SB 982 North Carolina Senate · 2025-2026 Session

Make Enf. Liable and Transparent (MELT) Act.

This bill repeals a previous law that expanded cooperation between local jails and federal immigration enforcement and requires a judicial warrant based on probable cause before federal agents can arrest, search, or detain individuals within North Carolina. It also prohibits state and local facilities from holding people solely on immigration detainers beyond their scheduled release time and allows local law enforcement to decline cooperation with federal immigration requests. To support these changes, the legislation appropriates four million dollars to fund legal services for immigrants, specifically directing grants to four nonprofit organizations for representation, asylum applications, and community legal education. The measures are designed to increase transparency in enforcement actions and restore community trust by limiting the use of administrative warrants and ensuring access to legal counsel.
Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Apr 30, 2026 Last action May 5, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Filed Edition 1 · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill's header and tracking information were updated to reflect its official status as Edition 1, replacing the initial filing draft. The referral to the Senate Rules and Operations Committee was added with a specific date, establishing the next procedural step. No substantive policy changes regarding the bill's content, scope, or requirements were made in this update.
TECHNICAL

Added the official referral to the Rules and Operations Committee with a date of May 4, 2026.

Updated the bill identifier from the draft number to the official edition number (S982-v-1).

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
0
Committee
2
May 5, 2026
Committee
Re-ref Com On Appropriations/Base Budget
upper
May 4, 2026
Committee
Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
upper
Apr 30, 2026
Introduced
Filed
upper
2 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors