Several new laws officially took effect today, Dec. 1, in North Carolina, including one that allows employees and volunteers at non-public schools to carry weapons on school property if authorized by school officials.
HB 193, Firearms Law Revisions, would also allow a person to carry a concealed handgun on property shared by a school and a place of worship during religious services or functions. Also, the penalties for assaulting or threatening executive, legislative, court, or local elected officials are increased.
The bill was introduced in the General Assembly by Rep. Jeff McNeely, R-Iredell, earlier this year.
“This is a good common-sense bill that talks about your Second Amendment rights and private property rights, and I hope you’ll support it,” he said.
Rep. Laura Budd, D-Mecklenburg, said at the time that the bill “does not provide anything other than tragedy.”
She went on to say it is not a God-given or constitutional right to possess a gun.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the bill on July 9, citing concerns that it would make children less safe.
“Just as we should not allow guns in the General Assembly, we should keep them out of our schools unless they are in the possession of law enforcement,” he said. “We cannot substitute the protection offered by well-trained law enforcement officers by asking teachers and school volunteers to step in and respond to crises while armed.”
A few weeks later, it was overridden by both the House and Senate.
HB 805, Prevent Sexual Exploitation/Women and Minors, requires adult-content websites to verify that users are at least 18 years old and to secure written consent from every person featured in the site’s images, including separate consent for each sexual act depicted. The measure also mandates that platforms establish a formal process for removing images, assign staff to handle takedown requests, and display a clear notice explaining how users can request removals. Websites must comply with such requests within 72 hours. Violations could carry civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day.
These provisions were included in a broader bill aimed at affirming biological definitions of sex, expanding parental rights in education, and restricting the use of state funds for sex-transition procedures.
The legislation was passed in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14168, titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This affirms that the United States recognizes only two sexes — male and female.
Stein vetoed the legislation on July 3, but lawmakers overrode the veto with unanimous Republican support and one Democratic vote.
Other portions of the bill are set to take effect on Jan. 1.
HB 612, Fostering Care in NC Act, A permanent injunction that prohibits any contact by a defendant with the victim of the violent offense for which the defendant is convicted, with the victim’s immediate family, or both. The duration of the injunction is the lifetime of the defendant.
Also, a parent or any other person providing care to or supervision of a child less than 16 years of age who intentionally inflicts any serious physical injury upon or to the child or who intentionally commits an assault upon the child which results in any serious physical injury to the child is guilty of a Class D felony.
HB 251, Various Disaster Recovery Reforms, assures that alleged political discrimination based on affiliation or speech doesn’t influence emergency relief efforts. Theft of temporary housing during an emergency is also covered. Additionally, a person caught looting or trespassing during an emergency would be found guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for trespassing during an emergency.
The legislation came after a FEMA worker was fired last fall for alleged political discrimination in disaster aid distribution after Hurricane Helene.
The governor signed both HB 612 and HB 251 into law at the end of June.
SB 391, DOT Omnibus, states that a motor vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 pounds or more shall not operate in the left-most lane of a controlled-access highway with six or more lanes. It also eliminates the requirement for inspecting window tint and requires drivers with tinted windows to roll them down when a law enforcement officer approaches.
SB 311, The Law and Order Act, includes harsher penalties for burglary, package theft, reckless driving, and street racing, shoplifting, and other offenses. It also includes the possibility of fines or prison time for certain picketing activities. That includes any protestors or workers on strike who block roads or businesses.
Senate Bill 375, Harrison’s Law, cracks down on campus by expanding bans beyond college to include grades 9-12. The bill was named after Harrison Kowiak who died from a head injury sustained during fraternity hazing at Lenoir-Rhyne University in 2008. The new bill expands the legal definition of hazing beyond “physical injury” to include things like forced consumption, sleep deprivation, and threats. The bill also increases penalties and requires schools to implement anti-hazing policies.
SB 416 Personal Privacy Protection Act bars state agencies from collecting or disclosing nonprofit donor data and imposes penalties on officials who disclose that information. The legislature passed the bill, but Stein vetoed it.
“Our democracy works best when people are well-informed,” he said in a press release. ”This bill reduces transparency and creates more opportunity for dark money in our politics, especially relating to candidates’ legal funds. Furthermore, it makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the Department of Revenue to identify and crack down on certain types of tax fraud.”
GOP lawmakers argued it protects free speech. The bill was overridden by a vote of 30-19 in the Senate and 74-46 in the House.
The legislation seeks to formally codify existing legal protections that prevent state and local government agencies from requesting, disclosing, or requiring information that reveals an individual’s affiliation with a nonprofit group.
It also adds civil penalties to the current privacy law for government employees who attempt to pressure nonprofits into handing over their donor lists.
Progressive organizations spoke out against the bill, characterizing it as a means for wealthy political interests to inject “dark money” into the state’s politics.
Supporters of the bill argue that donor privacy is essential for free association and free speech.
“Vetoing the Personal Privacy Protection Act leaves North Carolinians vulnerable to activist state employees and regulators who could pry into private nonprofit donor lists,” said Donald Bryson, CEO of the John Locke Foundation, in a press release. “The bill retained every existing nonprofit reporting requirement but erected a critical firewall forbidding any public agency or staffer from demanding or disclosing personal donor information—safeguards that are essential to a free democracy because they secure free association, free speech, and limited government.”
SB 55, Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons, is an anti-squatting bill that Stein signed into law on Aug. 7.
A portion of Senate Bill 245, Expand Remote Drivers License Services, had already gone into effect earlier in which drivers without a REAL ID could renew their driver’s license online, but the remaining provision of the law, which allows teen drivers to upgrade from their Level 2 Limited Provisional License (“before 9s”) to the Level 3 Full Provisional License (“after 9s”) online, will also be available in the next several weeks took effect today. Teens can already upgrade from a Level 3 Full Provisional License to a regular Class C license online on their 18th birthday.
A portion of HB 549, Clarify Powers of State Auditor related to an audit or investigation undertaken by the auditor results in a finding that a private person or entity has received public funds as a result of fraud, misrepresentation, or other deceptive acts or practices while doing business with a state agency, the auditor shall submit a detailed written report of the finding to the appropriate department/person.
A full list of laws can be found here.