HB 389: Continuing Budget Operations Part III. - North Carolina

A1: ANP-26-V-1 → Edition 1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transformed from a legislative amendment document into a complete House Bill. The new version establishes a two-year pilot program to expand child care workforce academies across North Carolina, providing free training and credentials to individuals with no prior child care experience. It appropriates $738,000 annually for state funding and requires local partnerships to contribute a 25% match.

Scope change

The bill now defines a statewide pilot program involving Johnston and Wayne Counties initially, with plans to select 10 additional local partnerships from four regional areas across the state.

SCOPE

Establishes a new Child Care Workforce Academy Pilot Program to provide free, comprehensive training and support to individuals with no experience in child care.

FISCAL

Appropriates $738,000 annually from the General Fund for the 2025-2027 biennium, including $486,000 for tuition costs and $252,000 for student stipends.

ELIGIBILITY

Defines grant applicants as State or local law enforcement agencies or administrators of local confinement facilities, and provides stipends of $150 upon course completion and $500 after one year of employment.

REQUIREMENT

Requires local partnerships to provide a 25% local match to receive State funds and mandates submission of progress and final reports by March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2026 respectively.

TIMELINE

Sets the program effective date as July 1, 2025, with academies operating up to eight hours per day over two to three weeks.

Filed → A1: ANP-26-V-1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to change its focus from a child care workforce training program to a law enforcement and confinement facility grant program. The amendment removes all references to child care academies, training, and early childhood education, replacing them with provisions for law enforcement agencies and local confinement facilities to apply for grants. This represents a complete substantive change in the bill's purpose and target audience.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from establishing a child care workforce training pilot program to creating a grant program for law enforcement agencies and confinement facilities.

SCOPE

The bill's purpose changed from establishing child care workforce academies to creating a grant program for law enforcement and confinement facilities.

ELIGIBILITY

All references to child care workforce training, early childhood education, and the North Carolina Partnership for Children were removed.

Grant applicants are now defined as State or local law enforcement agencies or administrators of local confinement facilities.

FISCAL

Specific funding amounts for child care training ($738,000 for State match, $486,000 for tuition, $252,000 for stipends) were removed.

REQUIREMENT

Requirements for child care credentialing, student enrollment goals, and training curriculum were removed.

TIMELINE

Specific reporting requirements for child care program outcomes and expansion recommendations were removed.

Edition 3 → Edition 4 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill version was updated from Edition 3 to Edition 4 with minor formatting changes and a reorganization of content. The substantive policy content remains the same, with no changes to funding amounts, eligibility criteria, or program requirements.

TECHNICAL

Bill edition number changed from 3 to 4, indicating a new version of the document

Header information updated to reflect Fourth Edition status and adoption date of September 22, 2025

Page numbering and line numbers were reorganized, with some text moved from the end of the document to the beginning

Old version identifier H389-v-3 was removed

New version identifier H389-v-4 was added

Edition 2 → Edition 3 · 9 edits

MAJOR

This bill was completely rewritten from a child care workforce training program into a general budget operations bill. The original version focused on establishing pilot academies to train individuals for child care positions, while the new version provides funding for various state initiatives including university programs, health services, and Medicaid pilots.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a specific child care workforce development program to broad budgetary adjustments covering multiple state agencies and programs.

SCOPE

Removed all provisions related to the Child Care Workforce Academy Pilot Program, including requirements for training academies in Johnston and Wayne Counties, student enrollment goals, and credentialing requirements.

FISCAL

Added $2.1 million in recurring funding for UNC Charlotte data science and battery engineering programs for the 2025-2027 biennium.

Added $12.2 million in recurring funding for the Transitions to Community Living Initiative to support adults with serious mental illnesses transitioning from institutional to community care.

Added $15.1 million in nonrecurring funding for electronic health records implementation at state healthcare facilities for fiscal year 2025-2026.

Added $3.5 million in nonrecurring funding for ongoing electronic health records operations and maintenance for the 2025-2027 biennium.

Added $30 million in nonrecurring funding for the Medicaid Healthy Opportunities Pilots program for fiscal year 2025-2026.

Removed provisions for child care workforce academy stipends, including a $150 minimum one-time stipend for graduates and a $500 state-funded stipend after one year of employment.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for the Rural Health Transformation Program application, including collaboration with relevant state entities and submission of a report by November 15, 2025.

TIMELINE

Changed the bill title and short title from 'Child Care Workforce Pilot Program' to 'Continuing Budget Operations Part III' and updated the committee substitute date to 9/22/25.

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill was revised to simplify its title and structure while shifting funding and stipend provisions from direct appropriation to conditional language dependent on future legislative approval. The changes clarify reporting requirements and add verification responsibilities for the Community Colleges System Office to ensure accreditation standards are met.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include NCPC as a coordinating entity alongside community colleges, and funding provisions were modified to be contingent on future appropriation rather than guaranteed.

TITLE

Short title changed from 'Child Care Workforce Pilot Program/Funds' to 'Child Care Workforce Pilot Program' to remove reference to funding in the title.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for Community Colleges System Office to verify academy content and ensure accreditation requirements are met.

Added Smart Start Local Partnership as a required entity for offering academies alongside community colleges.

Removed requirement for local partnerships to provide 25% local match as a condition for receiving state funds.

FISCAL

Removed guaranteed funding appropriation of $738,000 per year and replaced with conditional language requiring future appropriation.

Changed stipend structure from guaranteed state match to conditional provision dependent on local partnership discretion and future funding.

TIMELINE

Changed effective date from July 1, 2025 to 'when it becomes law' to align with conditional funding provisions.

REPORTING

Modified reporting section to consolidate progress and final report requirements into a single Section 6 with updated reporting categories.

Continuing Budget Operations Part III.

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