Rep. Mary Belk

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 856 clarifies that deed restrictions, covenants, or similar agreements cannot prohibit the installation of solar collectors (for water heating, space heating/cooling, or electricity) on residential properties. It specifically voids restrictions that prevent solar installations, while allowing reasonable rules about placement or screening if they reduce efficiency by 10% or less. This affects homeowners in single-family homes or similar residential properties (excluding certain condos in multi-story buildings) and their homeowners' associations. The law applies to agreements recorded after it takes effect, ensuring solar access without blocking reasonable maintenance or visibility rules.

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.

Maddy summaryHB 840 modifies North Carolina's school grading system to provide separate "achievement" and "growth" scores for all public schools, replacing a single combined score. Achievement grades reflect current student performance (based on test scores, graduation rates, and proficiency), while growth grades measure how much students improved over time using the EVAAS system. Schools earn an overall performance grade combining 80% achievement and 20% growth scores, displayed on school websites and report cards. This affects all North Carolina public schools (K-12), their administrators, and parents, who will receive detailed grade breakdowns for each school annually. The bill does not create new funding rewards but changes how school performance is measured and reported.

Maddy summaryHB 857 creates North Carolina's Missing with Disability Alert System, requiring law enforcement to issue rapid statewide alerts for missing persons or children with disabilities (as defined by state law) who face potential harm, neglect, or exploitation. The system mandates that alerts include only essential recovery information while protecting sensitive health details, and requires coordination with broadcasters and highway message signs for public dissemination. All law enforcement agencies and the state missing persons center must develop new guidelines and training procedures to implement the alert system. This policy change directly affects law enforcement, broadcasters, and individuals with disabilities who go missing.

Maddy summaryHB 868 requires North Carolina law enforcement to use confirmatory lab tests before relying on field drug tests for arrests or convictions related to drug possession. It mandates that colorimetric field drug tests alone cannot establish probable cause for arrest, initiate charges, lead to conviction, or influence sentencing after January 1, 2026. Law enforcement must adopt policies ensuring cases without a lab-confirmed result lead to release (via citation or written promise to appear) rather than continued detention. The bill directly affects all North Carolina law enforcement agencies and prosecutors handling drug possession cases under G.S. 90-95(a)(3), requiring them to implement these changes by 2026.