HB 1242 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Modernize Law of the Land Clause.

HB 1242 proposes a constitutional amendment to update the language of North Carolina's "Law of the Land Clause" in Article I, Section 19. The bill would replace the current text with a modernized version that explicitly prohibits imprisonment or deprivation of life, liberty, or property except by law, while also reinforcing protections against discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. This measure does not create new laws immediately but instead places the updated text before voters for a decision at the November 3, 2026, general election. If approved by a majority of voters, the new language will become part of the state constitution; if rejected, the existing constitutional text remains unchanged.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jun 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jun 30, 2026 Last action Jul 1, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed Edition 1 · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill's header was updated to reflect a co-sponsorship arrangement between Representatives Cook and Greenfield, replacing the original single sponsor. A specific referral date of July 1, 2026, was added to the procedural section, and the document identifier was changed to reflect the new edition version.
TECHNICAL

The bill's sponsor list was updated to include Representative Greenfield as a co-sponsor, expanding the legislative support beyond the original single sponsor.

A specific referral date of July 1, 2026, was inserted into the procedural section to clarify when the bill was referred to the House Rules Committee.

The document identifier was updated from 'DRH10681-LRy-209' to 'H1242-v-1' to reflect the new edition version of the bill.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jul 1, 2026
Committee
Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Jun 30, 2026
Introduced
Filed
lower
1 primary · 7 co-sponsors

Sponsors