Notable Activity
With the General Assembly out of session until October 20, we’ll be covering legislation that recently went into effect and the federal shutdown.
Bills That Went Into Effect October 1
H125 — Continuing Budget Operations
- This bill contained a provision increasing provider contribution rates to the State Health Plan by 2.4%, which counties should consider permanent for the foreseeable future.
- Counties are also required to pay retroactively for July – September 2025, due by June 30, 2026.
- NCACC is quickly coordinating a call with the North Carolina Treasurer’s Office for the 19 counties affected by the increase.
H358 — Continuing Budget Operations II
- This bill added $40 million in state-matching funds for Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, $15 million in state-matching funds for Hurricane Chantal recovery, and $10 million in state funds for additional state agency programs related to storm damage.
H612 — Fostering Care in NC Act
- This bill modifies adoption and foster care laws and also requires any county employees who work with children to receive a background check.
- NCACC is working with the State Bureau of Investigation to speed up the process and to receive funds to modernize their paper-based reporting system.
H926 — Regulatory Reform Act of 2025
- Section 3 prohibits local inspection departments from charging permit holders for automatic inspection failures if the permit holder cancels an inspection more than one business day in advance.
- Section 18 exempts any State Construction Office project from local zoning or development regulation.
- Section 29 establishes that any vested rights obtained by permit or local government approval does not preclude the use or existence of other vested rights attached to the property. It also provides that if local governments with jurisdiction over a parcel fail to reach mutual agreement, the landowner may choose to follow the ordinances of the jurisdiction governing the majority of that parcel of land.
New Background Check Requirements for County Employees
H612 — Fostering Care in NC Act included a provision requiring counties to subject all county employees who work with children to receive a background check. NCACC has heard from many counties about how burdensome this requirement is on the hiring process, and questions about which employees are subject to the checks. We have been in touch with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) about the timeliness of its background check process. The SBI has advised counties that the fastest way to receive background check results is to work with local law enforcement to conduct the checks, as they often can use electronic communications in the submittal process.
NCACC continues to work with the SBI and the General Assembly to explore ways to speed up the process to benefit counties and to seek clarification on whether changes can be made to the requirement to ease the burden on county hiring. We will share more in the Weekly Update as additional information becomes available.
Federal Government Shutdown
The federal shutdown is expected to affect various government agencies in various ways, depending on how programs are funded and whether the Office of State Budget and Management deems them necessary to preserve human life, safety, or property. Some programs funded by permanent, mandatory, or advance appropriations, like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and veterans benefits, will continue. To help counties determine what programs may continue operating, please reference this Federal Shutdown Resource from NACo.