While it was a quiet week around the North Carolina General Assembly in terms of legislative business conducted, there was still big news coming out of the legislature this week. Two House members, one from each side of the aisle, announced they would be resigning their respective seats. On Monday, one of the House’s lead budget writers, Rep. Jason Saine (R-Lincoln), announced that he would be leaving the legislature, effective August 12, to pursue new opportunities. Then, on Tuesday, House Deputy Democratic Leader, Rep. Ashton Wheeler Clemmons (D-Guilford), announced that she would be leaving the legislature, also effective August 12, to take a position as Associate Vice President of P-12 Strategy and Policy for the University of North Carolina System.
Both Rep. Saine and Rep. Clemmons had been running for reelection in November, leaving the Lincoln County Republican Party and the Guilford County Democratic Party, respectively, with the task of filling the vacancies for the Representatives’ unexpired terms, as well as the vacancies on November’s ballot. Rep. Saine’s replacement on November’s ballot will be running unopposed, while Rep. Clemmons’ replacement will face Republican candidate Janice Davis of Guilford County.
Rep. Saine and Rep. Clemmons add to the list of lawmakers announcing their resignations prior to the end of the legislative biennium, joining Senate Majority Whip, Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir), who previously announced that he would not seek reelection in 2024 and resigned his seat effective July 2, and Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford), who came up short in the March primary for North Carolina Labor Commissioner and resigned his seat effective April 8.
New Laws
A handful of bills passed by the legislature during the 2023-2024 legislative session went into effect earlier this month, including:
HB 11: Schools for the Deaf and Blind – An act to provide that the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, the North Carolina School for the Deaf, and the Governor Morehead School for the Blind are governed by boards of trustees and to provide for the duties of the boards and admission process for schools for the deaf and blind.
Sections of HB 11 that went into effect earlier this month create a board of trustees for the schools for the deaf and blind and establish a new governance model for each of the schools.
HB 198: DOT Legislative Changes.-AB – An act to make changes to the transportation laws, as recommended by the Department of Transportation.
Beginning July 1:
- Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) or other vehicle identifying information must appear on unpaid toll bills sent by theNorth Carolina Turnpike Authority
- Increases the processing fee authorization for unpaid toll bills to $9.00 with a $72.00 annual cap
- Limits the issuance of commercial goods and services priority passes to individual vehicles, rather than multiple vehicles owned by the same person, and clarifies that only one pass shall be issued per vehicle per year
- Modifies maximum vegetation cut zone limits and makes other revisions related to outdoor advertising placement, relocation, removal, and related vegetation clearance permit requirements
- Increases the frequency of transfers from quarterly to monthly transfers of privilege taxes from the Highway Fund and Highway Trust Fund for transportation needs
HB 199: DMV Proposed Legislative Changes.-AB – An act to make various changes to the motor vehicle, lien hearing notification, and service of process laws of the state, as recommended by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation, and to make other changes to laws related to transportation.
Effective this month:
- The statutory fees for signatures acknowledged by the Division are increased to $6 for one signature, $7 for two signatures, and $8 for three or more signatures
- The fee provided to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for service of process on nonresident drivers is increased to $20 and requires a $100 fee for service on a defendant outside of the United States
- Includes remote electronic notarization in the definition of ‘notarization’ and includes electronic signatures in the definition of ‘signatures’ for motor vehicle transactions Extends the duration of temporary registration plates issued by dealers to 60 days
- Authorizes the Division to produce a new Home of the Venus Flytrap special registration plate and a North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics special registration plate
HB 228: Rev. Laws Tech., Clarifying, & Admin. Chngs. – An act to make various technical, clarifying, and administrative changes to the revenue laws, to make technical changes to the Medicaid hospital assessment statutes, and to update the definition of a threshold exclusion, and to increase the bond debt limit for the Housing Finance Agency.
Beginning July 1, HB 228:
- Repeals the transaction-based threshold for purposes of requiring remote retailers to collect and remit state sales and use tax
- Requires remote sellers to collect and remit tax if they meet the economic nexus threshold
- Provides a statute of limitations for purposes of permitting the Department of Revenue to propose an assessment for a sales and use tax customer refund of three years after the date of the refund
HB 250: Public Safety/Other Changes – An act to make revisions pertaining to death investigations under the jurisdiction of the office of the chief medical examiner, to modify certain laws related to limited driving privileges and restoration of a license after certain driving while impaired convictions, to modify Section 5 of Session Law 2023-151 related to the license plate reader pilot program, to modify the rural electrification authority and certain fees, to allow school boards to use eminent domain for easements, to add tianeptine to the controlled substance schedules, to exempt leases of property by the Halifax-Northampton Regional Airport Authority from general laws regarding disposal of property and to allow the authority to enter into certain leases for a term of up to forty years, and to remove the veterans burial residency requirement.
As of July 1, school boards are authorized to use eminent domain for easements, including easements necessary to support school facilities situated on a site.
HB 600: Regulatory Reform Act of 2023 – An act to provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of North Carolina.
Sections that took effect in July make technical changes to commercial mobile radio service providers.
HB 674: Child Advocacy Centers/Share Information – An act to set certain criteria for Children’s Advocacy Centers to be eligible to receive state funds, to govern the sharing of information and records of Children’s Advocacy Centers and multidisciplinary teams, and to establish certain immunity for Children’s Advocacy Centers.
The entirety of HB 674 went into effect on July 1.
HB 971: Human Trafficking Changes – An act directing the Department of Labor to develop human trafficking awareness training, requiring lodging establishments, accommodation facilitators, and property managers for vacation rentals to implement human trafficking awareness training, increasing the punishment for a first offense of soliciting a prostitute, modifying laws related to human trafficking, and modifying the definition of victim in the crime victim’s compensation act.
Sections that took effect July 1 allow campus police agencies access to the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data System upon request of the agency and compliance with the requirements established by the Government Data Analytics Center for access to that system.
SB 174: Rev. Laws Tech., Clarifying, & Admin. Chngs. – An act to make various technical, clarifying, and administrative changes to the revenue laws.
Beginning July 1, SB 174 established a separate tobacco license for vapor products for the purpose of assisting with Master Settlement Agreement reporting and aligning licensing requirements with filing requirements.
SB 319: Insurance Rev/Online Auctions/Firefighters – An act to revise statutes related to captive insurance, to establish a procedure for remote bidding at a foreclosure sale, to permit health benefit plan sponsors to obtain consent to electronic mailing of required communications, to revise laws pertaining to the licensing of insurance producers, to amend the definition of an underinsured vehicle, to make technical changes to certain provisions in S.L. 2023-133 concerning the calculation of underinsured motorist coverage and insurance ratemaking laws, to make permanent the Firefighters’ Health Benefits Pilot Program and to rename it the Firefighters’ Cancer Insurance Program, to modify the current percentage distribution of the gross premiums tax to fund the program, to increase the monthly payment and pension for members of the North Carolina Firefighters’ and Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension Fund, and to provide an alternative means of background checks for firefighting and prevention services applicants living in North Carolina for longer than five years.
The sections that took effect July 1 are those related to the North Carolina Firefighters’ and Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension Fund changes.
SB 332: 2023 Appropriations Act Changes – An act to make changes to the current operations appropriations act of 2023.
The entirety of SB 332, authorizing teacher and other school personnel pay raises, went into effect on July 1.
SB 355: North Carolina Farm Act of 2024 – An act to make various changes to the agricultural laws of this state.
The section of SB 355 that went into effect July 1 states that no permit may be issued to a carnival company or similar business if the requested exhibition date is less than 60 days prior to the regularly advertised agricultural fair.
SB 357: Adjustments to the 2023 Appropriations Act – An act to make certain adjustments to the current operations appropriations act of 2023.
The section of SB 357 that took effect July 1 conforms in-state tuition requirements to federal law.
SB 425: HHS Omnibus – An act making modifications to laws pertaining to health and human services.
SB 425 includes technical corrections for the University of North Carolina Health Care System, which went into effect July 1.
SB 452: DOI & Ins Law Amd/Revise HS Athletics – An act to make various changes to the insurance laws of North Carolina, to amend the insurance rate-making laws, and to revise high school interscholastic athletics.
Effective July 1, administering organizations for high school athletics are considered public bodies for the purposes of the State Open Meetings laws and must comply with those statutory requirements.
SB 508: 2023 Budget Tech/Other Corrections – An act to make technical, clarifying, and other amendatory modifications to the current operations appropriations act of 2023 and other legislation.
Effective July 1, SB 508:
- Revises career development plan requirements to require any high school student who does not already have a career development plan to complete one within 90 days of enrollment in school
- Provides clarifications to the South Piedmont Regional Autopsy Center Service expansion
- Clarifies DMV’s authority to implement transaction fees on electronic payments
SB 527: ABC Omnibus 2023-24 – An act to make various changes to the alcohol laws of this state.
Sections in SB 527 that took effect July 1 allow ABC stores to sell value-added products, gift cards, and barrels; establishes two new permits and regulate outside alcohol at adult live entertainment businesses; establishes a mobile bar services permit; and establishes distillery estate districts.
SB 552: Modifications to Notary Public Act – An act to make various changes to The Notary Act.
Beginning July 1:
- A registered electronic notary public may perform remote electronic notarial acts upon notification to the Secretary of State of the platforms being used
- The required course of instruction for electronic notaries is increased from three to four hours
- An electronic notary, prior to performing a remote notarial act, is required to make a judgment determination that a remotely located principal is not incompetent, lacking in understanding, acting involuntarily, or under duress or undue influence
- An electronic notary may perform remote electronic notarial acts for death beneficiary forms requiring an acknowledgement
SB 559: Charter Schools/Pension/ESOP – An act to enable the Board of Directors of certain charter schools to elect to participate in the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees; to create additional flexibility for charter schools to become a participating employing unit in the state health plan; to make conforming and effective date changes to pending legislation for the North Carolina Firefighters’ and Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension Fund; to address parental leave for charter school employees; and to clarify the definition of a historically underutilized business as it related to an employee stock ownership plan.
The section taking effect July 1 in SB 559 modifies the definition of ‘historically underutilized business.’
SB 607: Regulatory Reform Act of 2024 – An act to provide additional regulatory relief to the citizens of North Carolina.
The section of SB 607 that went into effect July 1 increases the amount of training required for licensure by the North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy.
SB 615: Adoption Law/Notary Changes/Guardianship Rts. – An act to allow adult adoptees to be adopted by a former stepparent, the removal of certain redaction restrictions from adoption home studies, and the expansion of acknowledgement options for agency relinquishments for adoption, to make clarifying corrections to the notary laws, to update the guardianship accounting statute to allow for certain timing elections and extensions, to amend the general statutes to prevent the abuse or misuse of authority granted to an agent in a power of attorney, and to promote the rights and independence of persons subject to the guardianship process and to improve judicial oversight and accountability for guardians of the person.
The section of the bill that went into effect July 1 requires an electronic notary who performs remote notarizations to enter information regarding the remote electronic notarization in an electronic journal.
SB 677: Surveyors Right of Entry/Exped. Comm. Bldg. – An act to allow a limited right of entry for professional land surveyors in certain circumstances and to expedite plan review and authorize at-risk construction permitting for certain commercial and multifamily building projects.
The sections of SB 677 that went into effect July 1 pertain to providing licensed professional land surveyors a limited right-of-entry into the lands of others if necessary to perform surveys and authorizing the use of limited at-risk construction permitting options for certain commercial and multifamily building projects.
SB 747: Elections Law Changes – An act to make various changes regarding elections law.
Section 44 of the bill went into effect July 1, and:
- Requires US citizenship to be a qualification for jury service
- Requires applications for excuses from jury duty to be made on a form created by the Administrative Office of the Courts
- Establishes processes for the clerk of superior court to retain the name and address provided by each person who requests to be excused from jury duty because they are not qualified to serve as a juror, along with the reason for the request
- Requires the clerk of superior court to record the name, address, date of birth, and other personal information from the master jury list, reason for disqualification, and the date of disqualification because the person states they are not a citizen of the United States. The clerk is required to communicate this information to the State Board of Elections semi-annually and the Board is required to use this information to remove names from the list of registered voters
SB 802: C-PACE Program – An act to advance building resiliency and utility efficiency in North Carolina by authorizing a statewide program to utilize assessments to repay nonpublic financing of commercial building improvements that will promote economic development, reduce utility bill costs, and harden commercial buildings against storm and flood damage and to amend Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes to modify the requirements to be certified as a minority business or historically underutilized business.
The entirety of SB 802 went into effect July 1.
Upcoming Legislative Meetings
Tuesday, July 23
9:00 AM House: House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform