HB 646 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Constitutional Amendment: Remove Slavery as Punishment.

HB 646 is a constitutional amendment that would permanently ban all slavery and involuntary servitude in North Carolina, removing the current exception allowing forced labor as punishment for crimes. If approved by voters in the November 2026 election, the amendment would change the state constitution to state that slavery and involuntary servitude are "forever prohibited" without any exceptions. This change would directly affect incarcerated individuals by ending the legal basis for requiring prison labor as punishment. The amendment requires voter approval through a statewide referendum before taking effect.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Apr 1, 2025 Last action Apr 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed → Edition 1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill's header information was updated to reflect multiple sponsors instead of a single sponsor, and the document identifier was changed from a draft tracking number to a formal bill version. These are administrative updates that clarify sponsorship and official bill identification without altering the bill's substantive policy content.

TECHNICAL

Sponsorship information was expanded from one representative to four named representatives with a reference to the General Assembly website for the complete list.

The document identifier was updated from a draft tracking number (DRH40353-MCy-11) to an official bill version number (H646-v-1).

The bill date was updated from April 1, 2025 to April 2, 2025, and the page numbering was adjusted to include page 1.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 2, 2025

Committee

Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Introduced

Filed

lower

3 primary · 21 co-sponsors