AN ACT to require joint approval from the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate before the attorney general may enter into a consent judgment or settlement agreement in a dispute, claim, or controversy in which the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate have intervened or are otherwise named parties.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 114‑2.2 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a2)	Where a dispute, claim, or controversy is challenging a North Carolina statute or provision of the North Carolina Constitution, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (i) have jointly intervened on behalf of the General Assembly in accordance with G.S. 1‑72.2 or (ii) are otherwise jointly named in their official capacities as parties to the dispute, claim, or controversy, a consent judgment shall be jointly approved by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, or by and through counsel of their choice, before the judgment may be entered."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 114‑2.4 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a2)	Where a dispute, claim, or controversy is challenging a North Carolina statute or provision of the North Carolina Constitution, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (i) have intervened on behalf of the General Assembly in accordance with G.S. 1‑72.2 or (ii) are otherwise jointly named in their official capacities as parties to the dispute, claim, or controversy, a proposed settlement agreement or other agreement that would dispose of the dispute, claim, or controversy shall be jointly approved by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, or by and through counsel of their choice, before the agreement may be entered."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to consent judgments, settlement agreements, or other agreements that would dispose of a dispute, claim, or controversy entered on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of September, 2021.

	s/	 Carl Ford
	 Presiding Officer of the Senate

	s/	 Donna McDowell White
	 Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives

	___________________________________________
		 Roy Cooper
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2021