Article 6.
Acts, Journals, and Reports to the General Assembly.
§ 120-20. When acts take effect.
Acts of the General Assembly shall be in force only from and after 60 days after the adjournment of the session in which they shall have passed, unless the commencement of the operation thereof be expressly otherwise directed. (1799, c. 527, P.R.; R.C., c. 52, s. 35; 1868-9, c. 270, s. 1; Code, s. 2862; Rev., s. 4417; C.S., s. 6105; 1995, c. 20, s. 3.)
§ 120-20.1. Coded bill drafting.
(a) Whenever in any act:
(1) It is stated that:
a. A law "reads as rewritten:"; or
b. Laws "read as rewritten:"; and
(2) The law is set out showing material struck through or underlined, or both
the material struck through is being deleted from the existing law, and the material underlined is being added to the existing law.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, underlining in a column heading is existing law, and a double underline shows a column heading being added to existing law.
(b1) In any part of a law enacted in the format provided by this section, the material deleted from existing law and the material being added to existing law are the only changes made, the setting out of material not deleted or added is for illustration only, and the fact that two different acts amend the same law, when one or more of those is in the format provided by this section, does not in itself create a conflict.
(b2) In any act ratified on or after January 11, 1989, when a new section, subsection, or subdivision is added to the General Statutes, and that section, subsection, or subdivision is underlined, the underlining is not part of the law, but merely an illustration that the material in the bill which enacted the law is new.
(c) As used in this section "act" and "law" also includes joint and simple resolutions.
(d) This section applies to acts ratified on or after February 9, 1987. (1987, c. 138; c. 485, s. 4; 1989, c. 770, s. 40; 2001-487, s. 78.)
§§ 120-21 through 120-22. Repealed by Session Laws 1969, c. 1184, s. 8.
§§ 120-23 through 120-25. Transferred to G.S. 147-43.1 to 147-43.3 by Session Laws 1943, c. 543.
§ 120-26. Repealed by Session Laws 1943, c. 543.
§ 120-27. Journals; preparation and filing by clerks of houses.
It shall be the duty of the principal clerks of the two houses of the General Assembly to hasten the preparation of their journals for the printer, so that in no case at any time shall the journal of either house of any one day's proceedings remain unprepared for the printer by the clerk for a longer period than six days after its approval, and such clerks shall, immediately after the preparation of any and every day's proceedings of their respective houses, send the same to the office of the Secretary of State. (1872-3, c. 45, ss. 2, 3; Code, ss. 3627, 3628; Rev., s. 5100; C.S., s. 7299.)
§ 120-28. Journals indexed by clerks.
The principal clerks of the two houses of the General Assembly shall provide full and complete indexes for the journals of their respective houses. (1866-7, c. 71; 1881, c. 292; Code, s. 2868; Rev., s. 4421; C.S., s. 6112.)
§ 120-29. Journals deposited with Secretary of State.
The principal clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives, as soon as may be practicable after the close of each session, shall deposit in the office of the Secretary of State the journals of the General Assembly; and the Secretary of State shall make and certify copies of any part or entry of the journals, and may take for the copy of each entry made and certified the same fee as for the copy of a grant. (1819, c. 1020, P.R.; R.C., c. 52, s. 36; Code, s. 2867; Rev., s. 4420; C.S., s. 6113.)
§ 120-29.1. Approval of bills.
(a) If the Governor approves a bill, the Governor shall write upon the same, below the signatures of the presiding officers of the two houses, the fact, date, and time of approval, as follows: "Approved ____.m. this ____ day of ____, ____" and shall sign the same as follows: "____ Governor". The Governor shall then return the approved bill to the enrolling clerk.
(b) If any bill becomes law because of the failure of the Governor to take any action, it shall be the duty of the Governor to return the measure to the enrolling clerk, who shall sign the following certificate on the measure and deposit it with the Secretary of State: "This bill having been presented to the Governor for signature on the ____ day of ____, ____ and the Governor having failed to approve it within the time prescribed by law, the same is hereby declared to have become a law.
This ____ day of ____, ____, ____ Enrolling Clerk".
(c) If the Governor returns any bill to the house of origin with objections, the Governor shall write such objections on the measure or cause the objections to be attached to the measure. When any such bill becomes law after reconsideration of the two houses, the principal clerk of the second house to act shall, below the objections of the Governor, sign the following certificate: "Became law notwithstanding the objections of the Governor, ____.m. this ____ day of ____, ____". The principal clerk of the second house to act shall fill in the time. The enrolling clerk shall deposit the measure with the Secretary of State.
(d) In calculating the period under Section 22(7) of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution, the day on which the bill is presented to the Governor shall be excluded and the entire last day of the period is included. (1995, c. 20, s. 2; 1997-1, s. 3; 2010-96, s. 15.)
§ 120-29.5. State agency reports to the General Assembly.
(a) Submission. - Whenever a report is directed by law or resolution to be made to the General Assembly, the State agency preparing the report shall deliver one copy of the report to each of the following officers: the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the House Principal Clerk, and the Senate Principal Clerk; and two copies of the report to the Legislative Library. The State agency is encouraged to inform members of the General Assembly that an electronic copy is available. This section does not affect any responsibilities for depositing documents with the State Library or the State Publications Clearinghouse under Chapter 125 of the General Statutes.
(b) Publication. - A State agency submitting a report pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or a report directed by law or resolution to be made to a committee or subcommittee of the General Assembly shall publish the report on a public Internet Web site maintained by the State agency. (2004-203, s. 49(b); 2019-250, s. 5.10(a).)