Rep. Gloristine Brown

Maddy summaryHB 842 clarifies that North Carolina public schools may conduct vision, hearing, dental, and developmental screenings for students without requiring parental consent, but must notify parents at the start of each school year about all screenings offered and provide results for their child. This bill directly affects parents of students in public schools across North Carolina, particularly for kindergarten through third grade as noted in the bill text. Key provisions require schools to provide written notice of screenings and results to parents (instead of seeking consent for each screening), while maintaining existing requirements for other health services that do require consent. The law updates school health screening procedures under North Carolina General Statutes § 115C-76.46.

Maddy summaryHB 879 requires landlords in North Carolina to provide and maintain operable air conditioning in residential rental units that supply AC. It directly affects landlords (who must ensure systems work at the start of each tenancy) and tenants (who gain a right to functional cooling during warm weather). The bill amends landlord obligations to explicitly mandate that air conditioning must cool premises to a reasonable indoor temperature, with repairs required upon written tenant notice (except emergencies). This applies to all new rental agreements and renewals entered into after the law takes effect. The legislation focuses on ensuring basic comfort and safety by making AC a standard maintenance requirement, not a discretionary amenity.

Maddy summaryHB 881 bans the manufacture, use, and distribution of PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) in North Carolina, directly affecting businesses that currently use these chemicals in products like firefighting foam, non-stick coatings, or food packaging. The law requires companies discharging wastewater to disclose PFAS and 1,4-dioxane levels and remove them if feasible, while public water systems must notify customers about PFAS detected in drinking water by June 2025. It establishes civil penalties of up to $25,000 for violations, with stricter fines for repeat offenses. The bill focuses on preventing contamination and protecting public health through these concrete regulatory changes.

Maddy summaryHB 871, the North Carolina Microplastics Study Act, directs the North Carolina Collaboratory at UNC Chapel Hill to study the impacts of microplastics (tiny plastic particles 1 nanometer to 5 millimeters in size) in the state’s waters. The bill requires the Collaboratory to identify microplastics, research their ecological and health effects, develop standardized testing methods, and create a risk assessment framework by collaborating with state agencies like the Department of Environmental Quality. The study must produce a comprehensive report with recommendations for reducing plastic pollution, including potential policy changes, by July 2026. The $150,000 allocated funds the research, public engagement, and report development, but the bill itself does not impose new regulations or directly affect businesses or residents.

Maddy summaryHB 835 requires North Carolina public schools to include age-appropriate lessons about Asian American and Pacific Islander contributions in all K-12 courses starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The bill mandates curriculum covering specific topics, including early immigrant labor (e.g., railroad construction), historical challenges faced by Asian communities, roles in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, and contributions to government, arts, sciences, and North Carolina's development. It directly affects all students and educators in North Carolina's public school system by integrating these topics into standard coursework. The law specifies that lessons must be tailored to students' age levels and cover the listed historical and cultural elements.

Maddy summaryHB 839 updates North Carolina's Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) program for public schools. It requires classroom excellence teachers to serve 20% more students than prior years, allows ATR schools to exceed K-3 class size limits for up to three years with state funding, and increases salary supplements to $10,000 for adult leadership teachers (up to 25% of ATR school teachers) and $3,000 for classroom excellence teachers (up to 10% of ATR school teachers). The bill applies to participating ATR schools beginning the 2025-2026 school year.

Maddy summaryHB 863 appropriates $582 million in state funds to address unmet recovery needs in Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. It directly affects residents and businesses in the impacted area by funding affordable housing repairs, disaster-related home improvements, business grants, park restoration, flood protection, and emergency services. Key provisions include $105 million for local housing grants (covering repairs, homelessness assistance, and mortgage help), $75 million for stream restoration and food banks, and a $75,000 business grant program for eligible companies with sales tax declines. The funds are distributed across state agencies like Housing Finance, Agriculture, and Public Safety to support physical recovery and economic stabilization.

Maddy summaryHB 880 appropriates $1 million in recurring state funds from the General Fund to support the NC A&T Aggie Academy, a laboratory school at North Carolina A&T State University. This funding, effective July 1, 2025, provides additional resources for the school's operations as a University of North Carolina laboratory school. The bill directly affects the Aggie Academy's students, staff, and programs by securing ongoing financial support. It does not create new policies but allocates existing state funds for a specific educational institution.

Maddy summaryHB 838 creates a new satellite broadband grant program for the Department of Information Technology, prioritizing eligible entities (like state/local governments, nonprofits, and ISPs) in the 39 counties affected by Hurricane Helene to purchase satellite internet installation materials and service for their own use. It also repurposes up to $50 million from existing broadband funds to reimburse communications providers for repairing Hurricane Helene-damaged broadband infrastructure, with priority given to restoring service and limits on reimbursement. The bill updates the Broadband Pole Replacement Program to clarify reimbursement rules (50% of eligible costs, capped at $10,000 per pole), requires pole owners to provide timely cost estimates for infrastructure work, and mandates public reporting of program data. These changes aim to accelerate broadband deployment and recovery in underserved areas impacted by the hurricane.

Maddy summaryHB 865 clarifies North Carolina's dangerous dog laws by removing the automatic classification of any dog trained for dog fighting as "dangerous." Instead, it requires local animal control authorities to make individual case-by-case determinations about whether such dogs pose a threat. This change directly affects owners of dogs bred or trained for fighting, shifting oversight from a blanket rule to tailored assessments. The bill takes effect October 1, 2025, and does not alter existing definitions for dogs that have attacked people or caused severe injury.