New state laws on cell phones in schools, health care reforms and transgender people went into effect Thursday.
North Carolina now only recognizes two genders, male and female, based on biological sex at birth. The intent is to stop transgender people from being allowed to change their gender on official state documents.
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Republican state lawmakers passed that law, along with other changes focused on LGBTQ issues in House Bill 805, over Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto. Democratic Rep. Nasif Majeed of Charlotte broke party lines to give Republicans the final vote they needed.
House Speaker Destin Hall celebrated the victory on social media as the new law went into effect, writing on Wednesday that: “Facts are back in 2026.”
Cell phone ban
A different law that passed without partisan fighting was a provision requiring school districts statewide to implement policies banning social media access and cell phones at schools statewide.
It won near-unanimous support at the state legislature and was quickly signed into law by Stein.
Most schools already had policies banning phones. But some didn’t, and many others didn’t go as far as state lawmakers felt was necessary. The deadline for schools to have those policies in place was Jan. 1, in advance of the new semester starting in just a few days. Many districts have re-examined their policies ahead of Thursday’s deadline, including in Durham and Wake counties.
One of the sponsors of a phone ban bill this session, Rep. Mike Schietzelt (R-Wake), told WRAL in an interview Wednesday that he’s heard only good things so far about the way the Wake County Public Schools System is adapting to new rules.
He hopes that having stricter rules, enforced statewide, will lead to better test scores and fewer disciplinary problems.
“Especially since the pandemic, but over the years, we've seen declines in test scores,” he said. “We've seen declining student behavior. … We've got to use every tool at our disposal to ensure better student outcomes."
Schietzelt’s oldest child is 11. While he hasn’t given him a cell phone yet, Schietzelt said, many other kids that age do have their own cell phones. But at least while they’re in school, he added, it’s important for the adults to take charge and keep the students off their phones.
“We need to let kids be kids,” he said. “And giving a child a cellular phone, that's a lot of responsibility to place on a kid.”
Health care changes
Also going into law on Thursday are two major changes to health care rules. Senate Bill 479 affects patients regarding pharmaceuticals. House Bill 67 affects people working in the health care industry.
There are several parts of House Bill 67 going into place on Thursday. One is a new rule making it easier for North Carolina hospitals and clinics to hire doctors trained overseas. The other was a top lobbying priority for nurses statewide: a crackdown on so-called “surgical smoke.”
Surgeries can involve lasers, saws and other cutting methods that create smoke and dust. Hospitals and surgical centers have resisted efforts by their employees, for years, to cut down on their exposure to those particles.
Now, state law will force changes. Any hospitals or surgical centers that don’t install systems to deal with surgical smoke can now be investigated by the state.
The North Carolina Nurses Association lobbied for the change, saying North Carolina is now the 19th state with similar regulations. “There is no safe level of exposure to surgical smoke and the average daily impact is the equivalent of 27-30 unfiltered cigarettes,” the group wrote on its website.
The pharmaceutical changes in Senate Bill 479 are aimed at industry oversight and consumer protection.
Going into place on Thursday are new laws with penalties over unfair or deceptive trade practices. And by Jan. 31 of this year — and every year after — drug manufacturers will also have to let “all interested parties” know anytime there’s a 15% hike or more to any of their drugs that cost $100 or more.