2021 Legislation
The North Carolina Long Legislative Session began on January 13, 2021.
The North Carolina Long Legislative Session began on January 13, 2021.
Sponsors: Julie von Haefen (D-36); Carla Cunningham (D-106); Susan Fisher (D-114); Evelyn Terry (D-71)
An Act to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution (equal rights for men and women) and to appropriate funds to educate the public about the ERA. A companion bill, Senate Bill 15, was introduced in the Senate.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 1/28/21
Sponsors: Deborah Butler (D-18); Vernetta Alston (D-29); Julie von Haefen (D-36); Susan Fisher (D-114)
Repeals the 72 hour mandatory delay, biased counseling, and telehealth ban; amends physician only law to include NPs, PAs, CNMs; repeals several bans in insurance coverage, including on the ACA Exchange, State Employee Health Plan, local government health plans, Medicaid. A companion bill, SB 167, was introduced in the Senate.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 3/2/21
Sponsors: Donna McDowell White (R-26); Gale Adcock (D-41); Carla Cunningham (D-106); Diane Wheatly (R-43)
Removes so-called “physician supervision” requirements for Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Midwives. This antiquated rule forces APRNs to enter into a business contract with a physician in the same field before they can treat patients.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 3/16/21
Sponsors: Kristin Baker (R-82); Kyle Hall (R-92); Ashton Clemmons (D-57); Donna McDowell White (R-26)
This bill protects pregnant women in prison and jail from practices that put them and their unborn children in physical danger. It limits shackling and other harmful restrictions and ensures infants have proper medical and parental care before and after birth.
Last Action: Passed House on 5/10/21; Sent to Senate
Sponsors: Natasha Marcus (D-41); Natalie Murdock (D-20); Julie Mayfield (D-49)
This bill ensures that period products, such as pads, tampons, and menstrual cups, are exempt from sales tax. This is a huge step forward in ensuring period equity in North Carolina.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 4/7/21
Sponsors: Natalie Murdock (D-20); Sydney Batch (D-17); DeAndrea Salvador (D-39)
This bill addresses health disparities in Black infant and maternal mortality - strengthening and supporting community-based systems and organizations; implicit bias in healthcare; supporting veterans; and addresses pregnancy needs during COVID. A companion bill, House Bill 507, was also introduced.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 4/7/21
This bill bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Because this may happen as early as six weeks gestation – before most people even realize they’re pregnant – this bill would effectively ban safe, legal abortion in North Carolina.
Last Action: Sent to Health Committee on 2/1/21
This bill would prevent a person from obtaining an abortion based on the supposed reason behind the pregnant person's decision. It's built on racist and ableist stereotypes and is part of a larger campaign to pass as many laws as possible to restrict abortion access.
Last Action: Passed House on 5/6/21; Sent to Senate
If enacted, this bill would dissuade many people from engaging in peaceful and constitutionally protected acts of protest. Protesters calling for racial justice, and people who engage in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience, would risk being detained for an extended period of time and punished with years in prison for property damage that they have not caused. HB 805 is a dangerous idea that undermines the very foundation of participatory democracy.
Last Action: Passed House on 5/10/21; Sent to Senate
Takes state funding away from localities that decrease their local police budgets by more than 1%--punishing communities that decrease police budgets in favor of other community alternatives to policing. This bill is a direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement and protests that took place during the summer of 2020.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 2/16/21
This bill requires local sheriffs to cooperate with ICE and honor detainer requests. This bill would harm North Carolinians by putting public health and safety at risk during a pandemic, would damage essential businesses in difficulty and would create fear among immigrant communities.
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 3/17/21
This bill would spread false and misleading information about medication abortion that could be dangerous for patients. This bill is written by politicians and based on an unproven medical theory that an abortion can be “reversed.”
Last Action: Sent to Rules Committee on 3/31/21
This bill is not based on medical science and would create confusion among both patients and physicians about the options available during complex or emergency medical situations. It demonizes and criminalizes doctors, stigmatizes reproductive health care, and seeks to intimidate doctors in order to prevent them from providing the care their patients need. This exact bill was vetoed by Governor Cooper in 2019. A companion bill, House Bill 510, was introduced in the house.
Last Action: Passed Senate on 5/11/21; Sent to House
This page is controlled and operated by Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic.