Rep. Ben Moss

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 summaryHB 250 modifies the annual report filing requirements and fees for certain business entities in North Carolina. It directly affects domestic and foreign corporations and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) where more than 50% of the ownership is held by one or more deployed members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The bill waives the annual report requirement and associated fees for these businesses while the owner is deployed. Instead, qualifying businesses must file a notice of deployment and can submit their annual report after the deployment ends (90 business days for corporations, April 15 of the following year for LLCs).

Maddy summaryHouse Bill 663, known as the Living Donor Protection Act, aims to support individuals who donate organs or bone marrow. The bill prohibits insurance companies from discriminating against individuals solely based on their status as a living organ donor in various insurance policies. It also establishes a state income tax credit of up to $5,000 for unreimbursed expenses, such as lost wages and travel, incurred by living donors. Furthermore, the act provides state employees and state-supported personnel with up to 30 days of paid leave for organ donation and seven days for bone marrow donation.

Maddy summaryHB 729, titled the "Farmland Protection Act," makes several changes related to solar energy development. It reduces the property tax exclusion for solar energy electric systems from 80% to 40% of their appraised value, which will increase the taxable value of these systems. The bill also prohibits the construction of new utility-scale solar projects that are not qualifying facilities under federal law, unless they are sited on specific types of land such as brownfields, non-agricultural land, or clear-cut timberland. Additionally, it updates the effective dates for requirements regarding financial assurance and decommissioning plans for utility-scale solar projects, affecting both existing and new facilities.

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 135 establishes labeling requirements for "manufactured-protein food products," which include items made from cell cultures, insects, or plants that resemble traditional meat or poultry. The bill mandates that if these products use identifying meat or poultry terms, their labels must also prominently display a "qualifying term" like "cell-cultured" or "plant-based" in a specific font size and location to prevent misbranding. Additionally, the bill aims to prohibit public educational institutions from purchasing certain food products and proposes an environmental investment assessment on specific animal-derived and analogous food products.

Maddy summaryHB 329 encourages nonpublic schools in North Carolina, including private church schools and other qualified nonpublic schools, to adopt policies that prohibit the use of tobacco and hemp products on their school grounds. The bill amends existing state statutes to add this encouragement. It suggests that these schools use the current requirements for public schools as guidance when developing their own policies. This legislation aims to promote smoke-free and hemp-free environments within nonpublic educational settings.

Maddy summaryHouse Bill 244, titled "Depoliticize Government Property Act," restricts the types of flags that can be flown or displayed on property owned or leased by the State of North Carolina or its local government entities. The bill specifies a limited list of permissible flags, including the U.S. flag, the North Carolina flag, flags of local government agencies, military branch flags, the POW/MIA flag, the Honor and Remember flag, and flags of recognized nations during official visits. It also clarifies that local governments cannot prohibit the display of official governmental flags on private or public property with consent. Any violation of the display restrictions on government property would be classified as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Maddy summaryHB 574 establishes a Workforce Development Pilot Project in North Carolina. This bill provides funds to the Office of State Budget and Management to be allocated to the North Carolina Workforce Development Coalition (NCWDC). The NCWDC will then provide grants to eligible North Carolina-based employers, with 20 to 1,500 employees, to support employer-sponsored training programs. These grants aim to increase job creation, reduce employee turnover, improve wages, and upgrade worker skills, especially in industries with identified training gaps. Employers can receive up to 50% of eligible training costs or $2,000 per trainee, with a maximum of $40,000 annually per employer.