2023 Legislative Accomplishments
The highlights of the 2023 North Carolina Legislature accomplishments, in the areas of Election Integrity, Child Well-being, Ending Wokeness, Education, School Choice, School Safety, Government Accountability, Workforce Development, Agriculture/Rural Development/Energy, Second Amendment, Law Enforcement and First Responders, Public Safety, Heath Care, and Budget. Thank your state senators and representatives for their actions!
2023 North Carolina Legislative Accomplishments
Election Integrity
- End political interference and partisan control over election administration (SB 749)
- Establish election day as absentee deadline, empower poll workers, and prohibit Zuck Bucks (SB 747)
- Ensure greater public access to voting records (HB 770)
Child Well-Being
- Enhance penalties for performing adult entertainment in presence of a minor (SB 579)
- Prevent biological men from competing in women’s sports (HB 574)
- Prohibit gender transition surgeries and puberty blockers for minors (HB 808)
- Protect unborn lives and expand care for women, children, and families (SB 20)
- Enhance child abuse penalties (HB 748)
- Increase access to caring homes for children in foster care system (HB 815)
- Require age verification for pornographic websites (HB 8)
- Improve safe surrender laws for infants (HB 125)
- Improve star rating system for childcare facilities (SB 291)
- Make it easier to recruit childcare workers (SB 722)
- Strengthen and improve state adoption laws (SB 615)
End Wokeness
- Prohibit state investments from being used to push liberal ESG agenda (HB 750)
- Ensure state employees are not required to endorse political or social beliefs (SB 364)
- Require public colleges to be neutral on political controversies (SB 195)
- Ban government COVID-19 vaccine mandates (HB 98)
Education
- Strengthen parental rights over child’s education, well-being, privacy, and safety (SB 49)
- Require computer science credit for high school graduation (HB 8)
- Expand K-12 teacher professional development opportunities (HB 26)
- Address teacher shortages by recognize out-of-state teacher licenses (HB 824)
- Promote youth outdoor recreational activities through grants and programming (SB 22)
School Choice
- Enact universal school choice for all North Carolina families (HB 823)
- Increase access and streamline approval of charter schools (HB 219, HB 618)
- Expand option for virtual charter school instruction (HB 149)
School Safety
- Establish school safety exercises, programs, and threat assessment teams (HB 605)
- Protect students from sexual crimes and unreported assaults (HB 142)
- Require character education in schools to reduce bullying (HB 253)
- Improve school discipline and conduct standards (HB 188)
Government Accountability
- Hold localities accountable for not fulfilling annual audit (HB 122, SB 299)
- Reduce unnecessary and burdensome government regulations (HB 600)
- Express support for term limits on U.S. Congress (HJR 151)
- Call for convention of states to rein in federal overreach (HJR 235)
Workforce Development
- Eliminate unnecessary 4-year college degree requirements for state jobs (HB 210)
- Strengthen work requirements for SNAP food benefits (HB 747)
- Promote vocational training and apprenticeships in high schools (HB 282)
Agriculture, Rural Development, and Energy
- Provide regulatory relief and certainty for farmers and promote agritourism (SB 582)
- Expand access and expedite funding for rural broadband internet (HB 197)
- Remove regulatory barriers to utilize nuclear energy (SB 678)
- Prevent CA-style mandates banning home energy sources and appliances (HB 130)
Second Amendment
- Repeal unnecessary and arbitrary pistol purchase permit (HB 50)
- Create statewide safe firearm storage awareness initiative (HB 72)
- Protect Second Amendment rights and promote safe firearm storage (SB 41)
Law Enforcement and First Responders
- Enhance penalties for assaulting an officer and firing at emergency vehicles (HB 34)
- Extend Firefighter Cancer Program (HB 259)
- Create the Medal of Valor Award for first responders (HB 387)
Public Safety
- Increase penalties for rioting, looting, and assaulting an officer (HB 40)
- Increase penalties for “street takeovers” and dangerous stunt driving (SB 91)
- Expand support and protections for human trafficking survivors (SB 626)
- Strengthen penalties for drug dealers responsible for overdoses (HB 250)
- Enhance efforts to combat fentanyl and overdose epidemic (SB 189)
- Make it harder for violent offenders to bond out of jail (HB 813)
- Stiffen penalties for vehicle break-ins (SB 409)
- Strengthen anti-trespassing laws and property owner protections (SB 246)
- Increase penalties for attacks on electrical substations and critical infrastructure (SB 58)
- Enhance elevator safety requirements for rental homes (HB 608)
Health Care
- Expand healthcare access by empowering physician assistants (HB 75)
- Promote ethical advertising for substance use disorder treatments (HB 415)
- Require parental consent for 16- or 17-year-olds to donate blood (SB 389)
Budget
- Slashes personal income taxes, returning $1.2 billion to families.
- Expands universal school choice to all North Carolina families.
- Allocates $2 billion for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades.
- Provides 7.4% raise for teachers, increasing average teacher pay to $60,671.
- Funds implementation of voter ID requirement.
- Provides 11% raise (16.5% with step increases) for State Highway Patrol.
- Gives state retirees a 4% cost-of-living-adjustment bonus.
- Directs 9% raise for school bus drivers.
- Provides historic $640 million for mental health.
- Allocates millions for programs supporting veterans in need
Thank your state senators and representatives! Their contact information can be found here.