North Carolina legislature has passed key ‘crossover' deadline. Catch up on bills' progress.

Yahoo

09-05-2025

North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)
Removing phones from classrooms. Overhauling the foster care system. Expanding the powers and size of the state auditor's office. Allowing the concealed carry of a handgun without a permit.
These are just a handful of the hundreds of bills under consideration by North Carolina lawmakers this session. This week provided a key checkpoint for which of them have momentum, and which are doomed to stall out.
Thursday marked the General Assembly's 'crossover' deadline — the day by which a bill has to have been passed by either the House or Senate. If it hasn't, it's considered dead for the remainder of the legislative biennium — through 2026.
Crossover is far from definitive, though. Budget and tax bills don't have to meet the deadline. And lawmakers have ways of getting around the deadline — like gutting and replacing an eligible bill with a new policy, or stuffing policy proposals into the state budget.
'Nothing is ever dead around here,' House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) told reporters Wednesday evening after the chamber's final pre-crossover votes.
Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers, have almost always prioritized their own members' bills. It's resulted in frustrations for Democrats, particularly in the Senate, where the party leader says they've had almost no input.
'It's supposed to be lauded that this is the higher chamber,' Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) told reporters Wednesday. 'But I feel like we act like we're at the kids' table half the time, in middle school, where you don't want to invite individuals who have equal representation in their districts to the table.'
Both the House and the Senate will likely begin taking up bills from the other chamber in the coming weeks. Lawmakers in the House are also expected to begin active debate and negotiations on the state budget, a version of which has already passed the Senate.
NC Newsline has been following many of the major bills moving through the legislature over the past five months. They're organized by subject, alphabetically. Scroll down for links to our additional reporting on the proposals, as well as to the full text and history of each bill.
Banning foreign farmland ownership: Bans claims on certain land by China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Passed House. House Bill 133.
Raw milk sales: Allows for sale of raw milk to those in 'herd share' agreements. Does not qualify for crossover deadline, progressing in Senate. Senate Bill 639.
Banning 'ESG' in agricultural lending: Bars banks and credit unions from denying loans to agriculture producers based on their lack of a commitment to ESG — environmental, social, and governance factors. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 554.
Farm Act of 2025: Omnibus bill contains a variety of provisions, including a section that would limit the right to bring suit against pesticide manufacturers. Still pending in the Senate. Senate Bill 639.
State budget: $32.6 billion to fund the state's operations and programs, cutting vacant positions and offering small raises to state workers. Passed Senate; House will likely release and debate their own budget. Senate Bill 257.
Hurricane Helene aid: $524 million for homebuilding, infrastructure repairs and farm aid in western North Carolina. Signed into law. House Bill 47.
Unemployment benefits increase: Raises maximum weekly payment to $450 from $350. Passed House. House Bill 48.
Repealing Duke Energy emissions deadline: Removes 2030 carbon reduction goals for the utility company. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 261.
PFAS pollution and polluter liability: authorizes the Secretary of Environmental Quality to order a responsible party to pay for costs incurred by a public water system to address adverse effects resulting from PFAS contamination. Passed House. House Bill 569.
Banning cell phones in schools: A House proposal allows districts to create their own policies governing cell phone use. A Senate bill requires districts to ban them during instructional time. Both versions have passed one chamber. House Bill 87, Senate Bill 55.
Taking books with 'sexual content' off shelves: Requires districts to create committees that would review school library materials and rule on whether they follow state guidelines. Passed House. House Bill 636.
School calendar changes: A Senate bill would let schools start up to a week earlier. A House bill would repeal the current calendar law, allowing school boards to decide when the school year starts and ends. Both versions have passed one chamber. Senate Bill 754, House Bill 121.
Banning diversity, equity and inclusion: Three bills seek to eliminate DEI offices, training and programming across the public sector.
State government: State workers who violate ban could face termination, fines & civil litigation. State auditor is tasked with periodic investigations. Passed House. House Bill 171.
Higher education: Campuses cannot endorse or affirm a range of 'divisive concepts' and 'discriminatory practices,' expanding existing DEI restrictions on UNC System. Passed House. House Bill 133.
K-12 education: Districts cannot endorse or affirm a range of 'divisive concepts' and discriminatory practices.' Passed Senate. Senate Bill 227.
Barring AG from challenging executive orders: The attorney general's office, currently held by Democrat Jeff Jackson, would be blocked from challenging presidential executive orders. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 58.
Auditor's investigative powers: Allows auditor to investigate any entity receiving state or federal money and overhaul the office's staffing. Passed House. House Bill 549.
Auditor's DAVE team: Creates a DOGE-esque team within auditor's office to examine state agencies' spending and job openings using A.I. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 474.
State investment in cryptocurrency: Allows up to 5% of state's pension investments to be in crypto's equivalent of mutual funds. Passed House. House Bill 92.
Investment authority board: Five-member board of appointees would oversee state's $127 billion in investments, rather than solely the treasurer. Passed House. House Bill 506.
Permitless carry: All residents 18 or older can carry concealed handguns without a permit, unless otherwise prohibited by law. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 50.
Concealed carry in private schools: All residents with valid permits can carry a handgun on properties owned or operated by private schools. Passed House. House Bill 193.
Limiting protections for transgender youth: The 'Parents Protection Act' would prevent parents and guardians who deny their trans child's gender identity from facing abuse or neglect designations. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 442.
Parents' access to medical records: The 'Parents' Medical Bill of Rights' would require parental consent in most circumstances for minors seeking health care and prescriptions, including contraceptives and mental health treatment. Passed House. House Bill 519.
Repealing 'certificate of need': Rolls back law requiring certain health care facilities and services to go through an approval process to determine their necessity. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 370.
Medicaid work requirements: Requires those enrolled in Medicaid expansion to work in order to receive benefits. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 403, and included in Senate budget (Senate Bill 257).
Overhauling child welfare and foster care: The state Department of Health and Human Services would have greater oversight over counties' handling of child welfare cases — provisions aim to reduce hurdles to permanent homes for children in foster care. Passed House. House Bill 612.
Regulating health insurance companies' prior authorization reviews: Puts limits on how health insurance companies review medical cases before giving doctors the okay to treat patients. Passed House. House Bill 434.
Requiring hospitals to disclose their prices: A Senate bill would require hospitals to disclose their costs in advance, provide cost estimates for non-emergency care, and would prohibit hospitals charging fees when patients go to associated clinics. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 316.
Buying ivermectin: The drug popularized by conservative media would be available without prescription from North Carolina pharmacists. Some began taking the anti-parasitic drug during the COVID-19 pandemic to treat or prevent the viral infection, but its effectiveness is unproven. Passed House. House Bill 618.
Breast cancer imaging: Provides coverage parity for supplemental and diagnostic screenings. Passed House. House Bill 297.
Abortion rights: 'Human Life Protection Act' (House Bill 804) would ban all abortions except those necessary to save the life of the mother. 'Right to Reproductive Freedom Act' would codify the abortion rights once secured by Roe v. Wade. (House Bill 509, Senate Bill 467). Died in their chambers of origin.
Banning camping on public property: Bars local governments from allowing or authorizing camping and sleeping on public property. Passed House. House Bill 781.
Drug-free homeless shelters: Requires homeless shelters to be drug-free. Passed House. House Bill 437.
Development and zoning: 'Omnibus' housing development bill. Allows civil lawsuits against individuals for development decisions made on city councils or planning boards. Does not qualify for crossover deadline, progressing in House. House Bill 765.
Social media protections for minors: Bans platforms from allowing minors under 14 years old from holding accounts, and allowing 14- and 15-year olds to have accounts only with consent from a parent or guardian. Passed House. House Bill 3o1.
Social media education: Schools would be required to teach about media's effects on social and emotional health. Passed House. House Bill 959.
State agencies' cooperation with ICE: Requires state agencies to fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities, and waives immunity for local governments with 'sanctuary' ordinances in cases where an undocumented immigrant commits a crime. Passed Senate. Senate Bill 153.
Death penalty methods: Would allow execution by electric chair and firing squad. Died in House. House Bill 270.
Removing alleged squatters: Allows private property owners to remove alleged squatters without an opportunity to contest their claims; they can pursue litigation for wrongful eviction and recover damages. Passed House. House Bill 96.
Limiting rights of transgender people: The 'Women's Safety and Protection Act' would restrict access to public restrooms for trans people and prohibit the modification of sex markers on birth certificates and driver's licenses. Died in the Senate. Senate Bill 516.
Reporting: Galen Bacharier, Lynn Bonner, Christine Zhu, Brandon Kingdollar, Gregory Childress, Clayton Henkel and Ahmed Jallow.