Rep. Maria Cervania

Maddy summaryHB 888 appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to the North Carolina Community Health Worker Association (a nonprofit) for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The funds will directly support the Association's work in mobilizing, training, and certifying community health workers across North Carolina. This grant enables the Association to expand its workforce development efforts, specifically targeting the training and certification of community health workers. The bill affects the Association's operations and the community health workers they certify, but does not change health service delivery or eligibility for residents. The appropriation becomes effective July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 910 creates a $2 million recurring grant program to increase teacher diversity in North Carolina public schools, primarily benefiting school districts, colleges, and community organizations. The bill funds partnerships that support recruitment, training, and retention of educators of color through specific initiatives like dual enrollment programs, paid clinical experiences, mentorship, and financial aid for aspiring teachers. Grants require evidence-based proposals addressing recruitment or retention gaps and must include long-term sustainability plans. Local school systems and institutions of higher education will administer the program, with annual reporting required to track progress toward diversifying the educator workforce.

Maddy summaryHB 954 creates a State Critical Infrastructure and Construction Resiliency Fund to support disaster recovery and preparedness. It requires counties that experienced a Governor-declared Type I, II, or III disaster in the past three years to redirect 5% of their annual highway use tax revenue into the fund. The Governor can use these funds for new infrastructure projects and resiliency efforts in disaster-affected areas, as well as for state/local response activities following a federal disaster declaration under the Stafford Act. This directly affects eligible counties and their residents by providing dedicated resources for rebuilding and preventing future disaster impacts.

Maddy summaryHB 931 limits towing fees to reasonable and clearly disclosed amounts, prohibits charging storage fees when towing companies are closed, and bans towing to locations without 24-hour vehicle recovery access. It requires towing companies to accept debit/credit/cash payments without processing fees exceeding 2% of the total. The Utilities Commission enforces these rules, imposing up to $5,000 penalties per violation for noncompliance. This bill directly affects towing companies and vehicle owners in North Carolina by regulating fee practices and payment options.

Maddy summaryHB 917 establishes a new Data Analytics, Transparency, and Accountability Division within North Carolina's General Assembly. The bill requires all state agencies to provide the Division with requested data and access to systems (while protecting personal information), mandates annual reports from agencies like the Global TransPark Authority detailing job creation metrics and financials, and allocates $2 million for the Division's operations. This Division will oversee transparency efforts, analyze agency data, and receive reports from state entities on performance metrics and real property portfolios. The Division becomes operational starting July 1, 2025, with updated statutory references reflecting its new name.

Maddy summaryHB 933 increases Medicaid rates to ensure direct care workers for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities earn at least $18 per hour, affecting home/community providers, group homes, and waiver programs like NC Innovations. It adds 1,000 slots to the NC Innovations waiver program (with $36 million in annual state funding) and requires a 10-year plan to address unmet service needs. The bill also removes income and resource limits for Medicaid eligibility under the Health Coverage for Workers with Disabilities program. These changes take effect July 1, 2025, with $183 million in annual state funding supporting the wage increases and $36 million for new waiver slots.

Maddy summaryHB 890 requires North Carolina's Department of Public Instruction to create an Emergency Internet Service Plan (EISP) ensuring public schools can access temporary internet during state emergencies, like natural disasters. The bill establishes a dedicated Emergency Internet Service Fund with $3.9 million in initial funding for equipment and service contracts, which schools cannot be charged to activate. Key provisions include requiring the plan to cover activation conditions, equipment needs, data protection, and third-party partnerships, while ensuring the fund is nonreverting (unused money carries over). This directly affects all public school units by guaranteeing emergency internet access without requiring school-level funding. The plan must be updated annually and reported to the legislature.

Maddy summaryHB 922 revises definitions in North Carolina's public utility law to protect ratepayers from unreasonable fees charged by utilities. It specifically clarifies terms like "advertising" (excluding safety messages or mandated public notices), "clean energy facility," and "energy efficiency measure" to ensure utilities cannot charge customers for non-essential promotional activities or misrepresent energy sources. The bill directly affects all electricity, gas, and water utilities operating in North Carolina and their customers, requiring them to comply with these updated definitions when calculating rates. Key provisions include banning utilities from including certain marketing costs in rate base calculations and defining measurable energy efficiency improvements. This focuses on transparency in billing rather than creating new fee structures.

Maddy summaryHB 932 establishes a permanent 10% base salary increase for teachers and first responders in North Carolina, effective July 1, 2025. The bill appropriates $700 million annually for first responders (including law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers, and certain nurses) and $900 million annually for teachers (classroom staff, principals, and instructional support) from the General Fund. Funds must be used solely for the pay increase, added to base salary, and included in future salary calculations - no administrative costs are permitted. Employing authorities and school entities must certify costs and verify implementation by deadlines, with unspent funds reverting to the General Fund annually.

Maddy summaryHB 915 reenacts a 25% tax credit for film production companies in North Carolina that spend at least $250,000 on qualifying expenses within the state. The credit applies to costs like equipment rentals, wages (excluding payments over $1 million to top earners), insurance, and employee benefits, but excludes political ads, news broadcasts, live sports events, and obscene content. The credit is capped at $20 million per feature film and requires producers to notify the North Carolina Film Office before claiming it. This reenactment makes the credit effective for qualifying expenses occurring on or after January 1, 2025, after a prior sunset clause expired in 2015.