GA Update: Weekly Legislative Session Recap and Related News

What’s happening in the North Carolina General Assembly? Here’s a recap of bill activity and how these bills may impact your business.

Last week, the North Carolina General Assembly reached a biennial legislative milestone commonly referred to as the crossover deadline. Under the “crossover deadline”, any bills unrelated to taxes, spending or elections must pass the legislative chamber of their origin before May 13 or they are no longer eligible for consideration going forward. This deadline allows the General Assembly to prioritize the issues that are most likely to receive consideration by either the House or Senate. The House approved more than 350 bills in the months leading up to crossover, as the Senate approved more than 150 bills. The total number of bills introduced in the General Assembly this year exceeded 1,600.

One piece of notable legislation that will receive debate in the weeks after crossover is House Bill 947: The G.R.E.A.T Broadband Expansion Act. This act establishes the Completing Access to Broadband Program, creates a fixed wireless and satellite broadband grant, and makes changes to growing rural economies with access to technology. Broadband expansion has been on the forefront of North Carolina’s list of priorities for several years and the need for affordable access has exacerbated since the Covid-19 pandemic. There are numerous counties in the state that do not have complete access to broadband and users that cannot afford access to broadband. This has left students without the ability to engage in virtual learning or have access to virtual resources during the school year. HB 947 will make an additional $400 million allocation to assist all NC counties with access to affordable broadband service.

Another notable piece of legislation introduced in the General Assembly last week was House Bill 941: Revenue Laws Tech, Clarifying and Admin Changes. This bill makes technical, clarifying, and administrative changes to the Revenue Laws of NC, as recommended by the NC Department of Revenue. This is important piece of legislation ensures our NC tax laws are encouraging investment while meeting the needs of a growing economy. We will continue to keep you informed on the legislation, and what it means to your business, as it moves through the process.
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To learn more about our GA priorities, track legislative bills, or to read our blog posts, you can visit our webpage or follow us on Twitter @RcgaJ, @tierra_rcga, or @raleighchamber.