NC House passes bills targeting teen access to social media and doctors, expanding auditor's investigative powers

Many North Carolina teens would be banned from using social media, litterbugs would face stiffer penalties, school boards would have more say in when the school year starts and the state auditor would have more investigative powers under bills that passed the in the state legislature Wednesday.

The measures — along with dozens more — were part of a larger last-minute rush for lawmakers, who are facing the so-called cross over deadline: Any bill that hasn’t passed at least one chamber by Thursday is considered dead until the next legislative session.

Of the roughly 1,800 bills introduced this session, about 200 bills have passed at least one chamber. Only one, a Hurricane Helene relief package, has become law. Lawmakers are expected to continue pushing dozens more bills through chambers this week.

The state Senate on Tuesday passed bills ranging from harsher littering rules to new regulations over college athletes who make money off their name, image or likeness. The highest-profile action was in the House, which cleared these bills, among others, Tuesday:

Social media ban

The House passed a bill Tuesday that would ban social media accounts for children under 14. It would also require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds to use social media.

“More and more data comes out each day about the damage that social media is causing to our kids, not to mention it’s the No. 1 tool for predators,” said Rep. Jeff Zenger, R-Forsyth, the bill’s lead sponsor.

Federal law requires a minimum age of 13 to create an account, but children can easily get around bans. To address that, House Bill 301 would allow the state to fine social media companies $50,000 each time a younger teen sets up an account. Families of teens who managed to get around the rules would also be allowed to sue the companies for up to $10,000.

The ban — which passed the chamber with a vote of 106-6 — doesn’t apply to email sites, news websites with comment sections or apps that let people share texts, photos or videos with individuals or groups, but not publicly.

It's not the only social media bill lawmakers have filed this year. House Bill 462 would ban anyone under 18 from using social media without parental permission and would require all social media users to show ID to sign up for an account. It would also crack down on social media companies, and many other businesses, to make it harder for them to track and sell people’s private information. It's unclear if it will have the support to pass by Thursday's deadline.

Meanwhile Senate Bill 408 would ban people from using TikTok or WeChat — two apps associated with foreign governments — if they’re using phones, tablets, WiFi networks or other property owned by the state government or any local government. Former Gov. Roy Cooper already banned state employees from using TikTok and WeChat on government-owned devices, in a 2023 executive order. Senate Bill 408 would expand the ban if it becomes law. It passed it final committee hurdle in the Senate Tuesday and is expected to be voted on Wednesday.

Foster-care reform

House lawmakers unanimously approved a foster-care reform bill that seeks to give the state more oversight of county social services departments.

House Bill 612, which sponsors call the “Fostering Care in NC Act,” proposes wide-ranging reforms to improve the safety and well-being of children in foster care. The bill comes two months after WRAL's investigative documentary, “Broken: Foster Care in North Carolina,” exposed failures in the state's foster care system.

The bill would allow the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to review open and closed child welfare cases and intervene if violations aren’t addressed.

It would also give foster parents who have cared for a child for at least a year the opportunity to present their case to a judge before the child is removed from their care. The proposal would allow ongoing contact between birth parents and adoptive families if agreed upon by both parties.

Similar legislation was blocked in 2023. The bill now heads to the Senate.

“This is a long-recognized need for reform,” said Rep. Allen Chesser, R-Nash, one of the bill’s sponsors. “This bill has transparency, accountability and is the culmination of a lot of hours and a lot of work.”

Children's medical privacy

The House also passed a bill to give parents more access to their children's medical records and conversations with providers.

Under current law, minors can consent to some medical care — treating sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, mental health, and substance abuse — without needing approval from their parents. The House on Tuesday passed House Bill 519, titled the “Parents' Medical Bill of Rights.”

The bill — which passed in a 68-41 vote — would roll back the existing privacy law so that it only allows minors to consent for treatment related to pregnancy, excluding abortion services. Physicians could also conduct examinations without a parent present if they believe the child could be suffering from parental abuse or neglect that would require a report to social services under the law.

Critics of the bill fear that minors won’t seek out the help they need if they know their parents will accompany them to the examination room or have access to their medical records.

Bill supporters have said that having access to their child’s records enables parents to provide the best care possible. They’ve also argued that, if a parent’s health insurance pays for a child’s treatment, the parent should know what they’re paying for.

Auditor’s probing powers

The House also passed a bill that would expand the powers of the state auditor.

State law already empowers the auditor, currently Republican Dave Boliek, to probe state and local government agencies to ensure taxpayer dollars are being properly spent. House Bill 549 would expand that power over any entity that receives public funds. It would also allow Boliek to hire and fire employees in the state auditor's office for purely political purposes, leading Democrats to raise concerns about partisan politicization of an office that has the potential to wield immense power.

Early versions of the bill sought to allow the auditor to investigate any individual who receives public funds. Bill sponsors rolled back that proposal amid concerns that the auditor’s office could abuse the power.

The bill is part of a string of GOP proposals to give more power and responsibility to Boliek, who last year became the first Republican since 2004 to win the auditor’s race.

The bill — which passed 66 to 46 — is part of a string of GOP proposals to give more power and responsibility to Boliek, who last year became the first Republican since 2004 to win the auditor’s race.

The Senate recently passed what sponsors call the “DAVE Act,” which instructs the auditor to produce a report by the end of the year identifying which state agencies and state positions can be dissolved. The program would create the Division of Accountability, Value and Efficiency — similar to the federal Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which was launched this year by President Donald Trump and is run by billionaire Elon Musk.

Similar to the federal efforts, the state Senate's DAVE Act would instruct Boliek to use artificial intelligence programs to help his review of which programs or jobs to slash. Toward that goal, the House bill that passed Tuesday would exempt Boliek from having to follow the normal oversight rules that apply to most of the rest of state government on buying or using software.

School calendar flexibility

The House passed a bill to eliminate restrictions on when school boards can set their start and end dates for the school year. House Bill 121 would effectively undo the state’s 2004 school calendar law that required schools to start school no later than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday closest to June 11.

Some schools have had an exemption from that law — mostly western schools that have a lot of snow days — as well as year-round schools, low-performing “Restart Schools,” early colleges and charter schools. The House bill, if it becomes law, would go into effect for the 2025-26 school year.

The House bill passed 111-2 without any discussion.

However, the House bill is in conflict with a Senate-passed school calendar flexibility bill and could lead to a fight between the two chambers on the contentious issue.

Senate Bill 754 would allow local school districts to choose between two options for their school calendar: Begin no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 19 and ending no later than the Friday before the last Monday in May or operate under the current law.

“It’s time for us to put this school calendar debate to rest,” Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said in a statement last month when the bill passed.

About two dozen school districts violated the current schedule law this year. The Senate bill would include penalties for districts that defy the law and any person who lives or owns a business within the school district would be able to sue the local school board for violations.

“It provides school districts with additional flexibility to meet their local needs while also holding them accountable if they openly defy the law,” said Sen. Amy Galey, R-Alamance.