HB 747 updates North Carolina's wildlife laws with three key changes. It requires the Wildlife Resources Commission to keep personal information (like addresses and email) and details about rare species habitats confidential to prevent harm or theft. The bill also creates two new license plates - “Wildlife Resources” (requiring 300+ applications before development) and “Lifetime Conservationist” - with sales revenue funding conservation accounts. Additionally, it shortens the out-of-state boat number reciprocity period from 90 to 60 days and adds safety rules for personal watercraft, including mandatory Coast Guard-approved life jackets and restrictions on close following. These changes affect the Commission, vehicle owners, and boaters, effective October 1, 2025.
HB 850 imposes a moratorium on approving new or expanded surface water transfers exceeding 15 million gallons per day between river basins until March 1, 2027. This directly affects water utilities, developers, or entities seeking large-scale water transfers that would move significant volumes between river systems. The bill requires the UNC Collaboratory to study and recommend updates to the current approval process, focusing on environmental equity, climate impacts on water flows, economic fairness for affected communities, and incentives for drought-resilient infrastructure. The study must address how transfers impact downstream users, river ecosystems, and potential financial burdens on lower-income areas or alternative infrastructure costs.
SB 706 restores funding for counties to address scrap tire disposal by increasing the portion of tax revenue allocated to local governments from 50% to 75%. It directs the Department of Environmental Quality to use these funds to grant counties assistance for cleaning up scrap tire disposal sites and managing tire-related waste, prioritizing areas with severe disposal problems and financial need. The bill requires counties to demonstrate higher disposal costs than prior tax reimbursements to qualify for grants and mandates annual reporting on fund usage. This directly affects North Carolina counties struggling with scrap tire accumulation, particularly those with limited resources for waste management.
SB 387 revises tax benefits for properties cleaned up under North Carolina's Brownfields Property Reuse Act. It establishes a 5-year tax exclusion schedule for qualifying improvements on brownfields sites: 90% exclusion in year one, decreasing to 10% in year five. This directly affects property owners who have entered brownfields agreements with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for contaminated land cleanup. The bill also adds new fees: a $2,000 application fee, a cost-recovery fee for DEQ services (paid in two installments), and penalties for non-compliance, all funding the Brownfields Implementation Account. The changes take effect for taxes in 2025 and later.
SB 472 streamlines water quality permit reviews for specific projects in North Carolina, directly affecting developers of upland basin marinas, energy/fuel infrastructure, and maintenance dredging projects funded by certain state programs. It sets strict deadlines for the Department of Environmental Quality: requiring fee notifications within 5 business days, completeness reviews within 30 days, and final decisions within 10-15 days (or automatically waiving certification if deadlines are missed). The bill also clarifies that certain man-made ditches and upland basin marinas are not subject to coastal management regulations. These changes aim to accelerate project approvals while maintaining existing water quality standards. The bill is pending review and would take effect October 1, 2025.
SB 697 establishes the Lake Norman Marine Commission to oversee recreational and environmental management of Lake Norman. The bill would create a formal body responsible for coordinating activities related to the lake's waterways, boating access, and conservation efforts. Currently, the bill is pending in the State and Local Government committee after being withdrawn from Rules and Operations. It has passed its first reading but has not advanced further in the legislative process.
The Farmers Protection Act (SB 554) aims to prevent discrimination in financing against agriculture producers. It makes it unlawful for banks to deny or cancel services to farmers based on their greenhouse gas emissions, use of fossil-fuel derived fertilizer, or fossil-fuel powered machinery. If a bank has an environmental, social, or governance (ESG) commitment related to agriculture, there is a rebuttable presumption that such a denial violates the act, unless the bank proves it was solely for financial reasons. The bill requires banks to submit annual compliance reports and allows for civil penalties for violations, which are also considered an unfair or deceptive trade practice.
