Maddy summaryHB 254 designates the fourth Thursday of March each year as Tuskegee Airmen Commemoration Day in North Carolina. This officially recognizes and honors the legacy of the African-American pilots, navigators, bombardiers, instructors, and support staff who trained at Tuskegee Institute from 1941 to 1949.
Maddy summaryHouse Bill 38, known as the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, prohibits payment card networks from using a specific "firearms code" to identify or track purchases made at firearms merchants in North Carolina. It also forbids these networks from knowingly maintaining records of individuals in the state who own firearms. The bill aims to prevent the separate tracking of lawful firearm and ammunition purchases and protect the financial privacy of individuals exercising their right to bear arms. Payment card networks are also prohibited from discriminating against firearms merchants based on code assignment. Violations can lead to civil penalties assessed by the Attorney General or civil lawsuits from affected merchants or individuals.
Maddy summaryHB 649 directs the North Carolina Collaboratory to study the state's county tier designation system. The study will examine potential changes to the criteria used for ranking counties, how tier designations are assigned, and the ranking timeframe. It will evaluate the impact of these changes on all 100 counties, programs that use the tier system, and the ease of doing business in the state. The Collaboratory is required to submit a preliminary report by December 2025 and a final report by December 2026.
Maddy summaryHouse Bill 288 requires the official Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) flag to be displayed at all state-owned buildings and public schools in North Carolina. This applies whenever the United States flag is flown, provided an existing flagpole can accommodate the POW/MIA flag. The state will purchase these flags for state-owned buildings, while local boards of education may accept donations or use available funds for their schools.
Maddy summaryHouse Bill 110 establishes the National Guard Student Loan Repayment Program in North Carolina. This program provides student loan repayment awards to active members of the North Carolina National Guard, incentivizing them to begin or complete a term of service of at least three years. Awards cannot exceed the recipient's total student loan debt or $50,000 for a three-year service term, with potential for additional funds for longer service. Recipients must sign an agreement to repay a portion of the award if they voluntarily terminate their service early. The bill appropriates over $25.5 million to a new fund for the program for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Maddy summaryHouse Bill 703 allows State veterans cemeteries to sell monuments and memorials directly to honor individuals interred within them. This bill permits the sale of items such as memorial trees, granite or marble markers, and benches, though not headstones. State veterans cemeteries can establish stylistic guidelines for these items and must not charge more than the market rate. The funds generated from these sales will be retained by the selling cemetery and dedicated solely to its maintenance, improvement, and care. This act becomes effective on October 1, 2025.
Maddy summaryHB 69, the Military and Veterans Educational Promise Act, provides two key benefits for military-affiliated individuals and veterans at North Carolina's University of North Carolina (UNC) schools. First, it requires UNC institutions to allow eligible military members (including reservists) and their spouses to defer admission for up to five years (for active duty) or two years (for reserve service) upon enrollment notice. Second, it establishes in-state tuition rates for honorably discharged veterans who served at least 90 days in the military, graduated from a North Carolina high school after 2004, had a North Carolina duty station, or received a Purple Heart. The bill applies to all UNC institutions beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year.
Maddy summaryHouse Bill 213, titled "Post NC Veterans' Benefits," requires employers in North Carolina to display a notice about veterans' benefits. This bill mandates that employers with five or more persons working in a room post this information in a conspicuous place. The Commissioner of Labor will provide a digital or printed form of this notice. The poster must include details on services such as benefits and claims, employment and training, housing assistance, and how to request military records, with the Department of Labor consulting the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to create it.
Maddy summaryHB 114 (Employment Preference for Military Personnel) updates North Carolina's state employment policy to expand eligibility for hiring preference. It removes the requirement that military service must have occurred during a "period of war" and now includes active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and their spouses/dependents in the preference program. The bill ensures state departments, agencies, and institutions must grant hiring preference to qualifying individuals (including active-duty personnel during service) for all employment events like initial hires, promotions, and transfers. This change directly affects military service members, their families, and North Carolina state employers by broadening who qualifies for employment preference without wartime service restrictions.
Maddy summaryHB 671 establishes a four-year pilot program (2025-2026 through 2028-2029) that provides grants to North Carolina public high schools (grades 9-12) to form or support competitive speech and debate teams. Schools can receive up to $10,000 per team annually, covering coach stipends (capped at $2,500 for lead coaches and $1,500 for assistants) and competition expenses like travel and league fees. Participating schools must join the Tarheel Forensic League and National Speech and Debate Association, and the program allows students from schools without teams to join the nearest team (with students covering their own transportation). Funded by $500,000 yearly from the General Fund, the Department of Public Instruction will administer the program and report annually on grant usage and student academic outcomes.
