There are more than a dozen new bills in effect as of Dec. 1 in North Carolina. The new laws address a wide range of issues, including human trafficking and the Division of Motor Vehicles. Several of the laws have been signed into law after lawmakers overrode their vetoes. There are some new laws that are parts of or changes to laws that were already in effect.
Some of the most contentious measures going into effect are Bill 834, the Juvenile Justice Modifications, which allows 16 and 17-year-olds who commit certain serious crimes to be tried as adults.
Another is the law, which currently limits when a person can wear a face mask in public. House Bill 237, also known as the Unmasking Mobs and Criminals Act, seeks to make it easier to convict those who attempt to conceal their identities while committing a crime by wearing masks. This would abolish the pandemic-era provision that permitted mask use for health reasons. The measure also includes provisions that restrict anyone from standing, sitting, or sleeping on highways or streets in ways that impair traffic.
The other is a new campaign finance legislation. Gov. Roy Cooper originally rejected the bill, claiming it “creates a loophole for secret, unlimited campaign money.”
House Bill 10 mandates sheriffs across the state to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They must detain a suspect suspected of being in the country illegally for up to 48 hours to allow ICE to take possession of the individual. HB10 also includes another law that goes into effect this month: school vouchers, which will provide around $463 million to the Opportunity Scholarship program for grants to parents who want their children to attend private or religious K-12 schools.
In no particular order, below are some of the new North Carolina laws:
House Bill 900: This legislation enables Wake County to replace Saint Augustine’s University as the higher education partner for its two leadership academies, the Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy and the Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy. It also includes initiatives to reduce juvenile access to tobacco, nicotine, and other related items.
House Bill 199: Several sections of this measure target the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). One includes a requirement that the DMV develop a plan to issue a digital version of a driver’s license by the time this section of the bill takes effect on July 1, 2025.
House Bill 198 : Changes to several NCDOT laws including a requirement that toll bills have vehicle identification numbers or other vehicle identifying information on the document. Processing fees for unpaid tolls increase under the new bill. The measure also authorises billboard operators to take down additional trees on state roadways.
Senate Bill 166: Building Codes. This bill proposes several adjustments to present building code standards.
House Bill 591 : Sex Crimes. This bill intends to create sexual extortion offences, update offences involving sexual exploitation of minors, update sex offender and public protection registration programs, and define the offence of disclosing private photographs.
House Bill 971: Human Trafficking. The new law requires the Department of Labour to develop and administer human trafficking awareness training for lodging facilities, accommodation facilitators, and vacation rental property managers. The bill also changes the punishment for trafficking-related arrests.
House Bill 600 is related to hog farms regulations. The law amends watershed provisions and may limit how the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) considers hog farm permits. Cooper vetoed another bill, claiming that it “will result in dirtier water, discriminatory permitting, and threats to North Carolina’s environment.”