GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 977
Short Title: Defend NC. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Hawkins.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 14, 2025
*H977 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO DEFEND THE PEOPLE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
4
PROHIBIT NORTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND OFFICERS 5
FROM ASSISTING IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT 6
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 17F of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 7
section to read: 8
"§ 17F-15. Prohibit law enforcement agencies and officers from participating in 9
immigration enforcement. 10
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no criminal justice agency, as 11
defined by G.S. 17C-2, or sheriff's office shall assist United States Immigration and Customs 12
Enforcement in the (i) apprehension or arrest of persons for alleged or suspected immigration 13
violations or (ii) service of warrants for removal from the United States in any of the following 14
locations. 15
(b) Any current or future memorandum, agreement, or contract made between a criminal 16
justice agency or sheriff's office and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall 17
be void to the extent that the performance of the memorandum, agreement, or contract would 18
violate subsection (a) of this section. 19
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no criminal justice officer, as 20
defined by G.S. 17C-2, or justice officer, as defined by G.S. 17E-2, shall do any of the following: 21
(1) Assist United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the (i) 22
apprehension or arrest of persons for alleged or suspected immigration 23
violations or (ii) service of warrants for removal from the United States. 24
(2) Be deputized by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for any 25
of the actions referenced in subdivision (1) of this subsection." 26
SECTION 1.(b) The Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards 27
Commission and the Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission shall promulgate 28
rules consistent with G.S. 17F-15, as created by this section. 29
SECTION 1.(c) This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to 30
assistance provided on or after that date. 31
32
TEMPORARILY SUSPEND SALES TAX ON CERTAIN ITEMS 33
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 105-164.3 reads as rewritten: 34
"§ 105-164.3. Definitions. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 977-First Edition
The following definitions apply in this Article: 1
… 2
(259A) Tariff-affected goods of 2025. – Any item subject to North Carolina sales 3
tax which has increased in average sales price in the year 2025 by more than 4
fifty percent (50%) as a result of federal tariff modifications made and 5
implemented in 2025, as determined, announced, and made publicly available 6
by the North Carolina Department of Commerce." 7
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 105-164.13 reads as rewritten: 8
"§ 105-164.13. Retail sales and use tax. 9
The sale at retail and the use, storage, or consumption in this State of the following items are 10
specifically exempted from the tax imposed by this Article: 11
… 12
(76) During the 2025-2026 State fiscal year, the sales of items qualifying as 13
tariff-affected goods of 2025 under G.S. 105-164.3(259A)." 14
15
UPHOLD PROMISES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES TO NORTH CAROLINIANS 16
SECTION 3. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the State of North Carolina, 17
including its agencies, departments, divisions, counties, and municipalities, shall take every 18
action necessary to keep the promises of federal agencies to working North Carolinians. 19
20
KEEP NORTH CAROLINA CITIZENS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICAID 21
SECTION 4. It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure that benefits through 22
the North Carolina Medicaid Program remain available to eligible North Carolina citizens 23
regardless of any federal action. 24
25
CONSIDER SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESEARCH FUNDING 26
SECTION 5.(a) The Department of Health and Human Services shall consider 27
alternatives to decreased or terminated federal funding related at a minimum to all of the 28
following: 29
(1) State biomedical initiatives. 30
(2) State health initiatives. 31
(3) State biomedical and health-related research. 32
SECTION 5.(b) No later than March 1, 2026, the Department of Health and Human 33
Services shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services 34
regarding any of its findings and recommendations made pursuant to the requirements of 35
subsection (a) of this section. 36
37
STATEWIDE STUDY AND REPORT ON FUNDS ELIM INATED BY THE 38
DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFIC IENCY 39
SECTION 6.(a) No later than March 15, 2026, the State Board of Education, the 40
Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, and the State Board of Community 41
colleges shall study and separately report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee 42
on federal funds provided for education that have been eliminated by the federal Department of 43
Government Efficiency and any actions that have already been taken or that need to be taken to 44
replace those funds or, if the funds cannot be replaced, to achieve the same purposes for which 45
those funds were provided. 46
SECTION 6.(b) At a minimum, the reports required by this section shall include 47
each of the following: 48
(1) An estimate of the total cost of reduced, suspended, or cancelled grants from 49
the National Institutes of Health to the in-state operations of entities registers, 50
headquartered, or doing business in the State. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 977-First Edition Page 3
(2) A proposal to direct our State to appropriate fifty percent (50%) of the total 1
value of the identified loss in National Institute of Health funding to create a 2
new state agency, the North Carolina Institute of Health, which shall issue 3
grants to support biomedical and health research and innovation in the State 4
with the intention of replacing the economic growth supported by the National 5
Institutes of Health. Pursuant to this proposal, the North Carolina Institute of 6
Health shall be the name of a funding vehicle housed within the existing 7
structure of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services 8
and shall be a fund operated at the discretion of the Secretary of the 9
Department of Health and Human Services. The Secretary of the Department 10
of Health and Human Services may structure this entity as the Secretary 11
pleases, but must distribute funds following an open grant application process 12
that takes into consideration geographic distribution of awardees with the 13
intention of dispersing funds to as many counties as possible with qualified 14
applicants. This fund will be drawn from the value of funding lost in the 15
current fiscal year only and must be fully distributed by the end of fiscal year 16
2027. 17
18
SEVERABILITY AND EFFECTIVE DATE 19
SECTION 7.(a) If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or 20
invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any section or 21
provision other than the section or provision so declared to be unconstitutional or invalid. 22
SECTION 7.(b) Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes 23
law. 24