June 27, 2025
The General Assembly's highly anticipated adjournment, scheduled for Thursday, didn’t happen. The Senate passed an adjournment resolution, but the House objected to some of the provisions included and refused to vote on it.
The House and Senate did wrap up their work for the next month or so, promising no votes for the next several weeks while holding a skeletal session every third day as required by the state constitution.
Some troubling bills did pass the finish line and await action by Gov. Josh Stein:
- S266, the "Ratepayer Risks Act:" The NC Sierra Club was joined by allied groups and ratepayers on Thursday to publicly ask Stein to veto this measure, which threatens Duke Energy residential customers with unpredictable jumps in their bills while lowering corporations' share of the financial burden, and backing off the monopoly utility's pledge to lower carbon emissions. Read about our news conference, and use our action alert to encourage Stein to veto it. Because the legislature failed to adjourn, he has until July 4 to act.
- Water quality and pipeline projects: H768 and S472 both ended up with sections requiring the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to turn around 401 certifications under an impossibly short timeline. We suspect this will be used to support fossil fuel pipeline projects. DEQ and environmental lobbyists were able to make some small improvements, but concerns remain, particularly a section of S472 that says manmade ditches are not designated as environmental areas of concern under the Coastal Area Management Act.
Other measures still in play:
- S401, the Farm Act of 2025, is in conference. We’ve been able to get a bad section on pesticides removed from multiple versions of the Farm Act this session. We'll fight to keep that section from being restored while the conference committee negotiates.
- H369, Parking Lot Reform and Modernization, passed the House and awaits Senate action. Unfortunately, a ban on coal tar sealant – basically, liquid coal ash – for parking lots was taken out, but we hope to see it restored in the Senate process.
- H125, Continuing Budget Operations, includes a provision allowing the Environmental Management Commission to hire its own staff, independent of DEQ. This is particularly troubling, as that commission has become more politicized. The House rejected the Senate's changes to the bill and it's in conference.
Some victories:
- Reid Wilson was confirmed as DEQ secretary. Wilson's long environmental career includes serving as the Sierra Club's national political director, several positions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency including chief of staff, and, most recently, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
- H948, the PAVE Act, passed both chambers and will be ratified and sent to Stein next week. The bill authorizes a ballot measure in Mecklenburg County, in which voters can decide whether to add a one-cent sales tax to help mass transit and other transportation. Forty percent of the revenues would go to road projects, while the other 60 percent would create an independent transit authority, helping to expand the county's light rail and bus system and eventually introduce the long-awaited Red Line.
- S706, County Waste Management Assistance, also is on its way to Stein's desk. The bill reestablishes that the scrap tire fee attached to the sale of every tire is directed to the Scrap Tire Fund, which makes grants to county landfills. Those funds were diverted in 2013 to the General Fund to help raise revenue.
- H1012, Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part II, was ratified and sent to the governor. This is the next installment of financial aid and relief for western North Carolina counties hit by Hurricane Helene last September. It includes important debris removal contracting language that makes the process easier for smaller counties, and funding for dam repair and removal and repair of private roads.
TAKE ACTION:
- URGENT: Help us encourage Governor Stein to veto S266: Stein has to act on the Ratepayer Risks Bill by July 4. We want him to have all the muscle the N.C. Sierra Club can provide to do it, because that will help us fight the legislature's inevitable attempt to override the veto. If you've already used our action alert to contact him, thank you! Please also ask your friends to sign on and share it on your social channels. And stay tuned: We'll have more actions to take to oppose the override votes.
- Clean energy development is still in danger: S730, which would redefine the state's Clean Energy Portfolio Standard (CEPS) and undermine our state's successful clean energy economy, stalled in the House but remains viable through the end of this biennium. Tell your House member to oppose Senate Bill 730.
- Restore NC wetlands protections: Regulators are going through the motions right now to undermine protection for our critically important wetlands, as ordered by the last General Assembly. Join us in building momentum for new legislation by urging lawmakers to reconsider how wetlands protect North Carolinians with flood control, clean drinking water, fisheries support, and wildlife habitat.