RALEIGH — Bill passage ramped up last week ahead of the upcoming May 8 crossover deadline, whereby bills need to be passed by at least one chamber to be considered for enactment by the legislature.
The North Carolina House and Senate proceeded with floor votes on dozens of bills that included some noteworthy items like firearm laws, education topics, crime enhancements and a bill broadening state investments.
House Bill 261 passed with bipartisan support from 15 Democrats by a vote of 84-29. The bill would raise criminal penalties on illegal aliens and crimes with a criminal conspiracy component.
Under the proposed legislation, if a person commits a felony and they’ve previously been convicted by the federal government for unlawful reentry into the U.S. after being deported, their crime would be bumped up a level.
The bill would also increase penalties for certain felonies and misdemeanors by one level if the crimes are committed as part of an organized group plan to help or grow illegal activities. The most serious misdemeanor would rise to a low-level felony.
Specific requirements for charging documents, burden of proof and trial procedures for these enhancements are included in the bill’s language. If enacted, the law would apply to crimes committed on or after Dec. 1, 2025.
House Bill 92 passed by a vote of 71-44. The bill is backed by House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) and the North Carolina Blockchain Initiative.
The bill would authorize the state treasurer to invest in qualifying digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, stablecoins and NFTs. The bill has strict parameters, limiting investments to exchange-traded products with a minimum 12-month average market capitalization of $750 billion. Any investment in digital assets is capped at 10% of the fund’s balance at the time of investment.
Education bills of note include statewide district calendar flexibility, changing school performance grades and a redesign of math instruction for K-12.
Senate Bill 754 passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 39-7.
The bill would allow districts to choose between two options for the opening and closing dates for the school calendar, but it also includes civil action penalties against a school board of up to $10,000 for failure to comply.
Option one is the current opening date of no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and the closing date no later than the Friday closest to June 11. Option two requires an equal number of days in the spring and fall semester, with an opening date no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 19 and the closing date no later than the Friday immediately preceding the last Monday in May.
In recent years, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) has maintained that he believes there was no need to change school calendars, but he has shifted his position this session after dozens of local calendar change bills were filed.
“It’s time for us to put this school calendar debate to rest,” Berger said in a press release. “Stakeholders have come together to find a workable proposal for students, families, and local businesses. This was no small task, and I’m glad to see this bill pass the Senate with bipartisan support.”
House Bill 773 would change how K-12 schools are scored, moving away from combining achievement and growth scores and toward a single performance score using multiple student proficiency, achievements, CTE or advanced courses taken, and other growth factors. The bill passed by a margin of 105-2.
The Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) would still be used to measure growth, indicating whether schools meet, exceed or fall short of expected progress.
The bill would also adjust the current A-F grading scale by adding different score ranges for elementary schools versus middle and high schools to earn A, B, C, D or F grades. The scores would be lowered for both.
Currently, the overall school performance score is 80% achievement and 20% growth. The score is converted to a 100-point scale with 85 or higher equaling an A, 70-84 a B, 55-69 a C, 40-54 a D, and less than 40 an F.
The changes would lower the current grading scale, and elementary schools would have a different scale from middle and high schools. For example, elementary schools with a 62 or higher would now be considered an A, and 64 or higher would be an A for middle and high schools.
These changes would take effect for school performance scores and grades based on data from the 2025-26 school year.
Another bill passed directs the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to bolster professional training, instructional support systems and “high quality” math assessments for for K-8 math students. House Bill 875 passed the House almost unanimously by a vote of 104-1. The lone holdout was Guilford County Democrat Pricey Harrison.
The bill would also direct DPI to foster and “leverage technology in the mathematics classroom, where appropriate and reasonable,” when it comes to professional development in math. DPI would also be required to report back to the legislature prior to the adoption of the next revision of the state’s math standards.
