The North Carolina Senate passed 20 bills Wednesday afternoon in its final series of votes prior to the General Assembly’s Thursday crossover deadline, after which only bills that have passed at least one chamber can be considered.
Among the higher profile measures approved were bills that would allow carrying concealed firearms in private schools, protect parents who do not affirm their child’s trans identity, and provide financial support to farmers.
The Senate also passed a pair of measures responding to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, targeting the theft of mobile homes during states of emergency and relaxing requirements for flood repairs. And it approved a bill granting the Catawba Nation many of the same state-level rights afforded to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
These measures head to the House for further consideration. The Senate will return Thursday for a non-voting session as the House finishes its crossover business. Note: NC Newsline will publish a comprehensive rundown of House and Senate crossover week action on Friday.
Private School Security Act
Lawmakers passed a proposal to authorize employees and volunteers at nonpublic K-12 schools to carry concealed firearms on educational property.
Senate Bill 280, titled the “Private School Security Act,” would allow school administrators to give consent to employees and volunteers to possess handguns and stun guns on school grounds, with written notice to parents. The individuals would need to acquire a concealed carry permit and complete additional training.
The bill would also allow anyone with a permit to concealed carry firearms at religious ceremonies held on the grounds of private schools, including weddings, funerals, and worship services. It’s one of many measures related to gun safety this session, a number of which seek to okay the possession of weapons and other self-defense implements in schools.
“The Private School Security Act is a voluntary solution to protect North Carolina’s private school students in a world where threats demand actions,” said sponsor Sen. Steve Jarvis (R-Davidson).
The chamber voted to pass a technical amendment to the bill and blocked four amendments proposed by Democratic senators, among them proposals to restrict the bill to veterans and current and former law enforcement officers and a provision that would prevent schools from making concealed carry permits mandatory for employment.
Senators also rejected an amendment offered by Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch (D-Wake) that would have screened employees against a state “Responsible Individuals List” that tracks adults found responsible for abuse and severe neglect, a proposal that had received a positive reception from the bill sponsors in committee.
“There are individuals who, if given the ability to have a gun, would then use that in very inappropriate ways,” said Batch, a child welfare attorney. She cited the case of a girl in middle school who she represented in court who was sexually abused by her teacher. “If he had a gun, how much more dangerous would that have been?”
Sen. Buck Newton (R-Greene, Wayne, Wilson), a lead sponsor of the bill, said the proposal was “just not workable” because schools do not currently have access to the list. Batch responded that her proposed amendment would have granted schools access to the list.
“I think a number of the colleagues at least in my caucus would have supported passing this bill, because we care about the children that are in all of our schools, private or public,” she said.
Parents Protection Act
The Senate enacted a bill preventing parents and guardians who deny their trans child’s gender identity from facing abuse or neglect designations.
Senate Bill 442, dubbed the “Parents Protection Act,” alters statutes concerning child abuse and neglect to specifically exclude conduct described as raising a child “consistent with the juvenile’s biological sex” and prevents adoptive parents from being screened based on whether they would deny their child gender-affirming care.
“It protects parents who care for their children without the threat of losing supervision over that child because the parent refuses to affirm the gender identity of a child who is experiencing gender dysphoria,” said Sen. Amy Galey (R-Alamance), the bill’s lead sponsor. “Second, the bill shields parents who refuse to affirm gender transitioning from prosecution.”
Senators deleted a section of the bill that would have barred state agencies from considering whether prospective foster parents would affirm a trans child’s identity, however, after the proposal proved controversial in committee.
“There were concerns raised about including children in the foster care situation in this bill. We acknowledge that the foster children are some of the most vulnerable people in the state, and we do not want to do anything that might make it difficult to place them,” Galey said. “We may revisit this provision in the future.”
The chamber rejected a pair of proposals by Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) that would have extended the same protections to parents who validate their trans child’s identity and banned gender conversion therapy, respectively. She cited Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for abuse investigations into parents who provide their children gender-affirming care as cause grounds for safeguarding their rights in North Carolina.
“The fact of being LGBTQ is just merely a fact, and it’s inherently part of the human experience,” Grafstein said. “Things that become abuse or neglect of their LGBTQ children or foster children, that must not be tolerated.”
Farmers Protection Act
The chamber voted to approve a bill aiming to prevent what its sponsors characterize as discrimination in lending to farmers.
Senate Bill 554 or the “Farmers Protection Act” would bar banks and credit unions from denying loans to agriculture producers based on their lack of a commitment to ESG — environmental, social, and governance factors.
Though sponsors provided no examples of North Carolina farmers who have been impacted by such practices, they argued that some lenders might condition loans based on whether a recipient is taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fertilizer or fossil fuel powered machinery.
The bill faced significant vetting in the Senate Judiciary and Agriculture Committees, according to primary sponsor Sen. Buck Newton.
“The bankers are neutral, so I know of no outright opposition to the bill,” Newton said.
During a committee hearing for the House version of the bill, Mark Swallow from Democracy Out Loud testified that climate change would harm farmers more than financial discrimination, but lawmakers were not swayed.
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