Patricia Cotham
Election Day: November 3, 2026 · Register to vote at ncsbe.gov
Sponsored Bills (55)
Strengthen Medicaid Provider Controls
This bill strengthens oversight of Medicaid providers in North Carolina by establishing a Provider Enrollment Credentialing Committee to review provider applications and eligibility, expanding grounds for denying or terminating provider enrollment based on criminal convictions and licensing actions, and requiring providers to report criminal convictions of their employees. The bill also makes changes to prepaid health plan networks and Medicaid eligibility.
Improve IVC Process and Enhance Public Safety
This bill makes multiple changes to North Carolina's involuntary commitment (IVC) process and mental health procedures. It directs various state agencies to study and develop plans for improving how people in mental health crises are evaluated, treated, and moved through the justice and mental health systems. It also creates new capacity restoration programs for defendants found mentally unable to stand trial and modifies procedures for outpatient commitment orders.
Duke's Rescue Act
This bill establishes statewide minimum standards of care for companion animals (dogs and cats), including adequate food, water, shelter, exercise, space, and veterinary treatment. It creates criminal penalties for violations and allows local governments to adopt equal or stricter standards, while providing $10,000 for public education about these requirements.
Added Fee for Sexually Oriented Businesses
This bill imposes a $10 fee per customer entry at sexually oriented businesses that serve alcohol in North Carolina. The fees would be collected quarterly by businesses and deposited into the Sexual Assault and Rape Crisis Center Fund to support sexual assault services.
Principal Fellows & Admin. Intern. Stipends
This bill modifies North Carolina's Principal Fellows Program, which provides forgivable scholarships to help prepare school leaders, and adds a new stipend for administrative interns. The bill appropriates $5 million to expand the program and creates financial support for people in administrative internship programs.
Early Intervention School Attendance Pilot
This bill establishes a two-year pilot program in one North Carolina school district to test a data-driven attendance monitoring and intervention system designed to reduce chronic absenteeism. The Department of Public Instruction will select a vendor and school district to implement the system, which includes real-time attendance tracking, automated family communication, and intervention protocols, with $75,000 in state funding allocated for the 2026-2027 school year.
Diabetes Education for Parents
This bill requires all North Carolina public schools to provide parents and guardians with information about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes at the beginning of each school year. The information must include descriptions of the diseases, risk factors, warning signs, screening processes, and recommendations to consult with healthcare providers if students show symptoms or receive a diagnosis.
SFRF/NCPRO Revisions
This bill allows North Carolina to reclassify and reallocate remaining State Fiscal Recovery Funds (federal COVID-19 relief money) to different eligible government services and projects, permits the state to use interest earned on certain pandemic relief funds for operations, and extends the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office's operations deadline from June 30, 2026, to May 1, 2027.
Reenact Funding/Meck. Emerg. Pension Fund
This bill restores and increases funding for the Emergency Pension Fund for sworn law enforcement officers in Mecklenburg County by raising a court fee collected in criminal cases. The fee charged at conviction or guilty plea increases from $1.00 to $2.00 in most criminal cases, with the collected money going to support the pension fund. The change takes effect October 1, 2026.
Cosponsored Bills (88)
Regulate Hemp-Derived Consumables
This bill creates a regulatory system for hemp-derived consumable products (like delta-8 and delta-10 THC products) sold in North Carolina, requiring licenses for manufacturers, distributors, and retailers; setting testing and labeling requirements; restricting sales to adults 21+; and banning the sale of kratom as a controlled substance. The bill takes effect July 1, 2026, for hemp regulations and December 1, 2025, for the kratom ban.
Jaleeyah's Law
Jaleeyah's Law makes several changes to North Carolina's criminal gang statutes and court costs. The bill increases court costs for criminal cases, tightens the definition of criminal gang membership, creates new felony offenses related to gang activity (including recruiting minors and gang members possessing firearms), and enhances sentencing for crimes committed as part of gang activity. The law takes effect December 1, 2026.
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.
UNC Omnibus & Capital Contracting Law Changes
This bill authorizes approximately $636.9 million in capital improvement projects across UNC campuses funded through bonds and non-appropriated sources, standardizes residency requirements for the NC School of Science and Mathematics, expands tuition grants for NCSSM and UNCSA graduates, increases the UNC Board of Governors' authority over capital projects up to $4 million, raises various construction project thresholds, and restricts state agencies from using appropriated funds for public-private partnerships without legislative approval.
Family Support for Those Who Serve Act
This bill expands tuition waivers at North Carolina community colleges to include children (ages 17-24) of law enforcement officers, experienced correctional officers (10+ years), and firefighters. Students would attend community college tuition-free while still meeting admission standards and other college requirements, with the waiver covering the duration of their educational program.
The Seatbelt Act
The Seatbelt Act makes several changes to North Carolina's traffic and impaired driving laws. It requires repeat speeding violators to install Intelligent Speed Assistance systems in their vehicles, lowers the alcohol concentration threshold for certain ignition interlock requirements from 0.15 to 0.08, and expands school zone traffic cameras to enforce not just speed limits but also seat belt and texting violations.
Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office
This bill creates a new Child and Family Welfare Ombudsman Office within the Department of Health and Human Services to serve foster youth, birth families, and foster parents. The office would investigate complaints, help resolve licensing issues, provide education about foster care laws, and submit annual reports on recurring problems in the foster care system.
Const. Amend. Property Tax Levy Limit
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would require the North Carolina General Assembly to pass laws limiting how much local governments (counties, cities, towns, and special districts) can increase their property tax levies each year. The amendment would be submitted to North Carolina voters in the November 2026 general election, and if approved by a majority of voters, would become part of the state constitution.
Mike Clampitt 1st Responder Tax Fairness Act
This bill expands the highway use tax exemption for volunteer fire departments and rescue squads that are not part of local government and have no more than two paid employees. The exemption now applies to fire trucks, pump trucks, tanker trucks, ladder trucks, four-wheel drive forest fire fighting vehicles, and emergency services vehicles.
Voting Record (735)
- Yea2025-05-06
Off-Road Motorcycle Registration Eligibility
- Yea2025-05-06
SchCalFlex/Statewide/Open Cal
- Yea2025-05-06
Shellfish Leasing Study
- Yea2025-05-06
Social Media & AI Safety
- Absent2025-05-01
Emerg. Comm. Code Exempts/Sanitary Board/401
- Absent2025-05-01
Clarify Motor Vehicle Dealer Laws
- Absent2025-05-01
Support Firefighters Fighting Cancer
- Absent2025-05-01
Motor Vehicle Dealers
- Absent2025-05-01
Adopt State Veterans Museum
- Absent2025-05-01
DPI to Redesign Math Instruction
- Absent2025-05-01
Automatic Ord/Equitable Distribution Claim
- Absent2025-05-01
DPI to Redesign Math Instruction
- Absent2025-05-01
Mitigating Factor/Pretrial Use of IID
- Absent2025-05-01
Firearm Law Revisions
- Absent2025-05-01
Juvenile Justice Legislative Proposals
- Absent2025-05-01
The Jason Flatt Act of North Carolina
- Absent2025-05-01
Baby Boxes/Newborn Safety Device
- Absent2025-05-01
Career Development Adjustment
- Absent2025-05-01
Education Omnibus
- Absent2025-05-01
Firearm Law Revisions