North Carolina House introduces dozens of bills, files gubernatorial nominations, approves journal and adjourns

The North Carolina House of Representatives on legislative day 35 introduced a large package of bills spanning firearms, health care, education, labor and state government operations, filed two gubernatorial nominations for confirmation and approved the March journal before adjourning to reconvene Tuesday, April at 11 a.m., subject to Rule 15.1.

The introductions were read into the record by the clerk and included bill titles, primary sponsors and committee referrals. The session also recorded two nomination letters from Gov. Josh Stein: reappointments to the State Board of Education with terms beginning April 1, 2025, and a nomination to the Utilities Commission to fill a vacancy pending confirmation.

House action and context The House approved the journal for March after a representative moved that it be approved “as written.” The motion carried on a voice vote; no individual roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. Later, Representative Dixon moved to adjourn; Representative Wyden seconded. The motion to adjourn carried on a voice vote and the House recessed to reconvene Tuesday, April at 11 a.m., under the standard stipulation of Rule 15.1.

Gubernatorial nominations filed The clerk read two letters from Gov. Josh Stein dated March 20, 2025. One named reappointments to the North Carolina State Board of Education for terms beginning April 1, 2025 (individuals named in the letter included Reginald Keenan of Duplin County and J. Wendell Hall of Hertford County). The other named Michael Steven Hawkins of Transylvania County to fill the remainder of Kimberly Duffley’s term on the North Carolina Utilities Commission; the letter stated Duffley resigned on Feb. 28, 2025, and described the appointment as interim pending confirmation under the statute noted in the letter.

Introduced bills (selection and referrals) The clerk read a long series of bill introductions. Each entry below lists the bill identifier as read into the record, primary sponsors cited in the reading and committee referral as given in the transcript. Where the transcript did not include a short descriptive title beyond sponsor names and a referral, the description is noted as “not specified.”

- House Bill 554 — Sponsors: Representatives Lopez, Clark, Rubin and Harrison; reported as a ban on ghost guns and undetectable firearms; referred to the Committee on Rules. - House Bill 546 — Sponsors: Representatives White, Chester, Reeder and Rhine; caption in the reading: “inmate Medicaid suspension team based care”; referred to Health (with favorable Insurance, favorable Finance, favorable Rules noted). - House Bill 547 — Sponsors: Representatives Chester, Balcom, Jackson and Sheetzell; caption: “Children's Service Protection Act”; referred to Health (favorable), Judiciary (favorable), Rules. - House Bill 548 — Sponsors: Representatives Khan, Reuben, Robertson and Kanika Brown; caption in the reading: “NC economic progress and well-being”; referred to Rules. - House Bill 549 — Sponsors: Representatives B. Jones, Cesar, Torbett and Kidwell; caption: “clarify powers of state auditor”; referred to Judiciary (if favorable), State and Local Government (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 550 — Sponsors: Representatives Logan, Carney, Prather and Robertson; caption: “modify mileage and per diem”; referred to Rules. - House Bill 551 — Sponsors: Austin Crawford, White and Hawkins; caption: “clubhouse expansion”; referred to Appropriations (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 552 — Sponsors: Reeves, Dixon, Penny and Jeffers; caption: “AG manufacturing, economic development”; referred to Agriculture and Environment (if favorable), Commerce and Economic Development (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 553 — Sponsors: N. Jackson, Campbell, Potts and Balcom; caption: “ensuring patient safety with mail order meds”; referred to Rules. - House Bill 554 (duplicate number noted in reading later as 554 with different sponsors) — Sponsors: Howard, Setzer and N. Jackson; caption: “Revenue laws, technical changes, BBA changes, p2p tax parity”; referred to Finance (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 555 — Sponsor: Representative Lambeth; caption: “Medicaid telehealth services”; referred to Health (if favorable), Insurance (if favorable), Finance (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 556 — Sponsor: Representative Willis; caption: “2025 Charter School Review Board Omnibus”; referred to Education K-12 (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 557 — Sponsors: N. Jackson, Biggs, Stevens and Kay Hall; title not specified in the reading; referred to Rules. - House Bill 558 — Sponsors: Reeder, Potts and Lambeth; caption: “Criteria for PHP contract procurement”; referred to Health (if favorable), Insurance (if favorable), Finance (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 559 — Sponsors: Howard, Setzer, Gillespie and Kay Hall; caption in the reading: “make elevators great again agency bill”; referred to Finance (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 560 — Sponsors: Loftus and Jackson, Biggs and Balcom; caption: “Parents Protection Act”; referred to Health (if favorable), Judiciary (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 561 — Sponsors: Servania, White and Lambeth; caption: “2025 youth and nicotine dependence act”; referred to Appropriations (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 562 — Sponsors: Campbell, Honeycutt, Lambeth and Potts; caption: “Community College Behavioral Health Workforce Enhancement Act”; referred to Health (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 563 — Sponsor: Bell; caption: “house permanent rules”; referred to Rules. - House Bill 564 — Sponsors: Wheatley and Penny; caption: “state retirees, cost of living increased funds”; referred to Pensions and Retirement (if favorable), Appropriations (if favorable), Rules. - House Bill 565 — Sponsors: Reeder, Potts, Shepherd and Honeycutt; caption: “Check yes, save lives”; referred to Health (favorable), State and Local Government (favorable), Rules. - House Bill 566 — Sponsors: Cawtham, Blackwell, Biggs and Willis; caption: “Principal fellows changes”; referred to Education K-12 (favorable), State and Local Government (favorable), Rules. - House Bill 567 — Sponsors: Wheatley, Penny, Campbell and Moss; caption: “ensure access to biomarker testing”; referred to Health (favorable), Appropriations (favorable), Rules. - House Bill 568 — Sponsors: Kay Hall, Honeycutt, Gable and Sheetzelt; caption: “2025 Labor Amendments Agency Bill”; multiple referrals listed including Judiciary and Commerce and Economic Development, Rules, Calendar and Operations of the House. - Additional bills announced in the reading included (bill numbers and sponsors as read): House Bill 36 (municipal election timing for China Grove) from the Senate, Senate Bills 121 and 122 (uniform community property disposition at death), and dozens more House bills (numbers and sponsor lists were read through the 300s range). Where the clerk’s reading provided only bill number, sponsor list and committee referral, the transcript did not include further detail or bill text; therefore substantive descriptions beyond the clerk’s brief captions are not specified in the record.

What the record does not show The transcript records introductions and referrals but does not include committee reports, legislative debate on the introduced measures, floor amendments to the bills read, or roll-call vote tallies on the bills themselves. Where the reading listed multiple committee referrals “if favorable,” the record does not indicate committee action or outcomes.

Procedural notes and next steps Many of the bills were placed on calendars for future consideration and some committee reports were set for specific calendar days in the reading. The governor’s nominations were filed and placed on the clerk’s file for future confirmation action by the General Assembly; the utilities commission nominee was described in the letter as an interim appointment pending confirmation under the statute cited in the governor’s message.

The House adjourned after the clerk completed the readings and motions recorded in the transcript. The next convening was scheduled in the reading for Tuesday, April at 11 a.m., subject to Rule 15.1.