House enrolls HB 58 for Secretary of State, approves journal and introduces more than two dozen bills

The North Carolina House of Representatives on March 27, 2025, approved its March 26 journal, the enrolling clerk reported that House Bill 58 was duly ratified and enrolled for presentation to the Office of the Secretary of State, and members introduced multiple new bills that were referred to standing committees during a brief floor session in the House chamber.

House Bill 58 was read by the enrolling clerk as “duly ratified, properly enrolled, and prepared for the presentation to the office of the secretary of state.” According to the clerk’s reading, the bill would: extend the terms of the mayor and members of the board of commissioners for the town of Kittrell from two to four years; provide that the Ashborough City Board of Education consist of seven members elected on a partisan basis with staggered, four‑year terms in even‑numbered years; establish residency districts for the Anson County Board of Commissioners; provide that vacancies on the Caswell County Board of Commissioners be filled in accordance with GS 153A‑27.1 (as read on the floor); and authorize the Scotland County Board of Commissioners to adopt a school budget in its discretion, eliminating the mandatory school funding requirement and making conforming changes. The enrolling clerk did not identify a mover or a recorded roll‑call for the enrollment during the reading.

Why it matters: The provisions read into the record touch on local governance (municipal and county commission term lengths and residency districts), school board composition, and county discretion over school budgets — items that affect local election timing and governance structures if enacted.

Floor actions and procedural votes: Representative Penny moved that the journal for March 26 be approved as written; the Speaker put the question and the ayes were recorded, and the journal was approved. Later, members agreed to adjourn and reconvene on Monday, March 31, 2025, at 1 p.m.; that reconvening motion was moved by Representative Finney and seconded by Representative White and passed on voice vote. The clerk was ordered to read introductions upon adjournment.

Introductions and referrals: During the session the clerk read a slate of newly filed bills and their committee referrals. The clerk introduced more than two dozen measures, several examples of which were read into the record: House Bill 517 (modified nonprofit corporation/charitable organization; referred to Judiciary 1, Finance, Rules), House Bill 518 (project newsletter; referred to State and Local Government, Commerce and Economic Development, Rules), House Bill 519 (Parents’ Medical Bill of Rights; referred to Health, Judiciary 2, Rules), House Bill 520 (abuse and deception by telemarketers; referred to Judiciary 2, Rules), House Bill 521 (Healthy Families in the Workplace / paid sick leave; referred to Rules), House Bill 522 (Crisis Pregnancy Center Fraud Prevention Act; referred to Rules), House Bill 523 (school social workers master pay; referred to Education K‑12, Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 524 (fraud detection alert system; referred to State and Local Government, Judiciary 2, Rules), House Bill 525 (reorganize and fund rare disease advisory councils; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 526 (funds for Onslow County Sheriff’s Office; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 527 (funds for Swansboro road maintenance; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 528 (funds for Coastal Carolina Community College; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 529 (clean repeal of House Bill 2; referred to Rules), House Bill 530 (funding for Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 531 (teacher crisis initiatives; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 532 (County Service District research; referred to State and Local Government, Finance, Rules), House Bill 533 (funds for public projects in Chatham County; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 534 (funds for sexual assault nurse programs; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 535 (Title Fraud Prevention Act; referred to Housing and Development, Judiciary, Rules), House Bill 536 (Physical Therapy Practice Act modifications; referred to Health, Finance, Rules), House Bill 537 (Alina’s Law; referred to Emergency Management and Disaster Recovery, Judiciary, Rules), House Bill 538 (Equality for All; referred to Rules), House Bill 539 (revenue neutral rate requirement; referred to State and Local Government, Finance, Rules), House Bill 540 (additional funds for Patriot Star Scholarship; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 541 (opt‑two same‑day primary runoff elections; referred to Rules), House Bill 542 (Child Care Mental and Behavioral Services funds; referred to Appropriations, Rules), House Bill 543 (criminal background checks for athlete agents; referred to Judiciary 1, Finance, Rules), and House Bill 544 (tax credit for rehab corp campus; referred to Finance, Rules). The clerk and the Speaker added procedural clarifications about serial referrals for certain bills and recommitted a bill (Healthy Food, Healthy Bodies) with an amended referral list.

What did not happen: The floor reading and referrals did not include recorded roll‑call votes for the newly introduced bills during the introductions; committee recommendations reported on the reading were listed as “favorable” where so indicated in the clerk’s recital, but committee action and any future floor debate or votes were not part of this session’s record.

Next steps: The House stands adjourned until the reconvening date; bills read and referred on the floor will proceed through their assigned committees for hearings, amendments, and possible future floor action.