30

H1118Introduced

Workforce Housing Loan Renewal Act

This bill appropriates $35 million in recurring annual funding from the state's General Fund to the Housing Finance Agency for the Workforce Housing Loan Program, beginning in fiscal year 2026-2027. The funds are intended to support loans that help workforce-level earners access housing.

House2026-04-30

H1066Introduced

Child Care Stabilization & Affordability Act

This bill redirects $390 million from the Opportunity Scholarship program (which funds private school scholarships) to child care subsidies, establishes permanent funding for a tri-share child care cost-sharing program between employers/employees/state, reenacts a state child care tax credit, creates apprenticeships and workforce programs for early childhood educators, increases child care subsidy reimbursement rates, and establishes a health insurance pool for child care workers.

House2026-04-29

H1080Introduced

Public Safety Reinvestment Act

This bill appropriates approximately $371 million to improve public safety operations across North Carolina by: equipping public transit with emergency trauma kits and implementing fare enforcement measures ($10 million); hiring additional court staff in Wake and Mecklenburg counties ($60 million); providing salary increases for Department of Adult Correction employees ($250 million); raising State Highway Patrol pay ($40 million); funding juvenile justice staffing ($25 million); supporting the State Crime Lab ($4 million); and enhancing retirement benefits for correctional officers ($11 million).

House2026-04-29

H1056Introduced

Relieving Housing Bottlenecks

This bill aims to increase housing supply and affordability in North Carolina through multiple strategies: allowing residential development in commercial zones, eliminating parking minimums, creating a program to reimburse local governments for faster housing permit processing, limiting large-scale corporate purchases of single-family homes to 25 or fewer per company, establishing a loan program for workforce housing development costs, and appropriating $160 million to the Housing Finance Agency.

House2026-04-28

H1057Introduced

Affordable Food Act

The Affordable Food Act is a comprehensive bill that addresses food insecurity in North Carolina through multiple programs: it establishes SNAP nutrition incentive programs to help low-income families buy healthy food, creates a state food procurement program to support farmers, appropriates funds to replace lost federal SNAP administrative funding, protects farmland from development, establishes assistance programs for military veterans and families, expands food distribution in underserved areas, and prohibits grocery stores from using electronic shelf labels to change prices more than once per 24 hours (dynamic pricing). The bill totals approximately $320 million in appropriations for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

House2026-04-28

H1059Introduced

Fair Minimum Wage Act

This bill raises North Carolina's minimum wage to $15 per hour (with a lower $11 per hour rate for small businesses under $400,000 annual revenue) and automatically adjusts it yearly for inflation. It creates a Wage Board to study wage standards, allows local governments to set higher minimum wages, and establishes a Short-Time Compensation program to help employers reduce hours instead of laying off workers.

House2026-04-28

H1045Introduced

Fair Wages in Health Care Act/Funds

This bill establishes minimum wage requirements for five direct care and health care support occupations in North Carolina, ranging from $18 to $24 per hour depending on the role. It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to adjust Medicaid and state-funded program rates to help employers meet these new wage floors, and appropriates $500,000 for implementation beginning January 1, 2028.

House2026-04-28

H1063Introduced

Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act

This bill regulates large-scale data centers in North Carolina by requiring them to obtain operating certificates, generate at least 25% of their electricity on-site from clean energy, pay utility rates based on their full infrastructure costs, and prohibiting them from receiving state and local tax incentives or subsidies. The bill also establishes water use standards for data centers and repeals existing sales tax exemptions for the industry.

House2026-04-28

H1044Introduced

Justice in Mental Health Act

This bill increases funding and capacity for behavioral health services in North Carolina's criminal justice system by appropriating nearly $768 million for state psychiatric hospitals, community treatment programs, court coordination infrastructure, and safekeeper beds in state prisons. It establishes frameworks for courts and mental health providers to work together, expands treatment options for court-involved individuals, and modifies the legal standard for involuntary commitment to consider patterns of behavior indicating loss of volitional control.

House2026-04-27

H1020Introduced

PESA Class Aides & Child. Wartime Vets Funds

This bill makes two changes: (1) it allows Personal Education Student Account (PESA) scholarship funds to be used to pay for one-to-one classroom aides at private schools, with restrictions on who can serve as an aide, and (2) it appropriates $1 million for fiscal year 2025-2026 and $7 million for fiscal year 2026-2027 to increase and expand scholarships for children of wartime veterans.

House2026-04-22

H434Engrossed

Lower Healthcare Costs

This bill aims to lower healthcare costs and increase price transparency in North Carolina through multiple measures: requiring hospitals and surgical facilities to publicly report pricing information on common procedures, mandating clear billing disclosures to patients about out-of-network providers, establishing good-faith cost estimates for scheduled procedures, limiting facility fees charged by hospitals, and strengthening prior authorization and appeals processes for health insurance.

House2026-04-06

H118Introduced

Disabled Veterans Tax Relief Bill

This bill increases the property tax homestead exclusion for disabled veterans in North Carolina from $45,000 to $61,000 of appraised home value, meaning more of their home's value is not taxed. The state will reimburse local governments for half of the tax revenue they lose from this increase.

House2025-09-23

H192Engrossed

Defund Planned Parenthood & Cost Transparency

This bill has two main parts: it prohibits Planned Parenthood from participating in North Carolina's Medicaid program, and it establishes new billing transparency and collections practices for hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities. The billing provisions require hospitals to provide itemized cost estimates for scheduled services, limit final bills to within 5% of the estimate, and prohibit sending bills to collections without first providing an itemized breakdown.

House2025-09-22

H546Passed

Medicaid Modernization

This bill makes several updates to North Carolina's Medicaid program, including creating services for substance use disorders, implementing work requirements when approved by federal officials, allowing out-of-state telehealth providers to enroll, establishing a specialty plan for children in foster care, extending postpartum coverage to 12 months, including psychiatric hospitals in a hospital payment program, and exploring Medicaid coverage for personal care services in adult care homes.

House2025-07-07

H210Passed

Perpetual Care of Certain Cemeteries

This bill establishes clearer standards for how cemeteries in North Carolina must be maintained, defines what 'care and maintenance' includes, and gives the Cemetery Commission authority to enforce these standards through penalties and fines. It also requires cemeteries to provide annual financial reports showing the maintenance work they performed.

House2025-07-07

H612Passed

Fostering Care in NC Act

This comprehensive bill makes several changes to North Carolina's child welfare and social services systems. Key provisions expand the Guardianship Assistance Program to include youth as young as 10 years old, establish procedures for judges to issue permanent no-contact orders against defendants convicted of violent offenses, make it a felony when caregivers commit or allow sexual acts against children under 16, and require cities and counties to conduct criminal history background checks for any applicant offered a position working with children.

House2025-06-26

H373Passed

UNC Tuition Discounts for Certain Students

This bill allows UNC constituent institutions to offer discounted tuition to two groups of students: those receiving military tuition assistance (federal or North Carolina National Guard) and those enrolled in employer-sponsored financial support programs. The discount amount cannot exceed the difference between the military assistance or employer funding received and the applicable tuition, and UNC must report annually to the legislature on the number of students served and financial impact.

House2025-06-26

H661Engrossed

Building Industry Efficiency Act of 2025

This bill makes multiple changes to North Carolina's building and construction regulations. It streamlines inspection processes (allowing cancellations without fees, exempting certain HVAC replacements from inspections), modifies street design requirements for developers, exempts certain small construction services from licensing, updates contractor board rules and disciplinary procedures, clarifies exemptions for certain pools and flotation systems, and increases the threshold for formal bidding on public construction contracts.

House2025-06-19

H615Engrossed

Enrollment Stability for Military Students

This bill allows military families to enroll their children in North Carolina public schools before they officially move, if the parent is on active duty and receiving transfer orders to the state or separating from military service within 12 months. Families can register remotely and begin attendance while living in temporary housing, with up to one year to provide proof of residency documentation.

House2025-06-19

H860Introduced

Social Media Control in IT Act

This bill requires social media platforms with over 1 million U.S. users to protect North Carolina users' data privacy and prohibits using minors' personal information in algorithmic recommendation systems. The bill sets default privacy protections for minors, requires clear data disclosures, allows users to control how their data is used, and creates a state task force to monitor compliance. Violations become enforceable as unfair business practices starting January 1, 2027.

House2025-06-17

H569Engrossed

PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability

This bill allows North Carolina's Secretary of Environmental Quality to order PFAS manufacturers whose pollution has contaminated public drinking water systems to pay for the costs of removing or treating that contamination. The bill applies to cases where a water system has spent over $50 million on PFAS remediation and can trace the contamination to a specific manufacturer's discharge, and it applies retroactively to costs incurred since January 1, 2017.

House2025-06-05

H772Engrossed

North Carolina Student Lifeline Act

This bill requires all North Carolina schools (public, charter, private, and religious) and community colleges and universities to display the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline phone number (988) and NC Peer Warmline phone number (855-733-7762) in multiple locations, including student IDs, websites, school devices, calendars, and registration documents. Schools must verify these phone numbers are current annually.

House2025-05-07

H520Engrossed

Abuse and Deception by Telemarketers

This bill prohibits North Carolina telemarketers from displaying fake, misleading, or misrepresented phone numbers on caller identification systems. It requires telemarketers to show their actual phone number or the legitimate business entity they represent, establishes record-keeping requirements for telemarketing calls, and creates civil penalties for violations ranging from $500 to $10,000 per call.

House2025-05-07

H4Engrossed

Sam's Law

Sam's Law requires all North Carolina public schools to develop and implement Medical Condition Action Plans for students diagnosed by doctors as at risk for medical emergencies, and Medical Emergency Plans for all schools to address medical crises. The law also clarifies that school employees authorized to provide emergency medical care are protected from civil liability unless their actions constitute gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing.

House2025-05-07

H283Engrossed

Small Business Investment Grant Program

This bill creates a new Small Business Investment Grant Program within North Carolina's One North Carolina Fund, allocating up to $10 million in competitive grants to help small businesses establish new facilities or expand existing ones in the state. It also renames the existing One North Carolina Small Business Account to the Small Business Research and Technology Account.

House2025-05-07

H572Engrossed

Veterans/eTMS Pilot Program

This bill authorizes North Carolina's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to select a provider to run a statewide pilot program offering eTMS (electroencephalogram combined transcranial magnetic stimulation) treatment to veterans, first responders, and their immediate family members who have conditions like PTSD, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and sleep disorders. The program must include peer support networks, counseling, and outcome reporting by September 2026.

House2025-05-07

H489Engrossed

Insurance Coverage Emergency Ambulance Trans

This bill requires health insurance plans in North Carolina to reimburse out-of-network ambulance services at a minimum rate of 100% of the local government rate (or 400% of Medicare rates if no local rate exists), and caps the patient's cost-sharing for emergency ambulance services at the lesser of $100 or 10% of the reimbursement amount.

House2025-05-07

H94Engrossed

Dis. Veteran Homestead Excl. Prequalification

This bill allows disabled veterans and their surviving spouses to prequalify for North Carolina's disabled veteran property tax homestead exclusion before they purchase a home. Currently, veterans must already own a permanent residence to apply for the tax benefit. The prequalification process lets veterans determine in advance whether they qualify for the tax relief, which can help with mortgage calculations and lending decisions.

House2025-05-07

H765Introduced

Save the American Dream Act

This bill substantially reforms North Carolina's local land development regulations by limiting local government authority over zoning and building standards, accelerating permit approval timelines, and establishing new requirements for water and sewer capacity allocation. It also increases certain stormwater permit fees and mandates specific housing types in larger cities.

House2025-05-06

H97Engrossed

Support Firefighters Fighting Cancer

This bill adds certain occupational cancers to the list of firefighter deaths eligible for death benefits under North Carolina's Public Safety Employees' Death Benefits Act. Firefighters who die from mesothelioma, testicular cancer, small intestine cancer, esophageal cancer, oral cavity cancer, pharynx cancer, gastric cancer, prostate cancer, or colon cancer are presumed to have died in the line of duty if the cancer is occupationally related to firefighting.

House2025-05-05

H146Engrossed

Remote License Renewal/Active Duty Military

This bill allows active duty military members stationed outside North Carolina, along with their spouses and dependent children, to renew their driver's licenses remotely two consecutive times instead of just once. The exception applies when the license is not REAL ID compliant or is being converted from REAL ID compliant to non-compliant status.

House2025-05-01

H250Engrossed

Annual Rep't Due Date/Deployed Servicemembers

This bill extends annual report filing deadlines for North Carolina businesses (corporations, LLCs, and limited liability partnerships) that are majority-owned by active-duty military members who are deployed. Affected businesses can file their annual reports up to 90 days after their owner's deployment ends, rather than on the standard due date, if they submit an affidavit of deployment beforehand.

House2025-04-30

H570Engrossed

Responsible Firefighting Foam Management Act

This bill prohibits the use of firefighting foams containing PFAS chemicals (a type of 'forever chemical') for training and practice purposes by firefighters and emergency responders in North Carolina. It allows PFAS-containing foam to still be used in actual emergencies but requires safe containment and disposal when used for testing, and mandates the use of non-fluorinated alternative foams for training instead.

House2025-04-30

H771Engrossed

Criminal Law Procedures

This bill makes three main changes to North Carolina criminal law: it allows prosecutors to take depositions (recorded testimony) from witnesses in exceptional circumstances to preserve their testimony before trial, it establishes new rights for sexual assault victims regarding evidence collection kits and court proceedings, and it makes minor modifications to how the Conference of District Attorneys operates.

House2025-04-30

H69Engrossed

Military and Veterans Educational Promise Act

This bill prohibits North Carolina's public universities from denying admission based on military service, allows active duty service members and their spouses to defer enrollment for 2-5 years, and grants in-state tuition rates to honorably discharged veterans who meet specific criteria (such as graduating from an NC high school after 2004, serving with a permanent NC station, or receiving a Purple Heart).

House2025-04-16

H883Introduced

Support Students with Disabilities Act

This bill creates a new grant program allowing school districts to apply for state funding to cover extraordinary costs of educating students with disabilities, including placements in private schools. The state will reimburse 75% of qualifying costs for students whose total service costs exceed four times the state average per-pupil spending on special education, and requires annual monitoring reports on homebound, modified day, and hospital placements.

House2025-04-10

H487Introduced

Shorter Separation for Retired ADAs and APDs

This bill allows retired Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) and Assistant Public Defenders (APDs) with at least 5 years of service to return to work for the Judicial Branch after a 2-month waiting period instead of the standard 6-month separation required for other retirees. The bill requires the State Treasurer to obtain IRS approval to ensure the change does not jeopardize the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System.

House2025-04-09

H807Introduced

Strong Public Schools for a Strong NC

This bill appropriates funds to increase teacher salaries, support special education services, provide free breakfast and lunch to all public school students, establish a device refresh program for student computers, and freeze enrollment in the Opportunity Scholarship program (which provides vouchers for private school tuition) while reducing its future funding.

House2025-04-08

H335Introduced

Expand Emergency Judge Eligibility

This bill expands eligibility for retired judges to serve as emergency judges by allowing judges who previously served on both superior court and district court to be recalled as emergency judges on either court, rather than only the court from which they most recently retired.

House2025-04-08

H800Introduced

Review Effectiveness & Delivery of Child Care

This bill directs state agencies to study the effectiveness of North Carolina's child care programs (NC Pre-K and Smart Start) and propose improvements. It also appropriates $10 million per year for a pilot program that automatically qualifies full-time child care teachers for child care subsidies for their own preschool-age children, provided they enroll in early childhood education courses.

House2025-04-08

H814Introduced

Power Infrastructure Resiliency & Eff.(PIRE)

This bill promotes the use of advanced conductors and grid-enhancing technologies in North Carolina's electric transmission system. It streamlines the permitting process for upgrading existing transmission lines with these technologies and requires utilities to evaluate such technologies when planning for grid improvements and carbon emission reductions.

House2025-04-08

H766Introduced

Expand Access to Teen Mental Health First Aid

This bill appropriates $1,873,863 in state funding to expand Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) training across North Carolina. tMHFA is an evidence-based course that teaches high school students (grades 9-12) how to recognize and respond to mental health and substance use challenges in their peers.

House2025-04-07

H786Introduced

Working Families Act

This bill makes several changes to support working families in North Carolina: it reduces what families pay for subsidized child care, restores a state tax credit for families with children, gradually raises the minimum wage from $10 to $15 per hour by 2030 with annual adjustments after that, expands property tax relief for homeowners, creates down payment assistance for public servants buying homes for the first time, and establishes a paid family leave insurance program funded by employer contributions to help workers take time off for family or medical needs.

House2025-04-07

H692Introduced

AEDs and CPR in Schools

This bill requires North Carolina public schools to install at least two Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in each school building, provide training to school personnel on AED and CPR use, and maintain the devices according to state board rules. The bill applies to all public school types including traditional public schools, charter schools, and regional schools, with implementation beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.

House2025-04-03

H682Introduced

Public Safety Through Food Access Act

This bill allows North Carolina to remove federal restrictions that prevent individuals convicted of drug-related felonies from receiving food assistance and temporary aid benefits. Instead of permanent disqualification, eligible individuals could receive benefits after either completing substance abuse treatment in prison or six months after conviction without committing additional drug offenses, provided they participate in required treatment programs.

House2025-04-03

H710Introduced

Mental Health Crisis Unit Pilot for LSAUs

This bill creates a three-year pilot program that provides $250,000 annually to up to eight school districts to establish mental health crisis units in their schools. Each crisis unit would include a school nurse, social worker, and licensed mental health counselor to respond to student mental health emergencies during school hours.

House2025-04-03

H603Introduced

Workforce Housing Loans-Preconstruction Costs

This bill creates a new revolving loan program in the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency that provides short-term loans to developers for preconstruction costs (like surveys, permits, and site preparation) on workforce housing projects. The program allocates $40 million in state funds and reserves 80% of loans for economically disadvantaged counties and 20% for other counties, with individual loans capped at $1 million.

House2025-04-01

H571Introduced

Funds for PTSD Treatment for Police Officers

This bill appropriates $500,000 in state funds to the Department of Public Safety to create a grant program that helps pay for treatment of police officers diagnosed with PTSD. The funds are nonrecurring, meaning they are available only for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

House2025-04-01

H426Introduced

Workforce Diploma Program

This bill establishes a two-year Workforce Diploma Program through North Carolina's Community Colleges System to help adults age 21 and older earn high school diplomas while developing job skills. The state will contract with qualified third-party organizations to deliver the program and will provide up to $5 million in funding, paying organizations based on student completion of coursework, certifications, credentials, and diplomas.

House2025-04-01

H564Introduced

State Retirees Cost-of-Living Increase/Funds

This bill provides a 2% cost-of-living increase to retirement payments for state employees, teachers, judges, and legislators who retired through the state retirement systems. The bill appropriates $106.2 million in state funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to cover this increase, which takes effect July 1, 2025.

House2025-03-31

H542Introduced

Child Care Mental & Behavioral Services/Funds

This bill appropriates $7.5 million per year for fiscal years 2025-2027 from the ARPA Temporary Savings Fund to the North Carolina Partnership for Children to expand mental and behavioral health services for children, families, and staff in child care facilities and after-school programs. The bill also establishes a special fund to hold and manage these allocations, allowing unspent funds to carry over year to year rather than revert to the state.

House2025-03-27

H498Introduced

Military to Teacher Ret. Incentive

This bill allows military veterans who become teachers in North Carolina to receive up to four years of service credit toward their teachers' retirement pension based on their active duty military service. The employer must pay a lump sum to cover the full cost of this additional retirement benefit plus an administrative fee.

House2025-03-26

H503Introduced

Don't Tread on Me Act

This bill creates an 'Individual Freedoms Act' that establishes legal protections against state surveillance, requires medical and political privacy in government dealings, protects parental authority, ensures education is fact-based and non-ideological, and prohibits employment and housing discrimination based on political beliefs or medical history. The bill applies a 'compelling state interest' standard, meaning the government can only restrict these rights if it has a strong reason and uses the narrowest possible means to achieve it.

House2025-03-26

H500Introduced

NC Adopt ERA

This bill would have North Carolina officially ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution, which states that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied on account of sex. The bill argues that the ERA became the 28th Amendment in 2020 when Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it, meeting the three-fourths requirement, and that North Carolina's ratification would be a formal recognition of this constitutional change.

House2025-03-26

H505Introduced

Kayla's Act: Protecting Dom. Violence Victims

Kayla's Act makes three main changes to North Carolina domestic violence law: it allows courts to admit statements from witnesses who are unavailable because a defendant caused that unavailability; it extends the statute of limitations for certain domestic violence misdemeanors to 10 years; and it permits domestic violence victims to testify remotely (outside the defendant's physical presence) in criminal proceedings if the defendant doesn't object or if the court finds the victim would suffer serious emotional distress from testifying in person.

House2025-03-26

H465Introduced

Waive Renewal Fee/Military Drivers Licenses

This bill waives the renewal fee for North Carolina driver's licenses for people with an active duty military designation or a veteran military designation. The waiver would apply to license renewals on or after July 1, 2025.

House2025-03-20

H464Introduced

Healthy Students - A Nurse in Every School

This bill requires every public school in North Carolina to have at least one full-time, permanent school nurse starting in the 2025-2026 school year. The bill appropriates $95 million in state funding to help local school districts, charter schools, regional schools, and laboratory schools meet this requirement.

House2025-03-20

H463Introduced

First Responders Mental Health Plan Act

This bill establishes a supplemental insurance program administered by the Department of Insurance to provide mental health benefits to North Carolina first responders (police, firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers, and correctional officers) diagnosed with work-related mental conditions. Benefits include reimbursement for medical expenses up to $5,000 annually, salary support during required medical leave, and disability payments up to $5,000 monthly for those unable to work.

House2025-03-20

H21Engrossed

Drivers License Designation/Autism

This bill directs North Carolina's Division of Motor Vehicles to create an optional autism spectrum disorder designation that can be added to a driver's license upon request. The designation would be stored in electronic records and made available only to law enforcement to facilitate safe interactions, with strict privacy protections and voluntary participation.

House2025-03-19

H182Engrossed

Rev. Law Perm. Protect Order/Child Abuse

This bill makes two main changes to North Carolina law: (1) it expands permanent no contact orders so that judges can prohibit convicted violent offenders from contacting not just crime victims, but also the victim's immediate family members, and (2) it clarifies that child abuse laws apply to anyone providing care or supervision of a child under 16 who commits or allows sexual acts upon that child, classifying this as a felony.

House2025-03-17

H360Introduced

Homeowner Protection Act

This bill creates stronger criminal penalties for forging real estate documents, establishes a court process for homeowners to quickly remove fraudulent claims against their property titles, and requires additional verification steps when recording deeds to prevent title fraud.

House2025-03-12

H365Introduced

Workforce Education Act

This bill increases state funding for workforce education by approximately $205 million for fiscal year 2025-2026. It revises how community colleges are funded to reward enrollment growth, expands funding for cooperative innovative high schools based on regional economic development tiers, creates grant programs for STEM and career/technical education, and funds a public awareness campaign about community college opportunities.

House2025-03-12

H299Introduced

Increase Disabled Veteran Prop Tax Benefit

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.

House2025-03-06

H179Introduced

Labor Org. Membership Dues Tax Deductible

This bill allows North Carolina taxpayers to deduct labor union membership dues from their state taxable income, starting with the 2026 tax year. The deduction would apply to dues, fees, assessments, or other required payments for union membership.

House2025-02-25

H93Introduced

Constitutional Amendment/Repeal Literacy Test

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to remove North Carolina's literacy test requirement for voting from the state constitution. The amendment would be submitted to voters in the November 2026 general election, and if approved by a majority, would eliminate this outdated provision that is already prohibited under federal law.

House2025-02-12

H60Introduced

Modernize Medicaid Dental Rates

This bill increases North Carolina's Medicaid reimbursement rates for dental services from 35% to 46% of average 2023 dentist charges, starting July 1, 2025. The state would spend $52 million annually (matched with $95 million in federal funds) over the 2025-2027 fiscal period to fund these rate increases.

House2025-02-06

H54Introduced

Funds for NC APSE

This bill provides $125,000 per year for two years to the North Carolina Association of People Supporting Employment First (NC APSE) to develop training programs on evidence-based supported employment services. These programs will help individuals with serious mental illness, intellectual disabilities, or developmental disabilities prepare for, find, and maintain paid competitive jobs.

House2025-02-05

H39Introduced

Disabled Veteran Motor Vehicle Tax Exclusion

This bill excludes motor vehicles owned by veterans with a 100% disability rating from North Carolina property tax. Veterans with this certification from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would no longer pay property tax on their vehicles starting January 1, 2026.

House2025-02-05

H36Introduced

Maintenance of State Veterans Cemeteries

This bill requires North Carolina's Department of Veterans and Military Affairs to improve maintenance at the state's four veterans cemeteries by addressing specific issues like delayed headstone installation, grounds damage, and poor appearance. It also directs the department to review and potentially adjust policies around funeral services at these cemeteries, with findings due to the General Assembly by October 1, 2025.

House2025-02-04

H18Passed

Honor Joe John, Former Member

This is a memorial resolution honoring Joseph Robert John, Sr., a former North Carolina House member who represented House District 40 from 2017 to 2025 and passed away on January 20, 2025. The resolution recognizes his career in public service, including his work as a lawyer, judge, and legislator, and expresses the House's appreciation for his contributions to the state.

House2025-01-29

Charles Smith

Charles Smith

Sponsored Bills (23)

Expand Quantum Computing Education

Domestic Violence Divorce Reform Act

Criminal Background Check For Athlete Agents

Adopt Lafayette Day

Driver Educ./18 Yrs & Older & Unlicensed

POW/MIA Flag/State Bldgs. & Schools

Increase Access to Fertility Treatment

Post NC Veterans' Benefits

Employment Preference for Military Personnel

Criminal Intent Sentence Enhancement

Recognize Safety Hold Agreements

Prepared Food Tax - Modification

U.S. & N.C. Flags/Made In USA

Fayetteville Area Projects

Funds for Spring Lake Projects

Enact Criminal Justice Debt Reform

Const. Amend.: Remove Slavery as Punishment

Funds/Kings Grant Connectivity

NC Paid Family Leave Insurance Act

Funds for Blue Star Families, Inc

Beyond The Choice Act

Provide Rape Kit Status Updates to Victims

SchCalFlex/Cumberland/Open Cal

Cosponsored Bills (84)

2026 Budget Technical Corrections - II

Education Omnibus

NC Farmland and Military Protection Act

Modify Nonprofit Corp. Act/Charitable Org

Recognition of the Tuscarora

Prohibit Litigation Invest/Amend WC Benefits

Investing in Teen Mental Health

Protecting Medicaid & Autism Services

The NC Teacher Pay Competitiveness Act

Aging With Dignity Act

Cape Fear IBT Moratorium/EMC IBT Reductions

Affordability in Healthcare Act

Funds for Veterans/HBOT

Affordable Maternal Access & Cancer Care Act

Workforce Housing Loan Renewal Act

Child Care Stabilization & Affordability Act

Public Safety Reinvestment Act

Relieving Housing Bottlenecks

Affordable Food Act

Fair Minimum Wage Act

Fair Wages in Health Care Act/Funds

Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act

Justice in Mental Health Act

PESA Class Aides & Child. Wartime Vets Funds

Lower Healthcare Costs

Disabled Veterans Tax Relief Bill

Defund Planned Parenthood & Cost Transparency

Medicaid Modernization

Perpetual Care of Certain Cemeteries

Fostering Care in NC Act

UNC Tuition Discounts for Certain Students

Building Industry Efficiency Act of 2025

Enrollment Stability for Military Students

Social Media Control in IT Act

PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability

North Carolina Student Lifeline Act

Abuse and Deception by Telemarketers

Sam's Law

Small Business Investment Grant Program

Veterans/eTMS Pilot Program

Insurance Coverage Emergency Ambulance Trans

Dis. Veteran Homestead Excl. Prequalification

Save the American Dream Act

Support Firefighters Fighting Cancer

Remote License Renewal/Active Duty Military

Annual Rep't Due Date/Deployed Servicemembers

Responsible Firefighting Foam Management Act

Criminal Law Procedures

Military and Veterans Educational Promise Act

Support Students with Disabilities Act

Shorter Separation for Retired ADAs and APDs

Strong Public Schools for a Strong NC

Expand Emergency Judge Eligibility