NOTE: The state legislature left Raleigh on July 2 after passing the budget, with plans to return on July 27 to take up remaining items on their TO DO list before adjourning for the year. Raleigh Report will also take a break, returning on July 31 and continued on each week until the General Assembly is finally done. 

This Week

On Tuesday, Governor Josh Stein signed into law the state budget approved by the General Assembly last week.

Saying the GOP-produced tax and spending plan ‘gets a lot of things right,’ Stein did have some criticisms of certain proposals he characterized as ‘real flaws’ such as the elimination of nearly 1,000 vacant state government positions, transfer out of the Department of Administration (one of the governor’s cabinet agencies) control of state buildings and property, and reduction in the number of gubernatorial appointments to state boards including the Real Estate Commission and the Historical Preservation Commission.

A few highlights from the budget:

• $1B for Medicaid rebase, which is funding expected as needed to cover the medical costs for the 3 million North Carolinians who get their health care from the program.
• $700M for Hurricane Helene recovery projects, including $450M needed to qualify for matching recovery funds from FEMA.
• $100M to subsidize the childcare costs of lower income families, made available through the NC Department of Health and Human Services.
• $200M for the proposed children’s hospital to be co-managed by UNC and Duke healthcare systems – funding for this was a sticking point previously with the Senate supporting funding and the House less supportive.
• $10M for the construction and maintenance of wildlife crossings along NC highways, to secure federal matching funds for these structures in an effort to reduce vehicle collisions with animals (IIANC was a part of the coalition advocating for this).
• The exemption on the sales tax paid on electricity by data centers was eliminated, with other purchases for equipment or software remaining sales tax free.
• The state’s Building Code Council was moved from the Office of State Fire Marshal to the Department of Labor.

Other Items of Interest

HB 356, which contains items on the IIANC Legislative Agenda, passed the Senate in late June and is currently in the House awaiting action; we’re confident it will be taken up once the legislature returns later this month.

As mentioned previously, one item contained in the bill is the extension of the effective date to January 1, 2027, for a law passed last year to require all NC drivers’ license holders who are subject to the inexperienced operator surcharge to maintain continuous liability coverage – carriers expressed a desire for a delayed effective date to ensure the data transmission protocols set by DMV they must now follow to ensure compliance are working.

The effective date in the original legislation was July 1, 2026, but at this point all parties involved, including DMV and NC Department of Insurance, are aware the new effective date should be enacted pretty quickly once the state legislature is back at the end of the month so are standing by for now.

IIANC is also working with Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey on securing statutory authorization before the final legislative adjournment for health insurance carriers to be able to offer short term limited duration health insurance policies for a period of up to 36 months. A change in federal regulations regarding such plans necessitated enabling language be added to state law.

IIANC member and Senate Health Care Committee chair Senator Jim Burgin has taken a lead on this effort, which comes in response to requests among our health insurance agent members that such plans are needed as an option in North Carolina’s health insurance marketplace.

Finally…

IIANC Chief Advocacy Officer Joe Stewart joined IIANC Board member Landon Bentham on a webinar held Thursday on the topic of AI Ethics and Governance. State Representative Zack Hawkins (D-Durham), a member of the state’s AI Leadership Council, joined in on the conversation. Click HERE to see the recording of the webinar.

And, Governmental Affairs is underway with planning for a new initiative specifically for IIANC young agents.

The iLEAD Top Gun program will feature three sessions in October, one in person in Raleigh and two held virtually, to provide the next generation of independent insurance agents with a fuller understanding of how the rules and regulations that govern their profession are made. They’ll also gain insights into how political campaigns work, and best practices to ensure they are effective advocates for their profession.

Information on applying for the iLEAD Top Gun program will be coming out soon – if you are interested in learning more about it, contact Joe Stewart at jstewart@iianc.com.