GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
SESSION LAW 2026-58
HOUSE BILL 562
AN ACT TO make further adjustments to the 2026 Current operations appropriations act and to make other changes.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. If House Bill 268, 2025 Regular Session, becomes law, then:
(1) Subsection (c) of Section 7.16 of that act is repealed.
(2) The funds reappropriated in Section 7.2(c) of that act shall be nonrecurring funds instead of recurring funds.
(3) The Budget Code referenced in Section 7.15 of that act is corrected to Budget Code: 13900.
SECTION 2.(a) If House Bill 268, 2025 Regular Session, becomes law, then Section 4.4 of that act is repealed and, notwithstanding any provision of S.L. 2026‑41 or the Committee Report referenced in Section 45.2 of that act, the following shall occur:
(1) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, shall provide the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year for a directed grant to HBOT 4 Heroes, a nonprofit corporation, for the provision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment for veterans with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury or posttraumatic stress disorder.
(2) Funds provided as a directed grant to The Community Foundation of NC East, Inc., on page C67, Item 151, of that Committee Report shall be decreased by the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year.
SECTION 2.(b) If House Bill 268, 2025 Regular Session, does not become law, then, notwithstanding any provision of S.L. 2026‑41 or the Committee Report referenced in Section 45.2 of that act, the following shall occur:
(1) The Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, shall provide the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year for a directed grant to HBOT 4 Heroes, a nonprofit corporation, for the provision of hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment for veterans with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury or posttraumatic stress disorder.
(2) Funds provided as a directed grant to The Community Foundation of NC East, Inc., on page C67, Item 151, of that Committee Report shall be decreased by the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any provision of S.L. 2026‑41 or the Committee Report referenced in Section 45.2 of that act to the contrary, the funds appropriated in that act to the Office of State Budget and Management – Special Appropriations for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used for directed grants to Carolina Lakes Property Owners Association, Inc., (Page F40, Items 182 and 183) shall instead be used for a directed grant to Harnett County for any public purpose.
SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any provision of S.L. 2026‑41 or the Committee Report referenced in Section 45.2 of that act to the contrary, the funds appropriated in that act to the Office of State Budget and Management – Special Appropriations for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used for a directed grant to Anson County for water and wastewater infrastructure (Page F35, Item 127) shall be used by Anson County to provide a directed grant to Anson Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit corporation, for sewer system expansion.
SECTION 5.(a) Section 31 of S.L. 2026‑46 is repealed.
SECTION 5.(b) G.S. 20‑63 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑63. Registration plates furnished by Division;
requirements; replacement of regular plates with First in Flight plates, First
in Freedom plates, or National/State Mottos Mottos, or America's
Semiquincentennial plates; surrender and reissuance; displaying;
preservation and cleaning; alteration or concealment of numbers; commission
contracts for issuance.
…
(b) Every license plate must display the registration number assigned to the vehicle for which it is issued, the name of the State of North Carolina, which may be abbreviated, and the year number for which it is issued or the date of expiration. A plate issued for a commercial vehicle, as defined in G.S. 20‑4.2(1), and weighing 26,001 pounds or more, must bear the word "commercial," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20‑79.4 or the commercial vehicle is a trailer or is licensed for 6,000 pounds or less. The plate issued for vehicles licensed for 7,000 pounds through 26,000 pounds must bear the word "weighted," unless the plate is a special registration plate authorized in G.S. 20‑79.4.
A registration plate issued by the
Division for a private passenger vehicle or for a private hauler vehicle
licensed for 6,000 pounds or less shall be, at the option of the owner, either
(i) a "First in Flight" plate, (ii) a "First in Freedom"
plate, or (iii) a "National/State Mottos" plate. plate,
or (iv) an "America's Semiquincentennial" plate. A "First in
Flight" plate shall have the words "First in Flight" printed at
the top of the plate above all other letters and numerals. The background of
the "First in Flight" plate shall depict the Wright Brothers biplane
flying over Kitty Hawk Beach, with the plane flying slightly upward and to the
right. A "First in Freedom" plate shall have the words "First in
Freedom" printed at the top of the plate above all other letters and
numerals. The background of the "First in Freedom" plate may include
an image chosen by the Division that is representative of the Mecklenburg Declaration
of 1775 or the Halifax Resolves of 1776. A "National/State Mottos"
plate shall have in words the motto of the United States "In God We
Trust" printed at the top of the plate above all other letters and
numerals and have in words the State motto "To Be Rather Than To Seem".
The background of the "National/State Mottos" plate shall include an
image chosen by the Division that is representative of the American Flag. An
"America's Semiquincentennial" plate shall have the words "America
250" at the top of the plate above all other letters and numerals. The
background of the "America's Semiquincentennial" plate shall depict on
the plate the mountains to the coast, with the cardinal, dogwood flowers, Blue
Ridge Mountains, North Carolina State Capitol, Wright Brothers' plane, and the
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
(b1) The following special
registration plates do not have to be a "First in Flight" plate,
"First in Freedom" plate, or "National/State Mottos"
plate plate, or "America's Semiquincentennial" plate, as
provided in subsection (b) of this section. The design of the plates that are
not "First in Flight" plates, "First in Freedom" plates, or
"National/State Mottos" plate plates, or "America's
Semiquincentennial" plates must be developed in accordance with
G.S. 20‑79.4(a3). For special plates authorized in G.S. 20‑79.7
on or after July 1, 2013, the Division may not issue the plate on a background
under this subsection unless it receives the required number of applications
set forth in G.S. 20‑79.3A(a).
…."
SECTION 5.(c) G.S. 20‑79(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c) Form and Duration. –
A dealer license plate is subject to G.S. 20‑63, except for the
requirement that the plate display the registration number of a motor vehicle
and the requirement that the plate be a "First in Flight" plate, a
"First in Freedom" plate, or a "National/State
Mottos" plate. plate, or an "America's Semiquincentennial"
plate. A dealer license plate must have a distinguishing symbol identifying
the plate as a dealer license plate. The symbol may vary depending upon the
classification of dealer license plate issued. The Division must provide
suitably reduced sized license plates for motorcycle dealers and manufacturers.
…."
SECTION 5.(d) G.S. 20‑79.02(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c) Form and Duration. –
An LD license plate is subject to G.S. 20‑63, except for the
requirement that the plate display the registration number of a motor vehicle
and the requirement that the plate be a "First in Flight" plate,
"First in Freedom" plate, or a "National/State
Mottos" plate. plate, or an "America's Semiquincentennial"
plate. An LD license plate must have a distinguishing symbol identifying
the plate as an LD license plate. Subject to the limitations in this section,
an LD license plate may continue in existence perpetually and may be
transferred to other vehicles in the dealer's loaner fleet when the vehicle on
which the LD license plate is displayed has been sold or leased to a third
party or otherwise removed from the dealer's loaner fleet."
SECTION 5.(e) G.S. 20‑79.2(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c) Form, Duration, and
Transfer. – A transporter plate is subject to G.S. 20‑63, except for
the requirement that the plate display the registration number of a motor
vehicle and the requirement that the plate be a "First in Flight"
plate, a "First in Freedom" plate, or a "National/State
Mottos" plate. plate, or an "America's Semiquincentennial"
plate. A transporter plate shall have a distinguishing symbol identifying
the plate as a transporter plate. The symbol may vary depending upon the
classification of transporter plate issued. A transporter plate is issued for a
period of one year. The Division shall vary the expiration dates of transporter
registration renewals so that an approximately equal number expires at the end
of each month, quarter, or other period consisting of one or more months. When
the Division issues a transporter plate, it may issue a registration that
expires at the end of any monthly interval. During the year for which it is
issued, a business or dealer may transfer a transporter plate from one vehicle
to another as long as the vehicle is driven only for a purpose authorized by
subsection (a) of this section. The Division must rescind a transporter plate
that is displayed on a motor vehicle driven for a purpose that is not
authorized by subsection (a) of this section."
SECTION 5.(f) This section is effective retroactively to July 7, 2026, but the Division is not required to issue plates with an "America's Semiquincentennial" background until 180 days after the Division has finalized the background design in accordance with G.S. 20‑63(b), as amended by subsection (b) of this section.
SECTION 6. Section 44.5(i) of S.L. 2026‑41 is rewritten to read:
"SECTION 44.5.(i) Except as otherwise provided, this section is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and applies to funds collected for those taxable years. Except for funds transferred to the State Building Code Regulatory Fund pursuant to Section 13.5 of this act, the Insurance Regulatory Charge collected after January 1, 2027, for taxable years beginning before that date, shall be placed in the Insurance Regulatory Fund and shall be used for the purposes listed in subdivisions (1) through (11) of G.S. 58‑6‑25(d) as that subsection existed immediately before its amendment by subsection (c) of this section."
SECTION 7. There is appropriated from the General Fund the following sums in recurring funds beginning in the 2026‑2027 fiscal year, as follows:
(1) Two hundred twenty‑five thousand dollars ($225,000) to the Office of the State Fire Marshal for positions to facilitate administrative functions.
(2) Three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) to the Department of Labor for positions to facilitate the directives of Sections 13.3, 13.4, and 13.5 of S.L. 2026‑41.
SECTION 8. Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective July 1, 2026.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 6th day of August, 2026.
s/ Rachel Hunt
President of the Senate
s/ Mike Schietzelt
Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives
s/ Josh Stein
Governor
Approved 8:02 a.m. this 11th day of August, 2026