NC General Assembly Forces Harmful Bills into Law Despite Governor Vetoes
July 29, 2025
Contact: Keisha Williams, communications@acluofnc.org
RALEIGH - The North Carolina General Assembly voted to override Gov. Stein’s veto on multiple bills today, including House Bill 318 and House Bill 805, which will harm immigrant and LGBTQ+ communities and invite censorship into our classrooms. The bills will now become law.
“This is a discouraging moment for advocates of civil rights in North Carolina, and for anyone who wants to see our communities safer and more inclusive,” said Liz Barber, director of policy and advocacy for the ACLU of North Carolina. “At a time when families are being torn apart by immigration enforcement, transgender people are facing increasing threats to their safety, and underpaid teachers are being burdened by increasing administrative responsibilities, lawmakers are focusing on unnecessary bills that blame vulnerable communities instead of working towards real solutions. North Carolinians deserve better.”
H318 targets immigrants by increasing law enforcement cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The bill is an expansion of House Bill 10, which was passed last session. Under HB10, sheriffs are required to verify the citizenship status of people charged with certain crimes. If a sheriff is unable to verify a person’s status, they must notify ICE, and if ICE issues a detainer for that person, the sheriff must hold them in jail for up to 48 hours to allow time for ICE agents to come and take them into custody.
H318 will expand the list of charged offenses that require law enforcement to attempt to determine citizenship status, delay the start time for the required 48-hour ICE detainer hold, and require jail administrators to notify ICE in advance of releasing someone who was held on a detainer. This means a person could be held for two days after being found not guilty or having their charges dismissed. HB 318 will result in local officials detaining people beyond what the Constitution allows and could subject local governments to costly litigation.
H805 includes a range of harmful provisions that target transgender and nonbinary people and undermine students’ rights. It imposes rigid definitions of sex and gender in state law, bans gender-affirming care for incarcerated individuals, and seeks to intimidate providers by extending the malpractice filing window for gender-affirming care. It also forces transgender people to out themselves by requiring the state to keep previous versions of their birth certificate on file.
In schools, the bill enables parents to restrict their child’s access to library books and opt them out of any classroom activity they believe burdens their religion—further fueling censorship in education.
Votes to override a governor's veto require a three-fifths majority in both chambers. Both H318 and H805 passed with 72 votes for and 48 votes against in the House and 30 votes for and 19 votes against in the Senate.
North Carolinians can search for their representatives here and find out how they voted on these two crucial bills.
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