Healthcare

This bill creates a new Rural Healthcare Infrastructure Fund in North Carolina to help build, repair, and modernize healthcare facilities in rural areas. The fund will provide money through grants and low-interest loans to support construction and renovation projects, while also replacing an older stabilization program. A state council must first develop and get approval for a detailed plan outlining how the fund will be managed and who can apply before any money is awarded. The bill also updates the duties of the state health council and requires annual reports on how the fund is being used.

HB 1066, the Child Care Stabilization and Affordability Act, aims to address North Carolina's child care shortages by redirecting funds from the Opportunity Scholarship Program to support child care services. The bill reduces scholarship funding for private school vouchers, with the savings used to expand child care subsidies, stabilize existing programs, and improve early childhood educator pay and benefits. It also streamlines administrative rules for child care providers and clarifies regulations for religious programs. These changes directly affect families seeking child care subsidies, private school scholarship recipients, and child care providers across the state.

This North Carolina bill allocates $359.3 million in recurring funds to hire additional school psychologists and counselors starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The legislation establishes specific staffing ratios, requiring one psychologist for every 700 students and one counselor for every 250 students statewide. These positions are intended to create a tiered support system for students within the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan.

HB 1172, known as the Ciji Graham Act, establishes a High-Risk Pregnancy Care Navigation Program in North Carolina to assist patients with high-risk pregnancies by providing licensed nurse consultants who help coordinate care and address access barriers. The bill also creates a statewide pregnancy consultation hotline for healthcare providers and community organizations to offer real-time clinical guidance and referrals, alongside a centralized digital hub containing clinical guidelines and provider directories. Funded through the state's General Fund starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, these measures aim to improve maternal health outcomes and reduce disparities by ensuring timely access to specialized care and resources.

HB 1193, known as the Mike Clampitt Bone Marrow Donation Act, designates November as Marrow Donation Awareness Month in North Carolina. The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Motor Vehicles to promote bone marrow donation by posting public service announcements online and displaying them at driver license offices. Additionally, the legislation appropriates $100,000 to fund a state-wide public awareness campaign for this initiative, with the law taking effect on July 1, 2026.

This bill establishes a new licensing framework in North Carolina for artificial intelligence chatbots that handle health information, requiring operators to obtain permission from the Department of Justice before offering such services. To qualify for a license, companies must submit detailed technical documentation, prove insurance coverage, and demonstrate that their systems meet rigorous safety and efficacy standards through independent testing and expert review. Once licensed, operators are required to implement strong data security measures, report breaches within 24 hours, provide clear disclosures about the chatbot's artificial nature, and allow users to access or delete their personal data. The state's Department of Justice will enforce these rules by conducting regular physical and digital inspections of chatbot systems, including reviews of source code and data practices.

SB 915 establishes the 2026 Governor's Budget for North Carolina, allocating specific funding amounts to state departments, institutions, and agencies for their current operations. The bill directly affects a wide range of entities, including public schools, universities, health and human services agencies, and justice system bodies, by providing financial resources for their services. Key provisions include detailed dollar amounts for each fiscal year of the 2025-2027 biennium, with savings reverting to the state fund if not fully utilized. This legislation sets the financial framework for state government activities but does not specify new programs or policy changes beyond the budget allocations.

This bill aims to reduce redundant inspections for adult care homes in North Carolina by allowing one recent, passed inspection to count for multiple similar checks within a three-month window. It directly affects adult care facilities, state health regulators, and local agencies that currently conduct overlapping safety and facility reviews. Under the new rules, if a home has already passed an inspection by the state's Adult Care Licensure Section, other state or local inspectors must accept those results instead of performing their own separate evaluations. The legislation also allocates $100,000 in state funds to support this streamlined process, with the changes taking effect on October 1, 2026.

This bill establishes a new professional category called "registered behavior technician" to support the practice of behavior analysis in North Carolina. Under the new rules, these technicians must work under the supervision of a licensed professional, with at least 10% of their work involving direct observation and direction from that supervisor. The legislation also sets specific limits on practice, requiring new technicians to complete 80 hours of supervised service before seeing patients one-on-one and restricting telehealth services to areas with low population density. Additionally, the bill prohibits licensed behavior analysts from seeing minors for more than 16 hours in a single week unless a parent or guardian is present. To implement these changes, the bill provides $50,000 in funding for the state board to create the necessary regulations.

HB 1107 allocates $2 million in recurring state funds to support families who provide foster care in North Carolina. Beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year, these funds will be distributed to county social services departments based on documented need to help with recruiting, training, and supporting foster families. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2026, and aims to assist the Division of Social Services in its efforts to maintain foster care placements.