Rep. Hugh Blackwell

Maddy summaryThis bill requires North Carolina's Commission for Public Health to wait at least three years after a vaccine receives U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval before adding it to the state's childhood immunization schedule. It allows exceptions only if both the North Carolina Medical Society and North Carolina Pediatric Society recommend adding a vaccine approved for less than three years. The law directly affects the Commission's authority to update vaccination requirements for school-aged children and the medical societies' role in advising on shorter-approved vaccines. It does not change existing vaccination requirements or exemptions for medical reasons.

Maddy summaryHB 141, the Joe John Remembrance Act, removes an additional fee for special license plates designated for fire department and rescue squad members in North Carolina. The bill amends state law to formally eliminate the "additional fee" listed for these plates (which was already set to $0 in the current fee schedule), meaning eligible firefighters and rescue personnel will pay only the standard registration fee when obtaining or renewing these special plates. This change applies to plates issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025. The bill does not create new benefits but codifies an existing fee structure for these specific special plates.

Maddy summaryHB 633 appropriates $1.678 million annually in recurring funds and additional nonrecurring funds to expand sickle cell disease services in North Carolina. The bill directly supports approximately 7,000 North Carolinians living with sickle cell disease by funding comprehensive medical centers (like Atrium Health, Duke, and UNC Chapel Hill), creating transition coordinators to help patients move from pediatric to adult care, and providing grants to community organizations in underserved areas. Key mechanisms include distributing $1.3 million yearly to medical centers for care coordination, allocating $75,000 annually per center for transition staff, and funding a statewide emergency department toolkit to improve acute care. The bill becomes effective July 1, 2025, with funds designated for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium.

Maddy summaryHB 596 establishes the Standard Course of Study Advisory Commission (SCOS Commission) to advise North Carolina's State Board of Education on academic standards. The 18-member commission includes teachers, principals, parents, school administrators, business representatives, and university officials to provide stakeholder input. It will recommend standards for core subjects like math, science, and civics that must be grade-specific, measurable, and aligned with college readiness requirements. These recommendations will guide updates to curriculum, testing, and teacher training programs used across public schools statewide.

Maddy summaryHB 595 restricts certain curriculum content in North Carolina public schools, directly affecting K-12 students and their parents. It bans instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality in grades K-6 (except answering student questions) and requires parental written consent for such topics in grades 7-12. The bill mandates that schools provide age-appropriate health education materials, including 60-day parental review periods for materials related to sexual health, HIV/AIDS prevention, and reproductive health. It also specifies that human growth education in 4th and 5th grades must be single-sex, scientifically based, and require annual parental consent.

Maddy summaryHB 611 requires North Carolina public schools to increase full-time assistant principal positions based on student enrollment, directly affecting all local school districts. It mandates funding to achieve specific student-to-assistant-principal ratios: 1:90 students in the 2025-2026 school year ($23.56 million) and 1:80 students starting in 2026-2027 ($57.57 million), with funds supplementing but not replacing existing budgets. The bill, effective July 2025, directs the Department of Public Instruction to allocate these funds through the school building administration allotment. This policy change aims to support school operations and develop future principals by expanding administrative staffing.

Maddy summaryHB 571 appropriates $500,000 from the state General Fund to the Department of Public Safety for a grant program treating police officers diagnosed with PTSD. It directly affects North Carolina police officers who have received a clinical PTSD diagnosis. The key provision establishes a state-funded grant program to cover treatment costs, with funds allocated for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The program becomes effective July 1, 2025, and focuses solely on providing financial support for treatment, not on expanding eligibility or altering diagnosis standards.

Maddy summaryHB 566 establishes a competitive grant program to support North Carolina's Principal Fellows Program, directly affecting school leader preparation programs and future principals. It provides forgivable scholarship loans to participants in these programs (repaid only if they don’t work in North Carolina schools) and grants to eligible entities to develop innovative principal training methods. The bill sets specific grant terms, including 2-6 year durations for loan programs and 1-year terms for innovation grants, with funding capped at $250,000 per recipient annually. Recipients must report on key metrics like program completers’ placement rates in high-need schools and their performance evaluations. The program also allocates funds for administrative costs and program monitoring, requiring public sharing of non-identifiable materials to promote best practices.

Maddy summaryHB 505, "Kayla's Act: Protecting Domestic Violence Victims," allows domestic violence victim witnesses in North Carolina criminal cases to testify remotely (via video or similar technology) instead of in person during trials. This directly affects victims, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and courts in domestic violence cases involving crimes like assault or stalking under Chapter 14 of state law. The bill requires prosecutors to notify defendants 15 business days in advance of remote testimony, with defendants having 5 days to object in writing; if no objection is filed, remote testimony is permitted. If a defendant objects, a judge may still allow remote testimony only if the victim would suffer serious emotional distress from testifying in the defendant's presence or if their ability to communicate with the court would be impaired, with strict court oversight to ensure fair cross-examination.

Maddy summaryHB 514 defines the scope of practice for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) in North Carolina, including nurse practitioners (NPs), certified nurse midwives (CNMs), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), and clinical nurse specialists (CNSs). The bill explicitly outlines the specific responsibilities for each role - such as CNMs managing reproductive health care, NPs diagnosing and treating illnesses, and CRNAs administering anesthesia - removing ambiguity in current law. It directly affects over 20,000 APRNs in North Carolina who currently face restrictions due to undefined practice parameters. The legislation aims to align North Carolina with 36 other states that have clarified APRN authority without compromising patient safety, as supported by research cited in the bill. This statutory definition is intended to improve healthcare access and reduce costs by enabling APRNs to practice to the full extent of their training.