Maddy summaryHB 366 revives North Carolina's pistol permit law and expands it to require permits for purchasing long guns (like shotguns and rifles), in addition to pistols. It directly affects anyone buying firearms within the state, requiring a sheriff-issued permit after a background check and verification of good moral character. The permit, valid for five years, must be presented during purchases and includes security features to prevent counterfeiting. Exemptions apply to antique firearms and historic edged weapons, but the law applies to all other pistol and long gun transactions starting December 1, 2025.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryHB 361 allocates $1.8 million for training county register of deeds employees, $500,000 for a public awareness campaign about real property fraud, and $30 million in grants to county offices for technology upgrades. The grants will fund digitizing records, purchasing scanning equipment, upgrading software, enhancing digital security, and improving network systems to prevent deed and title fraud. An additional $1 million is reserved for county offices without existing fraud detection systems. The bill becomes effective July 1, 2025, directly affecting county register of deeds offices and the public through reduced fraud risks.
Maddy summaryHB 353, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, raises North Carolina's state minimum wage in staged increases, starting at $10 per hour on January 1, 2026, and reaching $18 per hour by January 1, 2030. After 2030, the wage will automatically adjust annually based on inflation using the Consumer Price Index. The bill directly affects hourly workers and employers across North Carolina, requiring higher pay for all covered employees. It also adds provisions allowing workers to recover unpaid wages plus interest, attorney fees, and court costs if employers fail to pay correctly.
Maddy summaryHB 339, the Economic Security Act, raises North Carolina's minimum wage to $22 per hour effective January 2026, with annual inflation adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index. It mandates equal pay for equal work, requires paid sick leave and family medical leave for all employees, and strengthens workplace safety protections. The bill also restores inflation-adjusted unemployment benefits, ends wage theft, removes criminal history questions from job applications ("banning the box"), and expands tax credits for childcare and low-income workers. Additionally, it creates a presumption that essential workers infected with COVID-19 contracted it on the job and appropriates funds for cost-of-living adjustments for public retirees.
Maddy summaryHB 340 requires North Carolina's State Board of Education to develop or purchase a screening assessment to identify academically or intellectually gifted students in all sixth-grade classrooms across public middle schools. The bill directly affects all sixth graders in North Carolina public middle schools by mandating universal screening for gifted identification. Key provisions include appropriating $7 million in recurring state funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year to cover assessment costs and requiring the screening to be administered to every sixth grader. The law becomes effective July 1, 2025, with the Department of Public Instruction responsible for implementing the screening process.
Maddy summaryHB 341 increases property tax relief for disabled veterans in North Carolina by expanding the homestead exclusion on their primary residence. The bill sets exclusion amounts based on disability rating: $100,000 for 70%+ disability, $75,000 for 50-69%, $50,000 for 30-49%, and $25,000 for 10-29%. Surviving spouses qualify for the greater of the veteran’s exclusion amount or $45,000, provided the veteran’s death resulted from a service-connected condition. This policy directly affects qualifying disabled veterans and their surviving spouses who own and occupy their primary residence, effective for taxes due in 2025.
Maddy summaryHB 344, the Litter Reduction Act of 2025, requires a deposit on most beverage containers (like soda, water, and alcohol in glass, plastic, or metal) sold in North Carolina, with refunds available at certified redemption centers. It directly affects beverage distributors, retailers (excluding small businesses selling under 250,000 containers yearly), and consumers who purchase these products. The bill establishes a system where consumers pay a deposit at purchase and can return empty containers to redemption centers for a refund, aiming to reduce roadside litter from beverage containers. Key provisions include defining "beverage container," requiring redemption centers to accept containers, and setting recycling standards to avoid downcycling or waste-to-energy processing.
Maddy summaryHB 343 appropriates $380,000 for 2025-26 and $397,000 for 2026-27 to create four full-time ombudsman positions within North Carolina’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. This directly affects residents of nursing homes, adult care homes, and family care homes by enhancing advocacy for their rights and care quality. The bill’s key provision funds staff to move the state’s program toward national standards for resolving facility issues without formal complaints. It becomes effective July 1, 2025, with no advocacy language - only a concrete funding mechanism for expanded protections.
Maddy summaryHB 322 modifies North Carolina's public records law to require the General Assembly to follow the same record retention and disposal rules as other state agencies. It mandates that legislative records must be preserved for at least 10 years after a legislator leaves office (or until they have no further official use, whichever is longer) and requires the Legislative Services Officer to work with the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to create an inventory of these records. The bill repeals previous exemptions that allowed the General Assembly to unilaterally control its own records and ensures these records are subject to public access standards. This directly affects North Carolina legislators, their offices, and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which will oversee record preservation and public access.
Maddy summaryHB 327 appropriates $16.564 million in one-time state funds to the Town of Hope Mills for specific capital projects. The bill directs $13.134 million toward building a new community center and $3.43 million to redesign and renovate the Hope Mills Senior Center to meet accessibility standards (ADA compliance). These funds are allocated for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and become effective July 1, 2025. The bill directly affects Hope Mills residents through their local government, which will manage the construction and renovation work.