North Carolina House reads dozens of bills, reports many favorably and sets calendars; journal approved

The North Carolina House of Representatives convened, approved the journal, received committee reports listing dozens of introduced bills and referrals, and adjourned to reconvene Monday, April 7, at 1 p.m.

The action began when Representative Penny moved to approve the journal for April 2; the motion was approved, the clerk announced. Representative Penny later moved that the House adjourn; Representative White seconded the motion and the House adjourned, the speaker announced.

Committee clerks and chairs read long lists of bills, committee substitutes and referral actions. The insurance committee reported a committee substitute for House Bill 297 (breast cancer prevention imaging parity) as favorable to the committee substitute and unfavorable to the original bill, and the substitute was rereferred. The reading included dozens of other bills across subject areas — public health, education, appropriations, public safety, workforce and local annexations — with many referred to committees including Rules, Appropriations, Finance, Health, Education K-12 and others. Several bills were reported favorably and placed on calendars, including items submitted to Calendar 36 and other numbered calendars.

Highlights read into the record included bills to create or amend programs and designations such as a Living Donor Protection Act (House Bill 663), disaster preparedness funds at the Department of Public Instruction (House Bill 665), neonatal transport assistance (House Bill 673), and a range of appropriations requests and pilot programs for childcare, workforce and mental health crisis units. The clerk also read bills affecting local annexations and occupancy taxes and bills reassigning program oversight or study responsibilities; where the reading did not include further detail, the clerk recorded committee referrals and calendar placements only.

On several items the chair announced changes in committee referrals: some bills were withdrawn from one committee and recommitted to another (for example, a local government systems development fees bill was recommitted to the committee on housing), and some bills were withdrawn from appropriations and recommitted to multiple committees. The House record also showed several bills moved from appropriations to Rules or to subject-matter committees for further consideration.

No final floor votes on the substantive bills were recorded in the reading; the proceedings in the transcript consist of committee reports, bill introductions, and referral and calendar notations rather than debate or final passage votes. Most listed bills were recorded as referred to specific committees or placed on calendars with the clerk's notation of the target calendar date.

The House closed the day's business after the procedural readings and motions and will reconvene as announced. The clerk and committee chairs will carry the referred bills forward for committee consideration and calendar placement as recorded in the House minutes.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of journal for April 2 — motion moved by Representative Penny; outcome: approved (voice vote announced by the clerk: “the ayes have it”).

- Motion to adjourn to reconvene Monday, April 7 at 1 p.m. — motion moved by Representative Penny; seconded by Representative White; outcome: House adjourned (voice vote announced by the clerk).