In this week’s edition of The Legislative Review, the NC House remains active and productive,
advancing key bills through the committee process.
For the week beginning Monday, March 3, the House Rules Committee convened to consider
several bills, including HB34, Establish Larceny of Mail Offense and HB 74, House Budget
Technical Corrections. Both bills passed the committee and were referred to the House floor for
consideration.
On Tuesday, March 4, the morning started with the Appropriations, AgNER Committee, where I
presided as chairman. Committee staff provided a presentation on the Department of
Environmental Quality budget. Afterwards, the House Health Committee convened and I
presented my bill, HB160, Joel H. Crisp SUDEP Awareness Law. The bill received a favorable
committee report and was re-referred to the Committee on Higher Education. Following an
afternoon caucus with my colleagues, the House reconvened for a voting session, where we
considered the following legislation:
- HB34, Establish Larceny of Mail Offense, would enhance the punishment for larceny of mail, requiring a person convicted of larceny to be sentenced at one class level higher than the principal offense if the larceny is of mail. HB34 passed the House by unanimous consent.
- HB42, Burglary & B&E/Sentence Enhancement, would do the following:
- Revise the offenses of first and second degree burglary and create an enhancement for burglary when committed by a person in possession of a firearm or other deadly weapon.
- Revise the offense of breaking out of a dwelling and create an enhancement when committed by a person in possession of a firearm or other deadly weapon.
- Create an enhancement for the offense of breaking or entering buildings generally when committed by a person in possession of a firearm or other deadly weapon. HB42 passed with a vote of 114-0.
- HB74, House Budget Technical Corrections, will make various technical corrections to the House budget in the areas of the Education, Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, Justice and Public Safety, General Government, Statewide, Transportation, and Finance. I voted in support of the bill and it passed by a vote of 69-45.
Upon session adjournment, the House Rules Committee met and we considered several local
bills, including: HB3 Simpson Even-Year Elections, and HB17, Extend Term of Mayor/Town of
Madison. Both bills received a favorable committee report.
On Wednesday, March 5, the Appropriations, AgNER Committee convened and a presentation
was provided on the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services budget. After several
meetings in my office, I attended the House Agriculture and Environment Committee and
presentations were provided on DEQ Division of Coastal Management and DEQ Division of
Water Infrastructure.
Following a brief caucus with my colleagues, the House reconvened that afternoon and we
considered various legislation, including:
- HB2, Entry Fees for Interscholastic Sports Events, would require public school units to accept cash for admission to any middle or high school athletic event. I supported the bill and it passed by a vote of 111-1.
- HB74, House Budget Technical Corrections, passed third reading during Wednesday’s session, by a vote of 70-40.
Thursday morning, I attended the Appropriations, AgNER Committee and presentations were
provided on the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as the Wildlife
Resources Commission budget.
Following the committee’s adjournment, I attended the Joint Legislative Commission on
Governmental Operations, Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery. The
Committee received presentations from GROW NC (Governor’s Recovery Office for Western
North Carolina), and updates were given to the committee members on the executive branch’s
vision of recovery efforts.
For the week beginning March 10, the Rules Committee met Monday afternoon and we
considered various legislation, including:
- HB52, Protect Those Who Serve & Protect Act of 2025, and HB136, Town of Faith/Even-Yr. Elect./Four-Yr.Terms. Both bills passed the committee and were referred to the House floor.
Tuesday morning, I met with colleagues to discuss disaster relief legislation. At 11:00AM, the
House Health Committee convened and considered several bills, including:
- HB99, Reflexologists Right to Work Act (discussion only) and HB231, Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact. HB231 received a favorable report and was referred to the Finance Committee.
After an afternoon caucus, the House convened for a voting session to consider various bills,
including:
- HB105, Gaston Co. Bd. of Ed. Elect. Partisan, would provide that members of the Gaston County Board of Education be elected on a partisan basis, beginning in 2026. I voted in the affirmative and the bill passed, 71-44.
On Wednesday, I attended the Agriculture and Environment Committee where I presented
HB184, Promote North Carolina Sawmills. The bill passed the committee and was re-referred to
the Rules Committee. After a noon caucus, the House gavelled into session and voted on the
following legislation:
- HB182, Rev. Law Perm. Protect Order/Child Abuse, would allow a judge to issue a permanent no contact order against a defendant convicted of certain violent offenses and to provide that it is felony child abuse for any person providing care to or supervision of a child less than 16 years of age to commit or allow the commission of a sexual act upon the child. HB182 passed the House with unanimous consent.
Later that evening, Governor Stein provided his State of the State address to the General
Assembly. The State of the State speech was held in the House of Representatives chamber.