Featured photo: Illustration by Aiden Siobhan

by Brian Clarey and Sayaka Matsuoka

It was quite a year on Jones Street, where drama colored the actions of the North Carolina Legislature, even more so than the laws they passed. Medicaid expansion came, finally, at a steep price that included budget amendments that brought a voucher program that threatens the funding of our public schools, an exemption for legislators from public-records laws and jacked-up Congressional districts. The year also saw Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenberg) switch parties to give the Republicans a veto-proof supermajority, which they employed with abandon.

In the Triad, Guilford and Forsyth reps played their part, sponsoring hundreds of bills, some of which actually got through. 

For this issue, we combed through the pieces of legislation they backed to bring you the “greatest hits” of the 2023 legislative year, some less great than others. Find out what they did for us this term and how effective they were, and remember to vote in the March primary and November general election!

FORSYTH HOUSE

Rep. Kanika Brown (D) District 71

  • Terms: 1
  • About the district: District 71 carves out the center bottom of the county, picking up parts of Jonestown to the west and Hootstown and Swaimtown in the south. Southeastern and southern Winston-Salem are also represented.
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 7 (0 signed into law), 1 resolution (1 adopted)

Highlights:

  • HB 416 — Environmental Justice Considerations (with Harrison): Requires the consideration of the impact of proposed environmental permitting decisions on minority or low-income communities and requires public participation for impacted communities.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 589 — Protect Whistleblower LEOs from Retaliation (with Zenger, Hardister): Protects law enforcement officers who report improper or unlawful activity — including the unauthorized use of excessive force — from retaliation. 
    • Status: Died on committee
  • HB 731 — Police Reform for 2023 (with Brockman): Limits no-knock warrants, the use of chokeholds by officers and strengthens the training and education of law enforcement.
    • Status: Died in committee

Rep. Amber Baker (D) District 72

  • Terms: 2
  • About the district: The district covers the central portion of Forsyth County, including Oak Crest and much of Winston-Salem.
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 13 (0 signed into law) 1 resolution (1 adopted)

Highlights:

  • HB 260 — Diversity in Pickleball Pilot Program: Provides $10,112 to a pilot program in Wake County to diversify pickleball in the area.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 143 — North Carolina Crown Act: This is the latest version of the bill that would make it illegal to “refuse employment to any person or discharge any person from employment because of traits historically associated with race or on account of the person’s hair texture or protective hairstyles.”
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 789 — Eviction Record Expunction Act: Would seal certain eviction records from public records and make denying rental applications based on certain sealed records illegal under the Fair Housing Act.
    • Status: Died in committee

Rep. Jeff Zenger (R) District 74

  • Terms: 2
  • About the district: District 74 covers almost the entire western portion of Forsyth County including most of Lewisville and Clemmons.
  • Committee chairs: Finance (vice chair), Regulatory Reform (chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 29 (2 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • HB 185 — Clarifying Sex Ed Time Frame: This act clarifies that reproductive health and safety education starts in seventh grade and not before.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 442 — UI Drug Testing Requirements/Funds: This act disqualifies employees from receiving unemployment insurance benefits if they fail a drug test.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 673 — Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment (with Lambeth): In an effort to target drag performers, this act clarifies adult live entertainment to mean “a performance featuring topless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, regardless of whether or not performed for consideration.”
    • Status: Died in committee 
  • HB 816 — Poll Observers: This act authorizes certified poll observers to observe opening procedures at early one-stop voting sites and on Election Day. This bill failed, but a different election law — SB 747 — enabling the same thing passed and goes into effect this year.
    • Status: Died in committee.

Rep. Donny Lambeth (R) District 75

  • Terms: 6
  • About the district: Covers most of the eastern portion of Forsyth County including the eastern half of Winston-Salem and western portion of Kernersville.
  • Committee chairs: Appropriations (senior chair), Appropriations, Health and Human Services (vice chair), Health (chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 43 (6 signed into law)

Highlights: 

  • HB 35 — Expand Definition of Opioid Antagonist: This bipartisan bill expands definition of opioid antagonist to include all opioid antagonists approved by the FDA for the treatment of a drug overdose and allows the use of all FDA antagonists in needle and hypodermic syringe exchange programs.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 76 — Access to Healthcare Options: This bill expands Medicaid.
    • Status: Signed into law March 27
  • HB 98 — Medical Freedom Act: A leftover bill from the height of the pandemic, this piece of legislation would prohibit state agencies, local governments and other political entities from discrimination against people who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccination or who refuse to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination unless the vaccine is required by the federal government or state agencies.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 140 — Civilian Traffic Investigators (with Faircloth, Hardister): This bipartisan bill allows cities to employ and allow civilian personnel to investigate traffic crashes.
    • Status: Signed into law June 23
  • HB 334 — Establish At-Large Seat/W-S City Council: This act increases the size of Winston-Salem’s city council to include an at-large seat, bringing the total number of members up from 8 to 9.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 433 — Hand Hygiene Pilot Program: This act appropriates $2 million to establish a two-year pilot program that would evaluate the effectiveness of increasing hand hygiene compliance among healthcare workers before and after patient contact.
    • Status: Died in committee.

Rep. Kyle Hall (R) District 91

  • Terms: 4.5
  • About the district: The district covers all of Stokes County and the upper third of Forsyth County.
  • Committee chairs: Appropriations (chair), Appropriations, Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources (vice chair), Appropriations, Information Technology (vice chair), Energy and Public Utilities (chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 26 (2 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • HB 422 — Prohibition of Unfair Real Estate Service Agreements: This bipartisan state House bill aims to prohibit the use of predatory real estate service agreements.
    • Status: Signed into law Aug. 24
  • HB 456 — Repeal Vehicle Emissions Inspection Rqmt’s: Removes all counties except Mecklenburg County from motor vehicle emissions testing requirements.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 551 — Landlord-Tenant and HOA Changes: Would make it so that landlords can refuse to rent to tenants whose income comes from federal housing assistance programs, regulate support animals in residences, expand litigation costs in eviction proceedings, and adjust HOA rules for homeowners.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 644 — Social Media Algorithmic Control in IT Act: A bipartisan act “to combat social media addiction by requiring that social media platforms respect the privacy of North Carolina users’ data and not use a North Carolina minor’s data for advertising or algorithmic recommendations and to make willful violations of data user privacy” illegal.
    • Status: Died in committee

FORSYTH SENATE

Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R) District 31

  • Terms: 5 (+1 in House) — Sen. Krawiec announced her retirement in December 2023 and will not be running for re-election this year.
  • About the district: The district contains Forsyth’s rural tracts outside Winston-Salem, the eastern part of the city and the entirety of Davie County.
  • Committee chairs: Appropriations on Health and Human Services (chair), Health Care (chair), Pensions and Retirement and Aging (chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 60 (7 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • SB 45 — CADC Supervision Requirements: Increases certification and training requirements for certified alcohol and drug counselors and certified criminal justice addictions professionals.
    • Status: Signed into law July 7
  • SB 722 — Child Care Flexibilities: “[T]he Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education… shall develop and implement criteria that incorporates the child development associate credential for birth through 3 years of age and the CDA credential for 3 to 5 years of age to count toward satisfying the requirements for the star rating system for child care.”
    • Status: Signed into law July 10
  • SB — The SAVE Act: “An act to deliver safe, accessible, value-directed, and excellent (save) health care throughout North Carolina by modernizing nursing regulations.”
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 321 — Medical Debt De-Weaponization Act: “An act to adopt the pro-family, pro-consumer medical debt protection act to limit the ability of large medical facilities to charge unreasonable interest rates and employ unfair tactics in debt collection and to limit the ability of non-hospital health care facilities to charge facility fees.”
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 631 — Minor Gender Trans. Proc./Public Providers: From the bill: “It shall be unlawful for a public healthcare facility, or a health care provider employed by or under contract with a public healthcare facility, to perform a surgical gender transition procedure on a minor or to provide or dispense puberty-blocking drugs or cross-sex hormones to a minor.”
    • Status: Passed the House, died in Senate committee.
  • SB 535 — Pension Forfeiture Due to Criminal Acts: “An act to cause the forfeiture of benefits under the teachers’ and state employees’ retirement system, the local government employees’ retirement system, the consolidated judicial retirement system, and the legislative retirement system for committing certain criminal offenses while in office….”
    • Status: Died in committee

Sen. Paul Lowe (D) District 32

  • Terms: 4
  • About the district: District 32 contains the southwest corner of Forsyth County including Lewisville, Clemmons and the western half of Winston-Salem.
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 22 (0 signed into law)

Highlights:

GUILFORD HOUSE

Rep. Cecil Brockman (D) District 60

  • Terms: 5
  • About the district: District 60 covers the southwestern corner of Guilford County including High Point.
  • Committee chairs: Education – K-12 (vice chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 8 (0 signed into law)

Highlights:

Rep. Ashton Clemmons (D) District 57

  • Terms: 3
  • About the district: District 57 cuts a large portion out of Guilford County’s northwestern area covering most of Summerfield and parts of Oak Ridge and Stokesdale.
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 41 (2 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • HB 321 — Reduce Maternal Morbidity/Mortality/Medicaid: This act would reduce maternal morbidity and mortality by increasing Medicaid rates for obstetric care providers.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 355 — Ensure Same-Sex Domestic Violence Prot. Order: This act ensures domestic violence protective orders for same-sex couples.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 362 — Fix Our Democracy: This omnibus bill ensures strong voting protections by establishing a nonpartisan redistricting process, a nonpartisan method for judicial elections, extends the waiting period for former legislators who become lobbyists, provides online voter registration, automatic voter registration, prohibits voter roll purging and makes changes to campaign finance laws for increased transparency among other changes.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 494 — Strong Minds Pilot Program: This act would use $280,000 in government funds to 
  • establish a pilot program that supports the mental health of caregivers of children birth through 5 years of age in Wake and Richmond counties.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 562 — Addressing the Workforce Housing Crisis (with Zenger): This act addresses critical housing shortages for firefighters, law enforcement officers, teachers, nurses and other vital workers as well as first-time homebuyers by creating housing developments.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 729 — Add Segregation Score to School Report Cards (with Brockman): This act incorporates measures of racial and ethnic proportionality scores as well as measures of equality of access to school report cards.
    • Status: Died in committee.

Rep. Amos Quick (D) District 58

  • Terms: 4
  • About the district: District 58 covers the southern portion of Guilford County, including the southern parts of Greensboro, down Randleman Rd.
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 13 (0 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • HB 156 — Funds for Establishing Safe Cultures (with Clemmons, Hardister, Harrison): This act creates a community-based program that provides young people with constructive actions to lessen gun violence rather than lecture them on their negative behaviors
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 584 — Mobile Home Park Act (with Harrison): This act provides protections for mobile homeowners and mobile home park management
    • Status: Died in committee
  • HB 686 — Civil Rights Education (with Hardister): This act ensures that a comprehensive civil rights education — including “the philosophy that hatred on the basis of immutable characteristics leads to profound injustice” — will be provided to every student in the state.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 843 — Community Violence Intervention Funding: This act would award grants to local governments, law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations for the development of community violence intervention programs.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 857 — Cities/Chronic Violators of Ordinances (with Clemmons, Faircloth, Hardister): This act ensures that cities notify chronic violators of public nuisance and overgrown vegetation ordinances on a rolling twelve-month basis instead of in a calendar year.
    • Status: Died in committee.

Rep. Jon Hardister (R) District 59

  • Terms: 6 — Rep. Hardister will run for labor commissioner in 2024 and is not seeking re-election to the House.
  • About the district: District 59 covers all of the eastern half of Guilford County including much of Greensboro and into Gibsonville.
  • Committee chairs: Appropriations (vice chair), Appropriations, Education (chair), Education – Universities (chair), UNC Board of Governors Nominations (vice chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 59 (6 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • HB 88 — Omnibus Local Elections (with Faircloth): This omnibus bill included a number of changes to the way local elections work in various counties, most notably allowing for vacancies on the Guilford County Board of Education to be filled in a more clear manner. The bill was introduced and passed after a months-long controversy between two Republican candidates to fill the empty seat left by former school board member Pat Tillman earlier this year.
    • Status: Became law March 16
  • HB 282 — Trade Schools Study (with Zenger): This act compiles information regarding the trades workforce and future training including in plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electricity and welding.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 322 — Tri-Share Child Care Pilot Funds (with Clemmons): This act would establish a child care pilot program between three state agencies to increase access to high-quality, affordable child care.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 468 — Camera Enforcement of Greensboro School Zones (with Clemmons, Faircloth, Quick): This act authorizes the city of Greensboro to establish a pilot program to use electronic speed-measuring systems to detect speed limit violations in school zones.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 826 — Protect Law Enforcement/Judges Personal Info: This act would require the removal of law enforcement personnel, prosecutor, public defenders and judicial officers’ personal information from city and county websites if requested.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HR 897 — Support for Israel: This resolution urged Congress to support the nation of Israel.
    • Status: Adopted Oct. 10

Rep. Pricey Harrison (D) District 61

  • Terms: 10
  • About the district: District 61 covers most of central Greensboro stretching from West Wendover Ave. to Huffine Mill Rd. in the east.
  • Committee chairs: Environment (vice chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 47 (0 signed into law)

Highlights:

Rep. John Faircloth (R) District 62

  • Terms: 7 — Rep. Faircloth has announced he will not run for re-election in 2024
  • About the district: District 62 covers the western portion of Guilford County from Stokesdale down through Kernersville.
  • Committee chairs: Appropriations (chair), Appropriations, Justice and Public Safety (vice chair)
  • Primary sponsor: 16 (3 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • HB 237 — Criminal Law Revisions: This bill criminalizes money laundering and doles out harsher sentences if the convicted wears a hood, mask or other clothing that conceals their identity.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 405 — Funds for Ready for School, Ready for Life (with Clemmons, Hardister, Brockman): This bill uses $4.8 million of state funds for a nonprofit organization that provides a system of care for children aged 0-5 years old to improve outcomes and school readiness.
    • Status: Died in committee.
  • HB 877 — NCIOM Study/Medical Aid in Dying (with Harrison, Lambeth): This bill would direct the NC Institute of Medicine to study the legalization of medical aid in dying in NC.
    • Status: Died in committee.

GUILFORD SENATE

Rep. Michael Garrett (D) District 27

  • Terms: 3
  • About the district: District 27 includes the southwest corner of Guilford County including High Point, Jamestown and Pleasant Garden, excluding Greensboro
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 51 bills (0 signed into law)

Highlights:

  • SB 73 — Parents and Students Bill of Rights: A 14-item Bill of Rights, the list includes access to information about education and school records, curriculum, mental health services, and more; a non-discriminatory environment and other safety issues; breakfast and lunch; representation in the decision-making process and several other amendments. Worth a read.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 210 — Gun Violence Prevention Act: Instills new permitting regulations and waiting periods for long guns, enforces an expiration date on pistol purchases, prohibits bump stocks and trigger cranks, makes illegal the possession of a firearm by a minor, requires liability insurance for firearms and several other items.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 224 — East Greensboro NOW Nonprofit Support (with Robinson): Appropriated $3.175 million for economic development and community-building in East Greensboro, including $1.35 million in support for minority-owned businesses in the district.
    • Status: Died in Committee
  • SB 421 — State Employees/Paid Parental Leave: Gives eight weeks of paid parental leave to all state employees.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 424 — Restore the American Dream Act: Restores investment in the state Housing Trust Fund with a $6.50 fee at the registrar of deeds and a statewide 2-cent property tax hike.
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 520 — Commuter Rail Study/Piedmont Triad (with Lowe and Robinson): An act to study the feasibility of commuter rail connecting Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point.
  • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 705 — Equity in Justice Act for 2023: An omnibus crime bill that makes certain chokeholds used by law enforcement illegal, requires medical assistance for people in custody, codifies data collection at crime scenes, regulates no-knock warrants, decriminalizes marijuana possession, regulates school resource officers and more than a dozen other things.
    • Status: Died in committee

Rep. Gladys Robinson (D) District 28

  • Terms: 7
  • About the district: District 28 is now most of the city of Greensboro, with a bit in the east ceded to District 26.
  • Committee chairs: None
  • Primary sponsor: 26 bills (1 signed into law)

Highlights:

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R) District 26

  • Terms: 12
  • About the district: The most powerful man in the Senate also represents District 26, which marries eastern and northern Guilford County, including a slice of east Greensboro, with all of Rockingham County
  • Committee chairs: Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations (co-chair),
  • Primary sponsor: 4 bills (1 signed into law), 3 resolutions (3 adopted)

Highlights:

  • SB 512 — Greater Accountability for Boards/Commissions: Realigns key state boards, how they are organized and how their members are appointed, including Utilities Commission, the UNC Board of Governors and the Department of Transportation.
    • Status: Veto overridden on Oct. 10
  • SB 680 — Revise Higher Ed Accreditation: “An act to revise the accreditation process for constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina and community colleges, to create a cause of action for postsecondary institutions damaged by false statements made to accrediting agencies, to establish a commission to study accreditation, and to make certain conforming changes.”
    • Status: Died in committee
  • SB 651 — Tax Relief for All (with Krawiec): Reduces personal income tax from 4.99 percent down to 2.49 percent by 2026
    • Status: Died in committee

Correction: An earlier version of this piece omitted Rep. Cecil Brockman.

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