The House and Senate have passed a variety of new bills of note. The General Assembly passed veto overrides this week of:

• House Bill 193 – Firearm Law Revisions (creating new exceptions to the prohibition on carry weapons on educational property),
• House Bill 318 – The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act (regarding cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
• House Bill 402 – Limit Rules with Substantial Financial Costs (requiring fiscal notes for state rulemakings with multi-million-dollar financial costs and in some instances requiring ratification by the General Assembly of particularly impactful rulemakings)
• House Bill 549 – Clarify Powers of State Auditor (amending the powers of the State Auditor and expanding the powers of the State to “force collect” certain debts owed to state agencies that are uncovered through an audit and are the result of fraud, misrepresentation, or other deceptive acts or practices by persons or entities doing business with a State agency)
• House Bill 805 – Prevent Sexual Exploitation/Women and Minors (dealing with a variety of matters including gender transitions)
• Senate Bill 254 – Charter School Changes (dealing with the responsibilities of the Charter School Review Board and other matters involving charter schools)
• Senate Bill 266 – The Power Bill Reduction Act (allowing an increase in base rates of an electric public utility for financing costs of certain construction projects and removing a carbon dioxide emissions goal)
• Senate Bill 416 – Personal Privacy Protection Act (prohibiting public agencies from collecting or releasing personal information about members, volunteers, and donors to 501(c) nonprofits except as permitted by state or federal law or regulation; the bill also prohibits the NC Bar’s IOLTA program from spending funds for any other purpose than administrative costs between the period of July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026 [legislators are considering whether to repurpose IOLTA funds from civil court aid to criminal defense]).

As of press time, the Senate had passed but the House had not yet voted upon veto overrides of Senate Bill 50 (“Freedom to Carry NC;” allowing the concealed carry of a handgun by any U.S. citizen, who is at least 18 years old, and who is not otherwise disqualified by law), Senate Bill 227 (“Eliminating ‘DEI’ in Public Education”) and Senate Bill 558 (“Eliminating ‘DEI’ in Public Higher Ed.”) and Senate Bill 153 – the North Carolina Border Protection Act (among other things, waiving governmental immunity from tort liability in certain instances for cities and counties that adopt sanctuary ordinances).

In the context of Senate Bill 50, dealing with concealed carry issues, it is important to note that it would remain unlawful to carry a concealed weapon into certain areas, including “on any private premises where notice that carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited by the posting of a conspicuous notice or statement by the person in legal possession or control of the premises.” This preserves the ability of banks and other businesses to post notices restricting the carrying of weapons on their properties.

Finally, legislators also passed, and will send to the Governor for his signature or veto, Senate Bill 55 – Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons. S 55 addresses the situation of unauthorized persons who enter or remain on private residential property and who are not entitled to occupy it under a valid rental agreement. It does not include tenants holding over after a lease term has expired.

For the status of the primary bills that we are following, please refer to the Bill Tracker.