Legislative Update from Rep. Iler — May 14, 2025
Last week at the North Carolina General Assembly was about the busiest ever, particularly in the House of Representatives. We were faced with a deadline to get our part of the state budget done, as well as a firm deadline to get our bills voted out of the House and over to the Senate.
Personally, I frequently had meetings of committees which am a member at the same time I was presenting bills that I had filed in another committee. Between committee meetings we were meeting with our fiscal staff and bill drafters to complete our area of the budget by the end of the week. The area in which I am involved is the transportation budget. The good news is that we got a lot done during the long days.
It would be difficult to list but a few of the 80 bills we voted out of the House and sent to the Senate. I sponsored some coastal bills, including three I will mention. House Bill 441 would make the loggerhead sea turtle the state saltwater reptile. House Bill 442 restores the recreational fishing season for flounder and red snapper, as there was no allowed flounder season in 2024. House Bill 569 would hold liable PFAS and GenX chemical manufacturers that pollute public water systems that then have to spend millions to clean the water. The reimbursement would be rebated to the ratepayers, who have been paying for the upgrades. Rep. Ted Davis was the first primary sponsor and I was the second. Rep. Carson Smith of Pender County sponsored a bill to study shellfish leasing. I was one of the co-sponsors.
Other bills of interest include these subjects: Prevent non-citizens from getting state benefits; Prevent camping on public spaces such as homeless people on city sidewalks; Prevent sexual exploitation of women and minors; Foster care system improvement; Registered nurses in schools; A student lifeline to relieve the youth suicide rate; Home title fraud prevention; and Offering gun owners a lifetime concealed carry permit instead of the 5-year renewal required.
There was not much time to meet with visiting groups, but was good to spend a few minutes with the N.C. Homebuilders from southeastern N.C.
This week we will be reviewing the bills that came over from the Senate and scheduling our committees to hear them. The Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee will be assembling the area budgets which we gave them last week and deciding on some major items for the final House budget.