Notable Activity
The North Carolina Legislature is on break until later this month and is expected to return on August 26, per the adjournment resolution. Although no legislative floor action occurred this week, the governor did take action on three bills that were passed in last week’s session:
House Bill 87 – Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) was vetoed by Governor Stein. HB 87 would have authorized the state to participate in the new federal program, established in HR 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill), that makes North Carolinians eligible for federal tax credit for donating to certain K-12 educational scholarship programs. In the governor’s veto message, he noted that federal guidance had not been issued yet for this newly enacted program – but stated that he intended “to opt North Carolina in” once guidance is received. Had HB 87 been enacted, North Carolina would have been one of the first states to adopt legislation.
House Bill 125 – Continuing Budget Operations was signed into law. Governor Stein noted that the mini-budget did provide funding for vital budget items like K-12 enrollment growth and increased Medicaid expenses, but he expressed disappointment in the lack of a comprehensive biennial budget.
Senate Bill 55 – Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons was signed into law. This bill provided a trimmed down version of House Bill 96 – Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons, which was vetoed due to a late addition of an amendment that would have removed local government’s authority to regulate pet shops. That controversial amendment was not included in Senate Bill 55.