HB 1215 authorizes the Town Manager of Garner to settle specific claims up to $10,000 without requiring full council approval, streamlining the process for smaller disputes. The bill also allows Garner to settle certain eminent domain claims related to approved capital projects. Additionally, the legislation permits municipalities in Wake County that collect prepared food and beverage taxes to share those revenues with other local governments to fund travel and tourism promotion efforts.
HB 83 increases criminal penalties for adults who share inappropriate content with minors under 13 (Class G felony) or under 16 (Class H felony), and creates a new felony for habitual indecent exposure near minors (two prior convictions). It requires courts to consider sex offender registration for these offenses and prohibits transportation companies (like ride-share services) from serving unemancipated minors without parental consent. The bill directly affects adults sharing content with minors, individuals exposing themselves to minors, and transportation companies serving minors. It focuses on concrete policy changes to strengthen protections for minors through stricter penalties and registration requirements.
HB 481 (General Statutes Commission Technical Corrections 2025 Part 2) makes minor, non-substantive updates to North Carolina's legal terminology. It standardizes terms like changing "e-mail" to "email," "Internet" to lowercase, and "rule making" to "rulemaking" across multiple statutes. The bill affects all state laws containing these specific terms but does not create new policies, change legal requirements, or impact any specific group of people. It is purely a technical correction to improve consistency in the General Statutes.
HB 376 makes various changes to regulations concerning on-site wastewater systems and the professionals who manage them in North Carolina. The bill establishes term limits for members of the On-Site Wastewater Contractors and Inspectors Certification Board. It also modifies the certification and renewal requirements for various on-site wastewater roles, such as contractors, inspectors, and evaluators, by detailing specific education, experience, examination, liability coverage, and continuing education criteria. Additionally, the bill revises the process for local boards of health to adopt more stringent wastewater system rules, requiring an agreement and approval from the Department, along with public hearings for such proposals.
HB 332 modifies Nash County's occupancy tax by allowing the county to add a 2% tax on top of the existing 3% tax for hotel/motel stays. This affects hotels, motels, and similar accommodations in Nash County (excluding nonprofits) and directs the new tax revenue to two entities: two-thirds to the Nash Tourism Development Authority for tourism promotion, and one-third to the City of Rocky Mount for approved tourism projects. The bill specifies that all funds must be spent exclusively on tourism-related activities like marketing, convention centers, or promoting travel within Nash County. It requires the county to first implement the base 3% tax before adding the additional 2% levy.
SB 595 makes technical adjustments to North Carolina's tax code to align with federal rules and clarify existing provisions. It modifies S-corporation loss deductions (effective 2025), limits net operating losses for individuals/estates (retroactive to 2022 for some changes), updates estate/trust taxation rules, revises residency definitions, and adjusts employer withholding schedules. The bill primarily affects taxpayers, S-corporations, estates, trusts, and employers by changing how tax calculations and filings are handled. These are administrative updates, not new taxes or policy shifts, and they aim to improve consistency with federal tax systems.
This bill honors the life and memory of Louis Milford Pate Jr., a former North Carolina state legislator and retired Air Force navigator. It formally recognizes his military service, public service career, and community contributions while extending sympathy to his family following his death. The resolution directs the Secretary of State to send a certified copy of the document to Pate's family as a final tribute.
This bill adds a new member to the General Statutes Commission of North Carolina, representing the High Point University School of Law. The amendment changes the commission's composition to include 14 members instead of 13, ensuring one seat is filled by an appointment from the dean of that specific law school. Appointments for this new seat will occur in odd-numbered years, with the initial term scheduled to begin in September 2026 and end in August 2029. The legislation affects the structure of the body responsible for reviewing and updating the state's legal code.
This bill removes a specific restriction that previously limited the total size of satellite annexations for the Town of Weaverville to 10% of its primary area. By deleting Weaverville from a long list of municipalities exempt from this rule, the legislation allows the town to annex noncontiguous land beyond that 10% cap. The change directly affects the Town of Weaverville and its ability to expand its boundaries in a way that was previously prohibited.
HB 117 allows the towns of Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset Beach to use revenue from on-street parking fees in the same way they currently use revenue from off-street parking facilities. This bill amends existing law (S.L. 2021-46) to explicitly include these towns in the rule governing parking fee usage, which previously applied only to Holden Beach, Sunset Beach, and Surf City. The change provides these towns with greater flexibility to allocate parking revenue for local needs without requiring new tax authority.
This bill changes how elections are held in the town of Pink Hill, North Carolina, by requiring them to occur in even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered years. It also restores in-person voting for the mayor and board of commissioners, ending the use of mail-in ballots for these specific local races. To manage the transition, the law extends the current terms of some officials whose elections would have been held in 2027 and 2029, ensuring that regular elections resume in 2028 with a staggered schedule. These changes apply to all municipal elections in Pink Hill starting from the date the bill becomes law.
This bill removes the Town of Spruce Pine from a state law list that restricts the total area of noncontiguous land the town can annex. Under current rules, many municipalities cannot annex disconnected areas that exceed 10% of their primary city limits. By exempting Spruce Pine from this cap, the town gains the ability to expand into separate areas beyond that specific percentage limit. The legislation does not change the general annexation laws for other towns or cities in North Carolina.
