HB 515 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

North Carolina Economic Abuse Prevention Act.

House Bill 515, the North Carolina Economic Abuse Prevention Act, creates a new legal framework to protect survivors of domestic violence and children in foster care from "coerced debt." It defines coerced debt as debt incurred through duress, intimidation, or undue influence and provides pathways for individuals to notify creditors of such debt using specific documentation. Upon receiving adequate documentation, creditors must pause collection efforts while reviewing the claim. The bill also establishes that a person who causes another to incur coerced debt is civilly liable to the claimant for the debt amount, attorney's fees, and costs.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 25, 2025 Last action May 7, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Edition 1 Edition 2 · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill revision significantly broadens who can qualify as a 'qualified third-party professional' to certify coerced debt, removes the requirement for a police report or FTC report as standalone documentation, and adds a new definition for 'secured debt.' These changes make it easier for victims to prove economic abuse and expand the types of professionals who can help document their cases.
Scope change
The bill now applies to secured debts in addition to unsecured debts, and expands the range of professionals who can provide certification of coerced debt to include non-licensed domestic violence workers and clinical social workers.
REQUIREMENT

Documentation requirements for coerced debt were changed to require police reports or FTC reports to specifically indicate domestic violence or elder abuse, rather than just identifying the debt as coerced.

Court orders now must explicitly state that debts were incurred due to abusive coercion from specific family members, rather than simply relating to domestic violence statutes.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'secured debt' was added, clarifying that collection actions on debts backed by collateral are included in the economic abuse prevention protections.

ELIGIBILITY

The list of qualified third-party professionals was expanded to include clinical social workers, domestic violence professionals, and noncredentialed domestic violence workers, while removing some previously listed categories like guardians ad litem and board-certified psychiatrists.

Floor votes · House May 7, 2025

How they voted

1121
Passed · 8 other
Total votes 121
May 7, 2025
D Democratic46
41 Yea 5
89% Yea
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican73
69 Yea 1 Nay 3
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
18
Key actions
3
Committee
7
May 7, 2025
Committee
Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
upper
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed 3rd Reading
lower
May 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reptd Fav
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Committee
Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Committee
Re-ref Com On Finance
lower
Apr 29, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reptd Fav Com Substitute
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Committee
Re-ref to the Com on Judiciary 3, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Mar 26, 2025
Committee
Ref to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Mar 25, 2025
Introduced
Filed
lower
3 primary · 29 co-sponsors

Sponsors