North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S438 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
2	2		SESSION 2025
3		-	S 1
4		-	SENATE BILL 438
	3	+	S D
	4	+	SENATE BILL DRS15105-LR-68B
	5	+
5	6
6	7
7	8		Short Title: NC Adopt ERA. (Public)
8	9		Sponsors: Senators Mayfield, Murdock, and Bradley (Primary Sponsors).
9		-	Referred to: ~~Rules and Operations of the Senate~~
10		-	~~March 25, 2025~~
11		-	~~S438 -v-1~~
	10	+	Referred to:
	11	+
	12	+	DRS15105 -LR-68B
12	13		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
13	14		AN ACT TO RATIFY THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF 2
14	15		THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 3
15	16		Whereas, Article V of the Constitution of the United States of America sets forth a 4
16	17		two-step amending process; and 5
17	18		Whereas, the first step of the Article V amending process is proposal of an amendment 6
18	19		by two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by application of 7
19	20		two-thirds of the States; and 8
20	21		Whereas, the 92nd Congress of the United States of America, at its second session, in 9
21	22		both houses, by a constitutional majority of two-thirds thereof, adopted the following proposition 10
22	23		to amend the Constitution of the United States of America in the following words, to wit: 11
23	24		"JOINT RESOLUTION 12
24	25		"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 13
25	26		Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is 14
26	27		proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all 15
27	28		intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths 16
28	29		of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress: 17
29	30		"ARTICLE ______ 18
30	31		"Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United 19
31	32		States or by any State on account of sex. 20
32	33		"Sec. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 21
33	34		provisions of this article. 22
34	35		"Sec. 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification."; and 23
35	36		Whereas, next, the second and final step of the Article V amending process is 24
36	37		ratification of an amendment by three-fourths of the States; and 25
37	38		Whereas, some forty-eight years after the amendment was adopted by Congress, on 26
38	39		January 27, 2020, Virginia became the 38th of the 50, or three-fourths, of the States to ratify this 27
39	40		federal Equal Rights Amendment; and 28
40	41		Whereas, in its distinct role as one of the original thirteen States, North Carolina 29
41	42		participated in the 1787 federal Constitutional Convention and helped draft the precise text of 30
42	43		the federal Constitution, including Article V which preserves States' rights to amend the 31
43	44		document; and 32
44	45		Whereas, a demand for amendments to the federal Constitution in order to recognize 33
45		-	individual rights is part of the patriotic heritage of the State of North Carolina; and 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
46		-	Page 2 Senate Bill 438-First Edition
	46	+	individual rights is part of the patriotic heritage of the State of North Carolina; and 34
	47	+	FILED SENATE
	48	+	Mar 24, 2025
	49	+	S.B. 438
	50	+	PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	51	+	Page 2 DRS15105-LR-68B
47	52		Whereas, James Madison and other leaders made clear to the state ratifying 1
48	53		conventions for the federal Constitution that ratification cannot be conditioned on amendments 2
49	54		and, once made, a ratification is final and cannot be rescinded; and 3
50	55		Whereas, at the state ratifying convention for the federal Constitution held in 4
51	56		Hillsborough in summer of 1788, North Carolina delegates sought a bill of individual rights to 5
52	57		be added to the federal Constitution and voted 184 to 84 to neither ratify nor reject the document; 6
53	58		and 7
54	59		Whereas, as a consequence, North Carolina was one of only two original States not 8
55	60		part of the then United States under the new federal Constitution at the end of 1788; and 9
56	61		Whereas, the comments and concerns of North Carolina informed James Madison 10
57	62		when he drafted amendments preserving individual and States' rights; and 11
58	63		Whereas, those proposed twelve amendments were approved by the new Congress in 12
59	64		September of 1789; and 13
60	65		Whereas, after those amendments were sent to the States for ratification, North 14
61	66		Carolina ratified the federal Constitution at its second state ratifying convention in Fayetteville 15
62	67		in November of 1789; and 16
63	68		Whereas, in December of 1789, North Carolina ratified all twelve of the amendments 17
64	69		proposed by Congress; and 18
65	70		Whereas, because of North Carolina's initial refusal to ratify a federal Constitution 19
66	71		without a bill of rights, we have our first ten amendments protecting individual rights at the 20
67	72		national level; and 21
68	73		Whereas, another one of the twelve amendments ratified by North Carolina in 22
69	74		December of 1789 was added to the federal Constitution over 200 years later, in 1992, when it 23
70	75		became fully ratified by 38 of the 50, or three-fourths, of the States; and 24
71	76		Whereas, that amendment, known as the Congressional Pay Amendment, is our 27th 25
72	77		Amendment, because Article V of the federal Constitution does not limit the time for States to 26
73	78		ratify an amendment; and 27
74	79		Whereas, adding a ratification time limit is itself an amendment to the Constitution 28
75	80		and must be included within the text of an amendment in order to have effect; and 29
76	81		Whereas, the seven-year ratification time frame included in the internal resolution 30
77	82		Congress used to vote on the proposed Equal Rights Amendment is outside the text of the 31
78	83		amendment and without legal effect; and 32
79	84		Whereas, having been fully ratified by three-fourths of the States as of January 27, 33
80	85		2020, and with those ratifications as final and irrevocable under law, the Equal Rights 34
81	86		Amendment is now our 28th Amendment to the federal Constitution, despite a failure to date of 35
82	87		the federal government to comply with 1 United States Code 106b requiring official recognition 36
83	88		of this constitutional act of the States; and 37
84	89		Whereas, North Carolina's own history has shown that a constitutional ratification is 38
85	90		an important statement of States' rights at any time, as exemplified by the state's ratification of 39
86	91		the 19th Amendment on May 6, 1971, 51 years after its ratification; and 40
87	92		Whereas, unlike other State constitutions, the North Carolina State Constitution does 41
88	93		not include equal protection against sex discrimination; and 42
89	94		Whereas, in a 2020 poll by the Pew Research Center, about eight in ten Americans 43
90	95		(78%) said they favored the federal Equal Rights Amendment, including majorities of men and 44
91	96		women and Democrats and Republicans alike; and 45
92	97		Whereas, bipartisan support for the Equal Rights Amendment has continued to rise in 46
93	98		North Carolina, with a 2023 Meredith Poll showing an increase of more than four percent of 47
94	99		voters in support (to 71.5%), and opposition falling by more than three percent (to just 13.5%) 48
95	100		compared to a 2019 poll; and 49 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
96		-	~~Senate Bill 438-First Edition~~ Page 3
	101	+	DRS15105-LR-68B Page 3
97	102		Whereas, the federal Equal Rights Amendment is a foundational constitutional 1
98	103		guarantee in North Carolina and nationally, since it affirms that constitutional rights are held 2
99	104		equally by all persons regardless of sex; and 3
100	105		Whereas, a recognition of individual rights, including equality of rights under the 4
101	106		federal Constitution, is an essential addition to North Carolina's patriotic heritage; Now, 5
102	107		therefore, 6
103	108		The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
104	109		SECTION 1. The General Assembly of North Carolina hereby ratifies and affirms 8
105	110		the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America set forth in this 9
106	111		act. 10
107	112		SECTION 2. A certified copy of this act shall be forwarded by the Governor of this 11
108	113		State to the Archivist of the United States, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the 12
109	114		Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, and each member 13
110	115		of the North Carolina congressional delegation. 14
111	116		SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law. 15