NC
North Carolina Senate Bill S583

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S583 Compare Versions

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11 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
22 SESSION 2025
3-S 1
4-SENATE BILL 583
3+S D
4+SENATE BILL DRS45295-NBxfa-86
5+
56
67
78 Short Title: Lead. Invest. Families/Foster Teen Act (LIFT). (Public)
89 Sponsors: Senators Murdock, Chitlik, and Applewhite (Primary Sponsors).
9-Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
10-March 26, 2025
11-*S583 -v-1*
10+Referred to:
11+
12+*DRS45295 -NBxfa -86*
1213 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
1314 AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT THE "LEADING INVESTMENTS IN FAMILIES AND FOSTER 2
1415 TEENS ACT" AND TO IMPLEMENT THE HEALTHY START NC PROGRAM TO 3
1516 REDUCE MATERNAL MORTALITY AND CHILDHOOD POVERTY AND TO OFFSET 4
1617 COSTS BY MODIFYING THE CORPORATE INCOME TAX RATE SO AS TO KEEP 5
1718 THE EFFECTIVE TAX RATE FOR CORPORATE TAXPAYERS MORE CLOSELY 6
1819 ALIGNED WITH THAT WHICH IS REQUIRED OF INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYERS OF 7
1920 THE STATE. 8
2021 Whereas, wealth and income inequality, which have long plagued North Carolina and 9
2122 the country, continue to grow; and 10
2223 Whereas, structural poverty in our State leads to economic inequality, limited access 11
2324 to education, healthcare, and affordable housing, and high rates of incarceration and 12
2425 environmental hazards. These systemic disparities have created cycles of poverty across 13
2526 generations, leading to underemployment, poor health outcomes, and lower educational 14
2627 advancement; and 15
2728 Whereas, a 2025 Bankrate survey found that fifty-nine percent (59%) of Americans 16
2829 don't have enough savings to cover an unexpected $1,000 emergency expense; and 17
2930 Whereas, we can keep more people out of poverty created by expected or unexpected 18
3031 life changes, or emergencies, by providing targeted populations with recurring payments when 19
3132 they need it most; and 20
3233 Whereas, building on the successes and learnings of City of Durham's guaranteed 21
3334 income pilot, Excel, and Durham County's program, DCo Thrives, we can disrupt structural 22
3435 poverty across North Carolina by zeroing in populations that are most susceptible to financial 23
3536 hardship; and 24
3637 Whereas, this act shifts the paradigm from reacting to poverty to preventing poverty; 25
3738 Now, therefore, 26
3839 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 27
3940 SECTION 1.(a) Article 3 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by 28
4041 adding a new Part to read: 29
4142 "Part 3B. 30
4243 "Leading Investments in Families and Foster Teens Act. 31
4344 "§ 143B-146.30. Short title. 32
4445 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Leading Investments in Families and Foster 33
4546 Teens Act." 34
4647 "§ 143B-146.31. Definitions. 35
47-(a) The following definitions apply in this Part: 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
48-Page 2 Senate Bill 583-First Edition
48+(a) The following definitions apply in this Part: 36
49+FILED SENATE
50+Mar 25, 2025
51+S.B. 583
52+PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
53+Page 2 DRS45295-NBxfa-86
4954 (1) Department. – The Department of Health and Human Services. 1
5055 (2) Eligible recipient. – A high school participant, expectant or new mother 2
5156 participant, survivor of a natural disaster, or young adult exiting foster care 3
5257 participant, who meets the criteria to receive Program income payments under 4
5358 the Program. 5
5459 (3) High school participant. – A public school student who is in Grade 12 and is 6
5560 a homeless child or youth, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2). 7
5661 (4) Expectant or new mother participant. – A person who is pregnant or a person 8
5762 who birthed a child and that child is under 18 months of age. 9
5863 (5) Survivor of a natural disaster. – Individuals that are eligible to receive Federal 10
5964 Emergency Management Agency Individual Assistance or FEMA individual 11
6065 assistance funds. 12
6166 (6) Young adult exiting foster care participant. – Anyone who was in foster care 13
6267 after 14 years of age, who exited foster care after 16 years of age, and who has 14
6368 not yet turned 27 years of age. 15
6469 (7) Fund. – The LIFT Fund. 16
6570 (8) Liaison. – A local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths 17
6671 and unaccompanied youths designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) 18
6772 of Title 42 of the United States Code. 19
6873 (9) LIFT. – Leading Investments in Families and Foster Teens. 20
6974 (10) Program. – The Leading Investments in Families and Foster Teens (LIFT) 21
7075 Program. 22
7176 (11) Program income payment. – Cash payments of equal amounts issued monthly 23
7277 to eligible recipients with the intention of stabilizing the eligible recipients' 24
7378 financial security and to protect from emergency expenditures. 25
7479 (12) Taxable year. – As defined in G.S. 105-153.3. 26
7580 "§ 143B-146.32. Program. 27
7681 There is established the Leading Investments in Families and Foster Teens Program is 28
7782 established within the Department to support eligible recipients with Program income payments 29
7883 for limited periods of time in accordance with the Program. Eligible recipients shall only receive 30
7984 funds to the extent that the Program income payments do not conflict with federal law, eligibility 31
8085 for other federal of State programs, or any necessary waivers or exemptions for State or federal 32
8186 benefits that are jeopardized. Eligible recipients shall receive payments of one thousand dollars 33
8287 ($1,000.00) per month in accordance with the following schedule: 34
8388 (1) High school participants shall receive Program income payments beginning 35
8489 April 1 and continuing through to August 1 on the first business days of each 36
8590 of those months. These payments begin on April 1, 2026, and continue 37
8691 through April 1, 2035, during those months listed above. 38
8792 (2) Young adults exiting foster care shall receive Program income payments 39
8893 beginning April 1, 2026, through to April 1, 2035, on the first business day of 40
8994 each month. 41
9095 (3) Expectant or new mothers shall receive Program income payments beginning 42
9196 April 1, 2026, through to April 1, 2035, on the first business day of each 43
9297 month. 44
9398 (4) Beginning April 1, 2026, through to April 1, 2035, survivors of a natural 45
9499 disaster shall receive Program income payments the first business day of each 46
95100 month for 12 months after qualifying for Federal Emergency Management 47
96101 Agency Individual Assistance. 48
97102 "§ 143B-146.33. Fund. 49
98103 The LIFT Fund is hereby established within the Department as a nonreverting, 50
99104 interest-bearing account to receive appropriations, gifts, grants, federal funds, donations, and any 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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101106 other funds to support this Program. The Department shall administer the Fund. Interest earned 1
102107 shall become part of the Fund. Monies in the Fund are hereby appropriated for the purposes set 2
103108 forth in this Part and shall not be diverted for other purposes. 3
104109 "§ 143B-146.34. Agency coordination. 4
105110 The Department shall coordinate with the Department of Public Instruction, the Division of 5
106111 Social Services, the Division of Public Health, and the Department of Public Safety, Division of 6
107112 Emergency Management, for the respective eligible recipients under the Program to distribute 7
108113 Program income payments. 8
109114 "§ 143B-146.35. Taxation of Program income payments. 9
110115 Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, receipt of Program income payments 10
111116 shall not be (i) considered taxable income for the purposes of State income taxes, (ii) considered 11
112117 in calculating any State tax credits, (iii) used to offset any liabilities owed by an eligible recipient, 12
113118 and (iv) affect income eligibility of the eligible recipient or the household of the eligible recipient 13
114119 for any public assistance, benefits, or programs administered or funded by the State. To the extent 14
115120 that this Program would create a conflict between receipt of Program income payments and the 15
116121 federal program aid, the State agency shall seek to obtain federal exemptions or waivers 16
117122 necessary, if available, in order to execute both programs fully for eligible recipients. The 17
118123 Department may seek alternative payment methods for the Program through rulemaking, if 18
119124 necessary, due to a federal program conflict." 19
120125 SECTION 1.(b) The Department of Health and Human Services may adopt rules to 20
121126 implement the provisions of this act. 21
122127 SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 143B-146.35, as enacted by this act, is effective for taxes 22
123128 imposed for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. The remainder of this section 23
124129 becomes effective July 1, 2025. 24
125130 SECTION 2.(a) Program. – Of the funds received by the State and appropriated to 25
126131 the Department of Health and Human Services from the Temporary Assistance for Needy 26
127132 Families (TANF) Block Grant, the Department shall allocate to the Division of Social Services 27
128133 (Division) the recurring sum of one hundred sixty-one million six hundred thousand dollars 28
129134 ($161,600,000) for each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium to implement the Healthy Start 29
130135 NC Program (Program). In addition, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the 30
131136 Department the recurring sum of one hundred forty-six million three hundred thousand dollars 31
132137 ($146,300,000) for each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium to be allocated to the Division of 32
133138 Social Services for implementation of the Program. The purpose of the Program is to provide 33
134139 nonrecurrent, short-term benefits in the form of prenatal and infant cash allowances to meet 34
135140 pre- and post-birth needs of expecting mothers and babies. 35
136141 SECTION 2.(b) Administration. – The Division shall develop detailed guidelines to 36
137142 administer, and accomplish the purposes of, the Program. The Division, in administering the 37
138143 Program, shall do all of the following: 38
139144 (1) Study, and make any amendments necessary to, the TANF State plan, 39
140145 including what was approved in Section 9J.1 of S.L. 2023-134, to implement 40
141146 the Program. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the 41
142147 Division may modify the State plan to accomplish the purposes of this act. To 42
143148 the extent the Division identifies State laws modified pursuant to the authority 43
144149 provided in this subsection, the Division shall make recommendations to the 44
145150 General Assembly for legislative changes needed. 45
146151 (2) Define childbirth as a specific crisis situation and episode of need and take 46
147152 other steps required to use TANF funds to provide nonrecurrent, short-term 47
148153 benefits to families who give birth to a child. In so doing, the Division shall 48
149154 follow the guidance from the United States Department of Health and Human 49
150155 Services, Administration of Children and Families Office of Family 50
151156 Assistance, for funding the Program in conformity with this section. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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153158 (3) Adopt policies, including a compliant means-based test at the time of birth for 1
154159 Program recipients (such as Medicaid or a percentage of the federal poverty 2
155160 level), to identify needy families that can be supported with TANF Block 3
156161 Grant dollars in a manner that will neither trigger time limits or work 4
157162 requirements nor adversely affect entitlement to other State or federal aid. The 5
158163 Division shall collect and review information relevant to the means-based 6
159164 eligibility determination required by this section. 7
160165 (4) Identify and partner with a nonprofit organization to administer the Program. 8
161166 As a condition of partnering with the nonprofit organization, the Division shall 9
162167 require that the organization (i) deliver programmatic funding to families as a 10
163168 private gift below applicable federal maximums in such a way as to make it 11
164169 non-taxable and protect, to the maximum extent possible, the receipt of other 12
165170 social benefits and (ii) engage in fundraising efforts to spur the receipt of funds 13
166171 donated through private philanthropy to expand the reach of the Program so 14
167172 as to provide programmatic funding to families that do not qualify under 15
168173 subdivision (3) of this subsection. 16
169174 (5) Identify and report annually to the General Assembly on the number of 17
170175 families receiving aid, broken down by those supported using TANF funds 18
171176 and those supported using private funds, the total amount of private funds 19
172177 raised through fundraising efforts, and additional needs or resources that 20
173178 would assist the Division in maximizing private fundraising efforts. 21
174179 SECTION 2.(c) Use. – Awards of programmatic funding shall be subject to all of 22
175180 the following: 23
176181 (1) A one-time award to an expecting mother during pregnancy in the amount of 24
177182 one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for needs determined by the 25
178183 mother, including food, prenatal care, rent, and other needs. 26
179184 (2) A monthly award for the maximum amount of time permitted under federal 27
180185 law to qualify as nonrecurrent, short-term benefits, not to exceed the first year 28
181186 after giving birth to the mother in the amount of five hundred dollars ($500.00) 29
182187 per month for needs of the baby determined by the mother, including formula, 30
183188 diapers, child care, and other needs. 31
184189 (3) Awards utilizing TANF funds shall use, and be limited by, the means-based 32
185190 test provided in subdivision (b)(3) of this section, other applicable federal 33
186191 restrictions, and this section to ensure the funds are used solely to benefit 34
187192 eligible families. 35
188193 (4) Awards utilizing funds raised by the nonprofit organization with which the 36
189194 Division partners pursuant to subdivision (b)(4) of this section shall be used, 37
190195 first, to augment awards for families that qualify for TANF funds under 38
191196 subdivision (3) of this subsection to the maximum amount permitted by this 39
192197 section and, thereafter, to beneficially impact as many other families as 40
193198 possible; provided that, such awards shall not exceed the amounts and 41
194199 purposes permitted in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection. 42
195200 SECTION 2.(d) G.S. 105-130.3 reads as rewritten: 43
196201 "§ 105-130.3. Corporations. 44
197202 A tax is imposed on the State net income of every C Corporation doing business in this State. 45
198203 An S Corporation is not subject to the tax levied in this section. The tax is a percentage equal to 46
199204 two and one-quarter percent (2.25%) of the taxpayer's State net income computed as 47
200205 follows:income. 48
201206 Taxable Years Beginning Tax 49
202207 In 2025 2.25% 50
203208 In 2026 2% 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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205210 In 2028 1% 1
206211 After 2029 0%." 2
207212 SECTION 2.(e) Section 2(d) of this act is effective for taxable years beginning on 3
208213 or after January 1, 2025. Section 2(a) through (c) of this act becomes effective July 1, 2025. The 4
209214 remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law. 5