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House — Session Convenes

NC General Assembly · House — Session Convenes
Monday, August 31, 2026 at 12:00 pm · House Ended

Legislative session Police and public safetyHousing and affordabilityDrugs and addictionElections and districtsHealth and human servicesHomelessness and shelterLitigation and settlementsPublic facilities

Agenda document Watch

What's on this agenda

The House convened at noon on August 31 with veto overrides as its unfinished business. The printed calendar lists two bills. Senate Bill 50 would let any United States citizen aged 18 or older carry a concealed handgun without a permit, and the governor vetoed it in June 2025. House Bill 437 would create 300-foot drug-free zones around homeless shelters and service providers and would restrict camping in public spaces. The governor vetoed that one on July 8, 2026.

Three further vetoed bills are attached to this meeting but were placed on the calendar for September 2: an expedited process for removing squatters from residential property without an eviction case, an omnibus court bill that would recognize electronic wills, and an elections bill that would require one early voting site per 30,000 registered voters in each county.

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

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Agenda items (5)

Other · 5
  1. SB 50 Freedom to Carry NC.
    Other Police and public safety
    Would let any United States citizen aged 18 or older carry a concealed handgun in North Carolina without a permit, unless one of fourteen disqualifying conditions applies, such as being under felony indictment or having been adjudicated a danger to self or others. A carrier would still have to hold identification, tell an officer they are armed when approached, and show that identification on request. Amendments added along the way raise the line-of-duty death benefit for first responders from $100,000 to $150,000, create a UNC scholarship for children of first responders permanently disabled on duty, and raise assault with a firearm on an officer from a Class D to a Class B1 felony while e…
    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.
  2. HB 437 Drug-Free Zones/Unauthorized Public Camping.
    Other Drugs and addictionHealth and human servicesHomelessness and shelterHousing and affordabilityPolice and public safetyPublic facilities
    Would make a drug offense within 300 feet of a homeless shelter or a publicly funded homeless service provider a Class E felony for anyone 21 or older, and would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor for the operator of such a facility to knowingly allow one. A separate part restricts camping and sleeping in public spaces: a local government that designates land for it must arrange access to substance abuse and mental health treatment, and a property owner can petition for an injunction after giving written notice and fifteen business days to cure. The Department of Labor would write the rules, effective June 30, 2027. The governor vetoed it on July 8, 2026.
    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.
  3. HB 96 Expedited Removal of Unauthorized Persons.
    Other Housing and affordabilityLitigation and settlementsPolice and public safety
    Would let a residential property owner ask a law enforcement agency to remove someone occupying the property without any legal claim to it, rather than filing an eviction case. It applies only where the occupant entered after the owner acquired the property, is not a tenant, has paid nothing toward occupancy, was told to leave, and has no pending litigation with the owner. Tenants holding over after a lease expires are excluded. The governor vetoed it.
    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.
  4. HB 377 2026 Court Changes.
    Other
    An omnibus court bill touching seventeen chapters of the General Statutes, from court costs and jury service to adoption, divorce, guardianship and the juvenile code. Its first part enacts a North Carolina version of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, making a will valid when it is recorded electronically, readable as text when signed, signed by the person making it, and witnessed by two people. Only a certified paper copy of an electronic will could be probated, not the electronic file itself. The governor vetoed it.
    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.
  5. HB 958 Election Law Changes.
    Other Elections and districts
    Would require each county board of elections to open at least one early voting site for every 30,000 registered voters and to seek geographic spread among them. It also bars the State Board of Elections from using voter education to favor a party or drive one party's turnout, requires party designations on ballots to be printed in the same font and size as candidate names, and moves responsibility for choosing sample precincts for post-election audits from the State Board to the State Auditor. A ballot would not be counted if the voter died between casting it and 6:30 a.m. on election day. The governor vetoed it.
    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.

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