SB 564 North Carolina Senate · 2025-2026 Session

Public Safety Through Food Access Act.

SB 564, the "Public Safety Through Food Access Act," allows North Carolina to opt out of a federal ban that denies food assistance and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits to people convicted of drug-related felony offenses. It directly affects individuals convicted of Class H or I drug felonies who meet specific conditions: they must complete six months without new offenses and successfully finish or actively participate in a substance abuse treatment program approved by mental health authorities. The bill requires county social services to link food and TANF benefits to this treatment requirement, as permitted by federal law. The policy change takes effect January 1, 2026.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 25, 2025 Last action Mar 26, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed → Edition 1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This diff primarily shows formatting and administrative changes to the bill's header and tracking information rather than substantive policy changes. The document was updated from a filed version to an edition 1 version, with changes to the bill number format, filing dates, and committee referral information.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill tracking number from DRS45281-LU-27A to S564-v-1 to reflect the new edition version

Added page number '1' to the header section

Changed filing date from March 25, 2025 to March 26, 2025 for the Rules and Operations of the Senate referral

Removed blank line after 'Referred to:' section

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 26, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Introduced

Filed

upper

2 primary · 3 co-sponsors