GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 501 Short Title: Modernize Domestic Violence Protection Order. (Public) Sponsors: Representatives Morey, Dahle, Johnson-Hostler, and Butler (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site. Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House March 26, 2025 *H501 -v-1* A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 AN ACT TO ENSURE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROTECTIVE ORDERS ARE AVAILABLE 2 FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES. 3 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 SECTION 1. G.S. 50B-1(b) reads as rewritten: 5 "(b) For purposes of this section, the term "personal relationship" means a relationship 6 wherein the parties involved:involved either: 7 (1) Are current or former spouses;spouses. 8 (2) Are persons of opposite sex who live together or have lived together;together. 9 (3) Are related as parents and children, including others acting in loco parentis to 10 a minor child, or as grandparents and grandchildren. For purposes of this 11 subdivision, an aggrieved party may not obtain an order of protection against 12 a child or grandchild under the age of 16;16. 13 (4) Have a child in common;common. 14 (5) Are current or former household members;members. 15 (6) Are persons of the opposite sex who are in a dating relationship or have been 16 in a dating relationship. For purposes of this subdivision, a dating relationship 17 is one wherein the parties are romantically involved over time and on a 18 continuous basis during the course of the relationship. A casual acquaintance 19 or ordinary fraternization between persons in a business or social context is 20 not a dating relationship." 21 SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to domestic 22 violence protective orders issued on or after that date. 23