DEI Ban
North Carolina House Republicans on Wednesday approved a broad bill to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state and local government.
“We’ve seen our institutions drift. We’ve watched government move away from excellence and toward agenda hiring, favoring narratives over qualifications, checking boxes instead of resumes,” said House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, the bill’s sponsor. “Bureaucracy has grown not to serve — but to sort.”
House Bill 171, which passed 68-45 along party lines, would ban state agencies and schools from using DEI in their hiring decisions or giving differential treatment or special benefits on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation and more. It would also ban government agencies from using state funds to support DEI programs or applying for federal grants that require compliance with DEI policies.
An earlier version of the bill was far more restrictive, applying to non-state entities and imposing criminal punishments for violations.
The version passed Wednesday instead affects only government entities and includes civil penalties up to $10,000 for each violation.
Democrats railed against the bill, debating on the House floor for hours about the value of diversity and the potential consequences of restricting programs that promote it.
“There are a whole lot of people who some might think are ‘DEI hires’ … a whole lot of people who are qualified as the Dickens to hold their jobs,” House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said. “To look them in the faces and tell them ‘You’re less than, you don’t matter, we think your time is over’ — it breaks my heart.”
Jones defended the bill by noting that it does not affect academic instruction and protects cultural celebrations, such as Black History Month and Pride Month. “Diversity is a great thing,” he said.
“Discrimination is a bad thing.” Rep. Amos Quick, a Guilford County Democrat, criticized this framing. “The first line of this bill says, ‘An act eliminating diversity initiatives,’” he said. “You cannot value that which you are seeking to eliminate.”
Wednesday’s vote comes after House leaders previously delayed votes on the bill two days in a row earlier this month. Both times, Democrats had gathered to protest the legislation in the House gallery.
House Speaker Destin Hall said at the time that the delay was due to one of the bill’s sponsors having an excused absence.
The state Senate has already passed two bills restricting DEI in K-12 schools and higher education.
DMV Leadership
A former state lawmaker who owns a local insurance agency in Eastern North Carolina will become the next leader of the Division of Motor Vehicles. The N.C. Department of Transportation and Gov. Josh Stein have chosen Paul Tine as DMV commissioner.
Tine, 53, owns Midgett Insurance Agency in Dare County and represented Dare, Hyde, Washington and part of Beaufort counties in the state House for two terms, ending in 2016.
“As a long-time business owner and a former member of the General Assembly, Paul knows how to get things done and move at the speed of business,” Stein said in a written statement. “He is the right person for this job, and I have charged him with urgently identifying ways to make the DMV work better for North Carolinians.”
Tine was twice elected to the House as a Democrat, before leaving the party in 2015 and joining the Republican House Caucus as an unaffiliated legislator. He served as co-chair of the House Transportation Appropriations Committee and as a member of the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee.
Tine replaces Wayne Goodwin, a former Democratic lawmaker who served two four-year terms as insurance commissioner, an elected office, before losing to Mike Causey in 2016.
Goodwin also spent four years as chairman of the Democratic Party and was openly criticized by Republican lawmakers during his three years as DMV commissioner. While he argued the agency was understaffed, Republican lawmakers blamed mismanagement for the long lines and wait times at driver’s license offices.
Tine acknowledged that he has been charged with running a beleaguered agency.
“There is no shortage of challenges facing our division,” he said in a written statement. “It is critical that we get to work quickly to reduce wait times, make our website more user-friendly, and empower our frontline staff to ensure the highest level of service to our citizens.” Tine begins his new job on May 6.
Infrastructure Grants
$55 million in state funding is available, with the first grants scheduled to be awarded June 30.
Local governments can now apply for state funding for public infrastructure projects that benefit small businesses recovering in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, North Carolina Josh Stein announced April 29.
“Western North Carolina’s economy is dependent on its vibrant downtowns and small businesses, and helping them recover is critically important,” Stein said in an April 29 statement. “This new grant program will reinvigorate the infrastructure that small businesses depend on, and I appreciate the General Assembly appropriating funds.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce is managing the $55 million Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program, which is designed to help small businesses recover after Helene. Local governments can apply for grants of up to $1 million for qualifying projects that restore and repair critical infrastructure benefiting one or more small businesses.
Eligible projects include water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high-speed broadband, electric utility, and sidewalk and curb repairs, according to state guidelines. Privately owned infrastructure, building construction and land acquisition costs are ineligible for grant funding.
Additionally, Stein's office said in the release that projects must support small businesses that employ 150 or fewer employees. Funding will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, and projects must be completed within 36 months of the award. The first grants will be awarded on June 30, according to the state.
In March, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a $524 million spending bill for Helene recovery that included funding for the program.
“Successful recovery from disasters of Helene’s magnitude requires everyone to pull together and marshal support from many different sources, both state and federal,” North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said in a statement. “I’m grateful that the North Carolina General Assembly has quickly provided funds for this vital new infrastructure recovery program.”
The legislation signed into law in March is one of four relief bills state lawmakers have passed since Helene pummeled Western North Carolina in September, killing more than 100 people and causing nearly $60 billion in damage. In total, state lawmakers have appropriated more than $1.5 billion for Helene recovery, with more funding expected to pass later this year.
In December, federal lawmakers passed a $100 billion disaster spending bill that’s estimated to deliver upward of $16 billion to North Carolina, including $1.6 billion in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery program funding. The state is slated to receive $1.4 billion with the city of Asheville receiving $225 billion for long-term recovery efforts.
On April 25, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the state’s action plan for the federal funding, the majority of which will go toward rebuilding and repairing Helene-damaged homes and construct new housing.
Crossover Deadline
Just as earthquakes are often preceded by a series of lesser tremors, the General Assembly’s self-imposed crossover deadline follows a sharp increase in committee hearings and scheduling challenges.
Crossover — the date by which most proposed legislation must pass its chamber of origin to be eligible for consideration during the 2025-26 session — is May 8. By Monday afternoon, more than 150 bills were scheduled to be heard in more than 18 committee meetings.
For context, the number of bills that have become law since the Legislature convened in January is three — an appointments bill, hurricane relief and a bill making changes to local elections law in a few counties.
Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, who has seen more than his share of crossover-related maneuvers during 40-plus years in the General Assembly, said the sharp increase in scheduled committee hearings is only part of the story. Everyone — legislator and lobbyist alike — with interest in a bill that hasn't passed at least one chamber is working to get it scheduled.
The burden of that attention falls mainly on the committee chairs, who have the authority to say which bills get scheduled and which do not.
“It’s frantic," Blue said. “I mean, committee chairs and committee staff are catching it.”
The telephone calls, office visits, hallway ambushes, emails and text messages likely follow a theme, Blue said. "'Can you get my bill scheduled?' 'Do you have a problem with it?' 'Maybe I could talk to you about it.'”
House Rules Chairman John Bell confirmed that committee chairs have a lot of decision-making power at this time of year.
“Some bills go directly to rules, others go to the committees for further vetting,” Bell said. “It is up to the committee chairs at that point in time if those bills are heard or not heard. If you’ve got committee chairs that aren't hearing any bills, then the bill is not going to pass.”
Blue said sometimes a bill can get the extra push it needs by having the right backers.
“This game is about who you know and who is willing to listen to your plea,” Blue said. “This is a game of relationships, as most legislative dealings are, and so you can finagle things so that your bill will be heard.”
Bell said there are issues currently being promoted behind the scenes that have yet to win a committee hearing. “There always are,” he said.
Bell said the House is making an effort to proceed with efficiency and predictability this session. After being elected by his colleagues, House Speaker Destin Hall released a six-month schedule designating voting days for his chamber. If the House finds itself meeting at 3 a.m. this year, as it has many times in the past, don’t expect Hall to be in attendance, he joked.
Blue said that when Democrats were in charge, they placed fewer restrictions on bill filing and set more relaxed deadlines. “We tried not to leave out anything that we needed to consider,” he said. “Regardless of what time of year was considered.”
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, 15 committee meetings and a total of 40 bills were scheduled for Wednesday.