HB 354 requires courts in North Carolina to block filings by individuals declared legally incompetent by a court unless submitted through their guardian or attorney. It mandates courts to strike non-compliant filings and issue "gatekeeper orders" to prevent unauthorized submissions. The bill also creates a centralized database for courts to quickly identify individuals with such court declarations. This applies to all civil cases filed or pending after December 1, 2025, directly affecting people declared legally incompetent and their legal representatives.
HB 63 removes four specific property parcels (totaling approximately 62 acres) from the Town of Andrews' corporate limits in Cherokee County. The bill directly affects the owners of these parcels - Steelhouse Mountain, LLC, and others named in the deeds - by ending their obligation to pay municipal taxes starting July 1, 2025. Key provisions include formally removing the described tracts (listed by parcel numbers and acreage) and clarifying that existing property taxes or liens for pre-2025 debts remain enforceable. The change takes effect June 30, 2025, with tax exemption applying to taxable years beginning July 1, 2025.
HB 123 makes it a crime for health care providers to willfully destroy, alter, or falsify medical records to conceal medical errors causing patient harm, illegally obtain money, or hide facts related to potential legal claims. It creates specific criminal penalties: a serious felony for hiding errors that caused injury or death, a lesser felony for financial gain, and a misdemeanor for other concealment. The law applies to all health care providers and becomes effective December 1, 2025. It explicitly states this does not affect existing civil remedies available to patients.
HB 397 allows schools in North Carolina to use epinephrine nasal spray as an emergency treatment option alongside traditional auto-injectors for students experiencing anaphylaxis. The bill amends school health policies to include nasal spray devices in the definition of "epinephrine auto-injector delivery systems," requiring all schools to maintain at least two emergency epinephrine supplies (now including nasal spray) in secure but accessible locations. Schools must train staff to recognize anaphylaxis symptoms, store devices properly, and follow emergency action plans developed with school nurses. This applies to public schools, charter schools, and regional schools starting in the 2025-2026 school year. The policy directly affects school staff, students with severe allergies, and school health protocols.
HB 149 creates a pilot program allowing eligible North Carolina school districts (those with at least 5,000 students and tax authority) to submit a Financial and Hiring Flexibility Plan (FHFP) to the State Board of Education. The plan permits districts to use state funds more flexibly and hire up to 50% unlicensed teachers (who must complete specific training in disability education, behavior management, and safety) while meeting defined academic goals by 2030-2031, such as 100% student career planning and 90% teacher retention. The State Board reviews plans annually and can terminate them if districts fail to meet goals, violate fiscal rules, or have low-performing schools. This program aims to give districts operational flexibility to improve student outcomes, subject to state oversight and performance metrics.
HB 53 would increase property damage thresholds for classifying at-fault car accidents under North Carolina's Safe Driver Incentive Plan. It raises the "major" accident threshold from $3,850 to $5,975, the "intermediate" range from $2,300-$3,850 to $3,570-$5,975, and sets a new "minor" threshold at $3,570 or less. This change would reduce surcharges for drivers involved in property damage accidents below these higher thresholds. The bill would take effect October 1, 2025, if passed.
HB 143 authorizes the Town of Maysville to impose a 6% occupancy tax on rental income from hotels, motels, and similar accommodations already subject to North Carolina's sales tax. This tax applies to all qualifying accommodations within Maysville and is collected separately from state and local sales taxes. Revenue from the tax must be sent quarterly to the Maysville Tourism Development Authority, which is required to use at least two-thirds of the funds for tourism promotion (like advertising and marketing) and the remainder for tourism-related expenses such as facility improvements. The bill also creates the Tourism Development Authority, requiring at least one-third of its members to represent tax-collecting businesses and half to be active in tourism promotion.
HB 843 requires North Carolina's Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to create a formal agreement with the Town of Lake Waccamaw for repairing a dam at Lake Waccamaw State Park. The agreement must guarantee the town access to the dam site for planning and performing repairs, detail the repair scope and timeline, and specify that the state department will resume dam maintenance after repairs are complete. The bill mandates this agreement be finalized by September 1, 2025, and submitted to legislative committees. This directly affects the Town of Lake Waccamaw (as the entity requesting repairs) and the state department (responsible for park management and dam oversight).
HB 848 establishes a pilot program for Cleveland County Schools (2025-2026 through 2030-2031) that allows flexibility in staffing to improve student outcomes. It permits up to 50% of teachers per school and 25% district-wide to be unlicensed, provided they complete specific training on disability education, behavior management, and safety protocols. The program requires annual reporting on staffing, class sizes, fund usage, and student success metrics to oversight committees. It directly affects Cleveland County Schools' hiring practices, teacher qualifications, and resource allocation for K-3 classrooms and NC Pre-K programs. The pilot ends December 2031 unless extended.
HB 876 requires North Carolina local governments to complete an initial administrative review of development approval applications within two business days. If an application is incomplete, the local government must provide developers with a detailed written list of deficiencies, including the specific requirements violated and corrective actions needed. Developers can then correct deficiencies, request reconsideration within two days, or opt for an independent third-party review by a licensed engineer or architect if the local government misses deadlines - after which the government must issue permits within two days and refund fees. This bill applies to most development approvals but excludes residential building plans under the North Carolina Residential Code, which follow separate 15-day review rules.
HB 849 would require state, city, or public authorities to pay for relocating utility infrastructure (such as power lines, fiber optic cables, and wireless facilities) when relocation is mandated for federally funded highway projects. The state must cover these costs after deducting any increase in the facility's value or salvage value from the old infrastructure. The bill also mandates that cities reimburse utility companies for relocation expenses within their rights-of-way, though this requirement does not apply to cities with fewer than 5,000 residents unless the project is federally funded.
HB 878 requires North Carolina public schools to post lesson plans and course materials online within 10 days of use. Schools must display links to instructional materials (like textbooks and digital resources), procedures for reviewing materials, and teacher training details on their websites, organized by subject and grade level. The law applies to all public schools except those with fewer than 30 students total, and teachers may request to use only their last initial for privacy. It does not require posting the actual materials themselves, only links and descriptions, and maintains the information online for two years. This policy directly affects parents, educators, and community members seeking transparency about classroom content.
