From the Office of

Representative Bill Ward

District 5

(Pasquotank, Camden, Gates and Hertford Counties)

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

My mission is to be transparent with my constituents and to help them to be informed with all that is taking place in the Legislature. My goal is to serve all of my District to the best of my ability. I am looking forward to serving you and listening to your concerns for your county. Do not hesitate to reach out to me with those concerns.

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2023 Legislative Accomplishments

Provided by the Office of the House Majority Leader During the 2023 legislative session, North Carolina House Republicans delivered key victories for hardworking people and families across our great state. Republicans secured critical reforms to expand educational freedom, protect children, empower parents, make our communities safer, encourage economic growth, hold government accountable and defend our freedoms. Despite obstruction from liberal Governor Roy Cooper and legislative Democrats, the House was still able to successfully override nineteen of the Governor’s vetoes, securing into law significant conservative wins.

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Election Integrity • End political interference and partisan control over election administration (SB 749) • Establish Election Day as absentee deadline, empower poll workers and prohibit Zuck Bucks (SB 747) • Ensure greater public access to voting records (HB 770)

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Public Safety •

Crack down on sanctuary policies by requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE (HB 10) • Increase penalties for rioting, looting, and assaulting an officer (HB 40) • Enhance hotel safety by allowing removal of disorderly guests (SB 53) • Increase penalties for “street takeovers” and dangerous stunt driving (SB 91) • Expand support and protections for human trafficking survivors (SB 626) • Strengthen penalties for drug dealers responsible for overdoses (HB 250) • Enhance efforts to combat fentanyl and overdose epidemic (SB 189) • Make it harder for violent offenders to bond out of jail (HB 813) • Stiffen penalties for vehicle break-ins (SB 409) • Add new opiates and fentanyl derivates to illicit list of controlled substances (HB 258) • Strengthen anti-trespassing laws and property owner protections (SB 246) • Increase penalties for attacks on electrical substations and critical infrastructure (SB 58) • Allow cities to hire and train civilians to investigate minor traffic crashes (HB 140) • Crack down on money laundering by creating new crime (HB 237) • Enhance elevator safety requirements for rental homes (HB 608) • Improve safety standards for municipal parades (HB 633) • Crack down on the use of embalming fluid as dangerous new drug (HB 278) • Expand no-contact orders for victims of violent crimes (HB 696)

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Budget •

Slashes personal income taxes, returning $1.2 billion to families. • Expands universal school choice to all North Carolina families. • Allocates $2 billion for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades. • Provides 7.4% raise for teachers, increasing average teacher pay to $60,671. • Funds implementation of voter ID requirement. • Provides 11% raise (16.5% with step increases) for State Highway Patrol. • Bans government COVID-19 vaccine mandates. • Gives state retirees a 4% cost-of-living-adjustment bonus. • Extends firefighter cancer program. • Directs 9% raise for school bus drivers. • Provides historic $640 million for mental health. • Allocates millions for programs supporting veterans in need

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Health Care •

Expand healthcare access by empowering physician assistants (HB 75) • Take additional steps to combat the opioid crisis (HB 35) • Educate patients about dangers of opioids and overdoses (HB 287) • Promote ethical advertising for substance use disorder treatments (HB 415) • Require insurers to cover breast cancer exams (HB 560) • Prohibit organ transplant discrimination due to COVID vaccination (HB 86) • Strengthen and improve safety plans for hospitals (HB 809) • Support and encourage live organ and bone marrow donors (HB 162) • Develop strategic state plan for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (HB 837) • Enhance penalties for manufacturing dangerous counterfeit pills (SB 206) • Increase small employer access to catastrophic insurance coverage (HB 688) • Recognize out-of-state medical licenses for service members and spouses (HB 681) • Require parental consent for 16- or 17-year-olds to donate blood (SB 389) 

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Law Enforcement and First Responders •

Streamline concealed carry for probation and parole officers (HB 36) • Enhance penalties for assaulting an officer and firing at emergency vehicles (HB 34) • Ensure law enforcement are not denied access to polling places due to uniform (HB 6) • Create the Medal of Valor Award for first responders (HB 387) • Protect firefighters from cancer-causing foam (HB 370) • Incentivize recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters (HB 565) • Extend death benefits to police officers killed on way to or from work (HB 363) • Establish separation allowance for law enforcement officers (HB 810) • Increase pension payments for firefighters and first responders (HB 270) • Increase penalties for firing at medical and law enforcement personnel (HB 707) • Allow retired police officers to draw retirement while still working (HB 768)

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Military and Veterans •

Enhance foreclosure protections for military service members (HB 469) • Provide military veteran registration license plates (HB 319) • Require employers to post state veterans benefits and services (HB 492) • Allow disabled veterans to prequalify for property tax exclusion (HB 594) • Enhance maintenance of state’s veterans’ cemeteries (HB 178) • Display POW/MIA flags over state buildings and public schools (HB 487) • Designate June 12th as “Women Veterans Day” in NC (HB 427)

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Agriculture, Rural Development and Energy •

Ban hostile foreign governments like China from buying farmland (HB 463) • Establish North Carolina Farmers Appreciation Day (HB 539) • Empower credit unions to better serve rural and underserved areas (HB 410) • Provide regulatory relief and certainty for farmers and promote agritourism (SB 582) • Expand access and expedite funding for rural broadband internet (HB 197) • Remove regulatory barriers to utilize nuclear energy (SB 678) • Prevent CA-style mandates banning home energy sources and appliances (HB 130)

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Government Accountability •

Streamline regulations to get hurricane victims back into homes faster (HB 119) • Hold localities accountable for not fulfilling annual audit (HB 122, SB 299) • Reduce unnecessary and burdensome government regulations (HB 600) • Add balance and accountability to unelected government boards/commissions (SB 512) • Block costly new home construction energy regulations (HB 488) • Express support for term limits on U.S. Congress (HJR 151) • Call for convention of states to rein in federal overreach (HJR 235) 

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Education •

Strengthen parental rights over child’s education, well-being, privacy, and safety (SB 49) • Ban anti-American school indoctrination like Critical Race Theory (HB 187) • Allow more local control over school calendars (HB 86) • Require computer science credit for high school graduation (HB 8) • Expand K-12 teacher professional development opportunities (HB 26) • Enhance protections for education savings and investment accounts (HB 131) • Improve operations for North Carolina’s schools for deaf and blind students (HB 11) • Establish arts high school diploma endorsement (HB 136) • Allow American Indians to wear feathers to graduation (HB 166) • Require U.S. history and government course for college graduation (HB 96) • Improve recommendation process for school curriculum standards (HB 756) • Address teacher shortages by recognize out-of-state teacher licenses (HB 824) • Promote youth outdoor recreational activities through grants and programming (SB 22) • Make it easier for educators to become principals (HB 432) • Require option of cash admission to high school athletic events (HB 38) • Increase transparency at NC High School Athletic Association (SB 452