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House — Session Convenes

NC General Assembly · House — Session Convenes
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 10:30 am · House Ended

Legislative session Police and public safetyElections and districtsHealth and human servicesHousing and affordabilityIntergovernmental agreementsDrugs and addictionFire and EMSHomelessness and shelterLitigation and settlementsSchools and education

Agenda document Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

Five bills the Governor has vetoed sat on the House calendar for 2 September. Whether the chamber took any of them up is a separate question, and the answer appears to be no.

Nothing was recorded against these bills that day. Senate Bill 50's own action history ends in April 2026, when it was placed on the calendar for the 21st; House Bill 437's ends on 27 July. A bill can sit on a chamber calendar for months — Senate Bill 50 has been carried on this one since its veto in June 2025 — so its presence there says what may be considered, not what was.

The five span unrelated subjects: permitless concealed carry, a statewide bar on local governments allowing public camping, a rewrite of election administration, a court and family law package, and an expedited route for removing someone occupying a residence. What each would change is set out below, which is the durable part of this record.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting.

How the votes went

No vote is recorded. The legislature publishes no minutes and its journals are not collected here, so the check is each bill's own action history on ncleg.gov, and none of them carries an entry for 2 September 2026. Under Article II, Section 20 of the state constitution neither house may adjourn on its own motion for more than three days, so short sittings are held to keep the session alive and to receive the Governor's messages. House Rule 5.1 limits what may be moved and voted on at a pro forma session.

Speaking at this meeting

Committee meetings are open to the public and most are streamed. Speaking time is at the chair's discretion; contact the committee staff listed on the meeting notice ahead of time.

NC General Assembly's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (5)

Ordinance · 5
  1. HB 96 Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons.
    Ordinance Housing and affordabilityIntergovernmental agreementsPolice and public safety
    Creates a fast route for a property owner to remove someone occupying a residence without a rental agreement: a complaint to a magistrate, a hearing within 24 to 48 hours of service, and an order to leave within four hours. Belongings can then be moved to the property line, and staying after the order becomes criminal trespass. Someone removed wrongly could recover only actual damages, losing the treble damages and emotional distress claims available now. A second, unrelated section takes pet shop regulation away from local governments entirely. Despite its title, the bill is about occupancy of private property rather than immigration.
    Filed by Tyson, Biggs, K. Hall, and Howard. Last action: placed on the calendar for 2 September 2026. Changes Chapters 14 (criminal law) and 19A of the General Statutes.
  2. HB 377 2026 Court Changes.
    Ordinance Elections and districtsHealth and human servicesLitigation and settlements
    A wide court package. It changes how superior court judges are assigned in the largest districts, requiring assignments from adjacent divisions, and creates a suspension procedure for a judge under investigation where immediate harm is found. On families, it shortens adoption filing and lets records reach the Division of Social Services electronically within ten days, and extends Safe Babies Court to children up to age five rather than three. It also tightens what an indigent litigant may file, directing judges to dismiss frivolous claims against government bodies, and allows oral notice of appeal in some eviction and property removal cases.
    Filed by Stevens. Last action: placed on the calendar for 2 September 2026. Changes Chapters 1, 14 (criminal law), 143B (executive organization), 163 (elections), 20 (motor vehicles), 28, 30, 31, 36C, 42 (landlord and tenant), 48, 50, 7A, 7B, 8B, and 9 of the General Statutes.
  3. HB 958 Election Law Changes.
    Ordinance Elections and districts
    Shortens early voting in primaries to start no earlier than the second Monday before election day, and extends the deadlines for ballot challenges and provisional ballot processing to the fifth business day after the election. County boards could recess while counting absentee ballots rather than counting continuously. Registration applications would carry an affirmative statement of citizenship, and deceased voters would have to be removed within a week of federal death records arriving. The State Auditor would run random audits of county boards, every county at least once every six years. Campaign finance reporting thresholds rise, and restrictions on foreign nationals extend to referendu…
    Filed by Blackwell and Stevens. Last action: placed on the calendar for 2 September 2026. Changes Chapters 115C (elementary and secondary education), 147, 153A (counties), 160A (cities and towns), 163 (elections), and 20 (motor vehicles) of the General Statutes.
  4. SB 50 Freedom to Carry NC.
    Ordinance Fire and EMSPolice and public safetySchools and education
    Would let any US citizen aged 18 or over carry a concealed handgun without a permit, subject to the existing disqualifications, while keeping it a crime in federal buildings, legislative areas, correctional facilities and private property posted against it. A dishonourable discharge would disqualify a permit applicant. It removes the weapons restriction on educational property for anyone carrying under the new authority. Assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer, firefighter, EMT, correctional officer or telecommunicator rises from a Class D to a Class B1 felony. Survivor benefits for first responders killed on duty go from $100,000 to $150,000, with a new UNC scholarship for chil…
    Filed by Britt, Daniel, and Settle. Last action: placed on the calendar for 21 April 2026. Changes Chapters 113 (conservation and natural resources), 14 (criminal law), 143 (state departments and agencies), and 74G (campus police) of the General Statutes.
  5. HB 437 Drug-Free Zones/Unauthorized Public Camping.
    Ordinance Drugs and addictionHealth and human servicesHomelessness and shelterHousing and affordabilityIntergovernmental agreementsPolice and public safety
    Two halves. The first draws drug-free zones 100 to 300 feet around homeless shelters and service facilities, making sale or possession of a controlled substance inside one a felony, adding penalties for operators who knowingly allow offences on their premises, and requiring signs marking the zones. The second bars local governments from permitting camping or sleeping in tents on public property. A municipality could designate specific city-owned land for up to a year by majority vote, but only with clean and operable restrooms and running water, coordination with the health department on substance abuse and mental health services, and certification that shelter beds are insufficient.
    Filed by Rhyne, Chesser, and Pickett. Last action: placed on the calendar for 4 August 2026. Changes Chapters 160D (local planning and development regulation) and 90 (medicine and controlled substances) of the General Statutes.

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

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