What we’re watching: These bills from NC lawmakers could go the distance
by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press February 21, 2025
Less than a month into the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers have filed nearly 300 bills. Before the filing deadline next month, there will likely be another couple hundred bills presented.
Not all will survive the grueling legislative process, particularly considering North Carolina’s divided government.
After the 2024 election barred GOP legislators from a supermajority by one seat, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein may be able to deny many Republicans’ wishes with his veto pen.
Several bills will probably attract more attention than others.
Current law bars North Carolinians fromcarryingconcealed deadly weapons, including handguns, without a permit outside of one’s property. House Bill 5 removes that restriction for adults 18 and older.
It also abolishes firearms from the statutory list of deadly weapons — a list that includes daggers and stun guns.
The bill loosens some additional concealed-carry restrictions. If passed, state residents could carry a concealed weaponat a public event where admission is charged and at parades and funeral processions. Elected officials would be allowed to have a concealed firearm while performing official duties if they have a permit.
Anyone who carries a hidden weapon must have their ID with them and present it to law enforcement if approached.
Those convicted or charged with certain crimes, dishonorably discharged from the military, ruled by a court to be mentally ill or addicted to a controlled substance are not allowed to have a concealed firearm without a permit under this proposed legislation.
Senate Bill 50 is a twin bill in the other chamber, which suggests a higher priority level for this legislation.
Other gun-related bills this session:
House Bill 38, also known as the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act, bans gun dealers from creating a record of people in the state who own firearms.
House Bill 9 bans local governments from regulating firearm use on private property as long as it is “conducted with reasonable care.”
House Bill 28 creates a new crime to be treated as a separate offense under the law: possessing a firearm or weapon of mass destruction while attempting or committing a felony.
Helene on the horizon
As Helene recovery continues, the legislature begins work on its next funding package.
Thus far, lawmakers have passed three relief packages that collectively dedicate $1.1 billion to the recovery effort, though not all of the funds have been specifically allocated.
As it stands, the fourth package draws $275 million from the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund.
The latest Helene relief package from the General Assembly would withdraw $275 million from a state emergency fund. Colby Rabon / Carolina Public Press
While the bill is continually being amended, some of the current allocations include:
$140 million for home reconstruction and repair
$75 million for farmers to resume production and protect against future flood damage
$100 million for repair of private roads and bridges
$55 million for small business infrastructure grants
$20 million to local governments for outstanding debris removal
$10 million to supplement rental assistance payments
$5 million for targeted media campaigns to get tourists back in Western North Carolina
The bill is set to be heard on the House floor as early as Tuesday.
‘Breathtaking legislation’
Last year, Republican legislators told future Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson he couldn’t make an argument in court that would invalidate any law passed by the General Assembly.
Now, with House Bill 72 and Senate Bill 58, they’re extending that limitation to presidential executive orders.
One of the most common actions of attorneys general is joining their counterparts in other states in opposition to presidential actions like executive orders.
Some North Carolina Republicans would end the practice as the second Trump administration settles into power.
Democratic state Sen. Graig Meyer, who represents Caswell, Orange and Person counties, said he’s been very critical of the bill, which he called “breathtaking legislation.”
“If you don’t want your attorney general to be able to sue the federal government over things that may be unconstitutional … then you actually want a king,” he said. “But even in just blunt political terms, it’s a very short-sighted bill. Because what if, in four years from now, we’re in the reverse situation, and they have a Republican attorney general and a Democratic president?”
Hold the phone
Lawmakers have had it with technology in classrooms.
Or, at least, that’s what they appear to be saying with bills in the House and Senate requiring school boards to create cellphone or wireless communication-free educational environments.
Enter House Bill 87, which aims to eliminate or severely restrict student access to cellphonesduring class.
Senate Bill 55 goes a step further, including tablet computers, laptops, paging devices, two-way radios and gaming devices as banned technologies.
Election bills in abundance
Coming off an intense election cycle, lawmakers are looking to make a few changes.
House Bill 31 would establish Election Day as a North Carolina holiday for general statewide elections.
House Bill 66 would reduce the number of early voting days in North Carolina. Current law requires early voting to begin 20 days before the election. The proposed bill would allow for nine days.
Several local bills align odd-year municipal elections with even-year state and federal elections. Others extend mayoral terms from two to four years.
Finally, House Bill 85 would ban staffers found to not have exercised “due care and diligence” from future election work.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 14:16:00
(The Center Square) – Planning and response to Hurricane Helene with early voting already underway has been deemed worthy of an award for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Fifty-three programs from 258 nominations earned the Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Additionally, election boards in the counties of Buncombe, Currituck, Durham and Wake won 2024 Clearinghouse Awards, and those in Durham, Rockingham and Union counties earned honorable mention.
Helene killed 107 and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.
The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.
Election Day was six weeks away. The disaster area declared included 25 counties and coordination with the state board; county boards; lawmen on the federal, state and local levels; the state National Guard; the U.S. Postal Service; and information technology professionals on multiple levels.
Voter turnout in the 25 counties was 74.9%, a tick higher than the state average of 72.6%.
“We are extremely proud of the efforts of our state’s election officials and our partners to pull off a successful election under the most trying of circumstances,” said Karen Brinson Bell, the state board’s executive director. “Hundreds of thousands of western North Carolinians were able to vote in the important 2024 election because of state board planning, along with the hard work and resiliency of county election officials and the invaluable assistance of our emergency management and law enforcement partners.”
The award is a different kind of light for the state board.
Between July 22 and Sept. 12, seven lawsuits were filed against the state board of Democrats Alan Hirsch, its chairman, Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen; and Republicans Stacy Eggers and Kevin Lewis; and Bell. More followed the election and are still unresolved along with the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin.
SUMMARY: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador to check on Abrego Garcia, who has been held for over a month at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The Trump administration acknowledged the deportation error. Despite challenges in securing a meeting, Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia and shared an update with his wife. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele mocked the meeting, commenting that Abrego Garcia would remain in custody.
SUMMARY: In Disney’s “Magic of Storytelling” podcast, Thumper discovers a robin’s egg after a storm. He and his four sisters—Trixie, Tessy, Daisy, and Ria—worry about the egg being cold and try to keep it warm with leaves. As they debate the best approach, they decide to find the mama robin for help. Meanwhile, Thumper and Daisy attempt to cheer the egg by singing and dancing. Eventually, the sisters return with a nest just as the mama robin arrives. The egg hatches, bringing joy to the bunnies as they celebrate their teamwork and caring efforts.
Thumper the bunny is hopping along one day and finds a special egg! Soon, he and his family are set out on an adventure to find the egg’s Mama.
