Democratic state lawmakers held a press conference pointing out what they say is increased legislative partisanship. The press conference doubled as a memorial for the 707 democratic bills that were filed this year but never heard in a single committee. Due to this, these pieces of legislation have missed the crossover deadline, preventing them from being heard outside their chamber of origin and are considered dead. These bills include:
- Senate Bill 480: NC Paid Family Leave Insurance Act. Introduced by Senate minority leader Senator Sydney Batch, the bill would create a state-funded program providing partial wage replacement for employees taking medical or family leave. Workers would be able to take paid leave for reasons like childbirth, caring for a family member, or addressing their own health conditions.
- Senate Bill 324: 2025 Safe Drinking Water Act. Introduced by Senator Terence Everitt, the bill would “require the commission for public health to establish maximum contaminant levels for chemicals in our water that are known or probable toxins.
- House Bill 339: Economic Security Act. The bill, sponsored by Representative Pricey Harrison, calls for a wide range of actions to be taken to provide economic security for all in North Carolina. It calls for a $22 minimum wage that adjusts annually to inflation, prohibits pay discrimination based on a worker’s sex, and reenacts the earned income tax credit and tax credits for child and dependent care expenses;
These, and many more, democratic bills that aim to improve and protect the lives of North Carolinians, moved nowhere this session. Of the 1,800 bills filed by legislators from both parties in both chambers this year, only a select few bills from democrats had their time in front of legislators.
Meanwhile, bills put forward by Republicans moved through committees in both chambers. Even unpopular bills that are at odds with residents, like SB 50 and HB 5 which would allow the permitless concealed carry of a gun for anyone 18 and older, an idea which most North Carolinians oppose, received Republican support and moved through at least one committee.
At a press event where gun safety advocates joined legislators and faith leaders to oppose the two measures, Representative Phil Rubin (D- Wake) says these bills that are at odds with NC residents are able to move due to gerrymandering.
Rubin noted that, due to how heavily gerrymandered North Carolina is, Republicans received 48% of the votes cast statewide but are currently holding 59% of the seats in the legislature, holding the majority in both chambers and being one member short of a veto-proof majority.
Legislators say it’s not just them that this partisan bias hurts. Senator Natalie Murdock (D- Durham) says that, by blocking the Democrats’ legislation, Republicans are hurting the voters.
“It is not us as legislators that lose,” she said. “It is the millions of voters that elected us to office, the millions of constituents that we collectively represent that lose.”
