This bill allocates state funding to ensure that every public school in Edgecombe and Pitt Counties employs at least one full-time, permanent school nurse. Starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the legislation provides specific recurring funds to the Department of Public Instruction for each county, with the money designated to supplement existing resources rather than replace them. The act takes effect on July 1, 2026, and applies only to public schools within these two specific counties.
This bill requires North Carolina public schools to immediately notify parents and guardians of credible threats against students, staff, or the campus, such as violence, weapons, or lockdowns. It mandates that these alerts be sent through at least two different methods, including a phone call for high-level emergencies, and must include details about the threat and the school's response. The legislation also establishes penalties for schools that fail to provide these notifications, which can include financial fines, corrective action plans, or the termination of responsible administrators. Additionally, the bill creates a School Safety Fund and reinstates a task force to oversee these safety measures and annual transparency reports.
This bill establishes a legal framework for North Carolina to join a multi-state agreement that creates a commission to award prizes for cures to diseases. Once at least six states adopt this compact, they will form a commission responsible for reviewing medical treatments, granting prizes for successful cures, and managing the intellectual property and pricing of those cures. The commission is authorized to collect royalty fees from manufacturers in states that have not joined the agreement, with the collected funds used to reimburse participating states for their share of the prize costs and administrative expenses. Additionally, the bill defines key terms such as "compacting state" and outlines the commission's broad powers to operate, enforce rules, and resolve disputes among member states.
This bill strengthens penalties for assault by strangulation in North Carolina, directly affecting individuals who commit such acts against others. It establishes new felony classifications, making strangulation causing physical injury a Class H G felony and general strangulation a Class H felony, while also clarifying the legal definition of strangulation as obstructing breathing or blood circulation. Additionally, the legislation allocates $3 million in state funds starting in 2026-2027 to run a public awareness campaign about these increased punishments. The changes will take effect on December 1, 2026, and will apply only to offenses committed on or after that date.
This bill requires that regular municipal elections for the towns of Brookford, Catawba, and Claremont, as well as the city of Conover in Catawba County, be held in even-numbered years instead of their current odd-numbered schedules. To implement this change, the legislation extends the current terms of local officials whose offices would otherwise expire in 2027 by one year, while also extending the terms of those expiring in 2029. The bill ensures that elections in these municipalities will resume in even-numbered years starting in 2028, maintaining the existing staggered term structure for local offices.
This bill introduces several new firearm regulations in North Carolina, including a ban on individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses from buying or owning guns. It also mandates universal background checks for all private firearm sales and transfers, requiring dealers to run checks on every transaction and private sellers to use licensed dealers for background verification. Additionally, the legislation reinstates a pistol purchase permit system and requires parents or guardians to certify that students in public schools safely store firearms at home. The bill includes funding for the Department of Public Safety to support these enforcement efforts.
This bill restores the ability for Harnett, Lee, and Sampson counties in North Carolina to propose down-zoning changes without needing permission from every property owner affected. It defines down-zoning as actions that reduce land density, limit permitted land uses, or create nonconformities outside residential areas. Under this law, local governments can initiate these zoning changes independently, whereas previously such moves required written consent from all impacted owners. The legislation applies retroactively to December 11, 2024, allowing these counties to proceed with down-zoning initiatives that were paused by earlier state restrictions.
SB 792, titled Kayla's Act, amends North Carolina laws to provide additional protections for victims of domestic violence within the criminal justice system. The legislation primarily allows domestic violence victims to testify remotely in court rather than appearing in person, provided specific notice and approval procedures are followed. Additionally, the bill modifies evidence rules regarding unavailable witnesses and extends the statute of limitations for certain misdemeanor offenses. These policy changes directly impact criminal defendants, prosecutors, and judges handling domestic violence cases.
This bill requires North Carolina public schools to teach artificial intelligence concepts to students from kindergarten through grade 12. It mandates that the State Board of Education create standards covering how AI works, its real-world uses, and ethical issues like privacy, bias, and academic honesty. To support this new requirement, the state will provide $100,000 in funding for the 2026-2027 school year to help schools implement the curriculum. The law takes effect on July 1, 2026, and allows AI instruction to be part of existing computer science classes in middle and high school.
This bill prevents the elimination of medical benefits for retired teachers and state employees in North Carolina who began their careers on or after January 1, 2021. It achieves this by removing previous restrictions that would have ended these benefits and applies retroactively to December 31, 2020. To cover the resulting increase in healthcare costs, the legislation appropriates two million dollars from the state's general fund for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The changes are scheduled to officially take effect on July 1, 2026.
This bill proposes raising Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care providers in North Carolina to match the rates paid by Medicare. To fund these increases, the state would allocate $48 million from its General Fund starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The changes would take effect on July 1, 2026, and would apply to primary care services as defined by a specific state task force report.
This bill aims to improve access to dental care in North Carolina by increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rates paid to dentists. Starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the state will allocate $80 million from the General Fund to raise these payment rates, which have not significantly changed since 2008. The legislation seeks to encourage more private dental providers to join the Medicaid program, thereby expanding the network of available dentists for patients. By making it more financially viable for dentists to accept Medicaid, the bill intends to help reduce the number of people relying on emergency departments for urgent dental needs.
