North Carolina General Assembly · 2025–2026 session
Showing 1417–1440 of 2,329 bills
Introduced by Joyce Waddell
This bill raises North Carolina's minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour for most employers starting January 1, 2026, with small businesses (fewer than 10 employees) phasing in the increase over three years. Beginning in 2028, the minimum wage will automatically adjust annually based on inflation using the Consumer Price Index.
Introduced by James Dixon
This bill requires cell-cultured meat and poultry products (grown from animal cells in a lab rather than from slaughtered animals) to be clearly labeled with qualifying terms like 'cell-cultured,' 'lab-grown,' or 'fake' in at least 20-point font near the product name if they use meat or poultry terminology. Products that fail to meet these labeling requirements are considered misbranded under North Carolina law.
Introduced by Todd Johnson
This bill removes the 10% cap on satellite annexations (noncontiguous land areas) for the Town of Stallings and the Village of Marvin. Currently, North Carolina law limits how much noncontiguous land a municipality can annex, but this bill exempts these two municipalities from that limitation, allowing them to annex larger noncontiguous areas.
Introduced by Kandie Smith
This bill requires judges to find probable cause that giving notice of a search warrant would endanger someone's life or safety before approving no-knock warrants. It also requires officers to wait a reasonable amount of time after announcing themselves for occupants to respond before using force to enter a property.
Introduced by Mujtaba Mohammed
This bill defines school resource officers (SROs) in North Carolina schools and establishes training requirements for them. It also requires that complaints about student misconduct filed by SROs must be signed off by a school administrator or school social worker before being sent to juvenile court.
Introduced by DeAndrea Salvador
This bill appropriates $200,000 per fiscal year to the NC Department of Commerce to conduct analyses of economic progress and well-being in North Carolina every two years. The department must measure and report on specific economic metrics for the state and each county, including poverty rates, job quality, household spending burdens, and concentrated poverty areas, with reports due to the General Assembly by January 31 of odd-numbered years.
Introduced by Steve Jarvis
This bill modifies the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors' disciplinary process by clarifying complaint procedures, expanding the Board's disciplinary authority, allowing the Board to recover administrative costs up to $5,000 per violation, and preventing people from taking licensing exams until they pay court-ordered awards.
Introduced by Val Applewhite
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to create an independent redistricting commission that would redraw electoral districts for Congress and the North Carolina General Assembly after each U.S. Census, removing this responsibility from the state legislature. The commission would consist of 15 members selected through a process designed to ensure balanced political representation and diverse backgrounds, and would follow specific criteria prioritizing equal population, legal compliance, geographic cohesion, and the prevention of partisan gerrymandering.
Introduced by Julie von Haefen
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.
Introduced by Lisa Grafstein
This bill requires courts to sentence non-violent offenders who are primary caretakers of dependent children to community-based sentences without imprisonment instead of incarceration. The sentence would include rehabilitation services like counseling, job training, parenting classes, and housing assistance, with the court able to modify or reduce the sentence based on the person's progress or impose confinement if conditions are violated.
This bill provides $15 million in state funding for wildlife conservation efforts in North Carolina during fiscal year 2025-2026, including programs to monitor and combat Chronic Wasting Disease in deer, restore habitat for northern bobwhite quail, support red wolf conservation and rural landowners, and modernize hunting and fishing license structures with age-based pricing and payment options.
Introduced by Michael Garrett
This bill requires a special election to be held within 90 days if a North Carolina legislator changes political party affiliation while in office with more than six months remaining in their term. It also requires legislators who switch parties to return campaign contributions to donors who request refunds within 30 days.
Introduced by Sophia Chitlik
This bill establishes a task force within the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to study the potential use of psychedelic medicines for treating mental health conditions. The task force would assess implementation barriers, recommend licensing and insurance requirements if federal approval occurs, and explore legal pathways for potential state legalization, with a final report due by December 2026.
Introduced by Gladys Robinson
This bill prohibits corporal punishment (physical pain inflicted as discipline) in North Carolina public schools statewide, effective in the 2025-2026 school year. It allows physical restraint and reasonable force in limited circumstances and requires schools to report data on corporal punishment use by student demographics.
This bill modifies the ballot language that North Carolina counties use when asking voters to approve a one-quarter percent sales tax. The change adds language clarifying that tax revenue can be used for any public purpose, rather than leaving the permitted uses unstated.
This bill allows law enforcement officers in North Carolina to retire with full, unreduced benefits after completing 25 years of service, rather than having to wait until age 50 or 55. It applies to officers in the state and local government retirement systems, with changes taking effect January 1, 2026.
Introduced by Natalie Murdock
This bill removes or significantly reduces mandatory minimum sentences for firearm felonies, impaired driving convictions, and drug trafficking offenses. It allows judges more discretion in sentencing by creating exceptions to mandatory minimums, particularly for first-time offenders who meet specific criteria such as completing substance abuse treatment and not using violence.
This bill makes four main changes to North Carolina firearm laws: it prohibits people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing firearms, requires background checks for all firearm sales including private sales, restores a pistol purchase permit requirement, and requires parents/guardians to certify that firearms in their homes are safely stored.
This bill creates multiple programs to expand childcare access in North Carolina by using state-owned property for childcare facilities serving state employees and first responders, requiring new state building projects over $5 million to include childcare centers, and directing studies on childcare at community colleges and UNC campuses. It also establishes a workgroup to streamline childcare licensing requirements.
Introduced by Allison Dahle
This bill repeals North Carolina's current ban on gender-affirming medical procedures for minors and state funding restrictions for these procedures. It establishes a new Gender-Affirming Rights Act that declares gender identity decisions as fundamental rights, requires healthcare providers to complete training on LGBTQ cultural competency, and prevents local governments from imposing stricter regulations than state law allows.
Introduced by Warren Daniel
This bill clarifies North Carolina law that prohibits kickbacks and undisclosed payments in title insurance transactions. It specifies exceptions to the kickback prohibition, including payments based on stock ownership, employee commissions, and situations where proper written disclosures are provided to customers about business affiliations.
Introduced by Woodson Bradley
This bill reenacts North Carolina's child tax credit, which allows taxpayers to claim a credit on their state income taxes for each dependent child. The credit amounts vary by child's age and family income level, with credits ranging from $1,600 to $1,900 per child for lower-income families, and the credit is refundable, meaning families can receive money back if the credit exceeds their tax liability.
This bill appropriates $5 million to Mecklenburg County and $750,000 to the NC Department of Transportation to repair and upgrade orphan roads (privately maintained roads open to public use) in non-municipal areas of the county. Specifically, it requires the Department of Transportation to improve Grand Palisades Parkway in Charlotte to state standards and accept it into the state highway system for ongoing maintenance.
This bill creates a state tax credit for individuals and corporations that make charitable donations of at least $1,000 to endowed funds at qualified community foundations across North Carolina. Donors receive a 25% tax credit (capped at $50,000 per year per taxpayer), with a total statewide credit ceiling of $12.5 million annually. The program sunsets after 2029.