NC House passes bill about parents, gender-transition care
Good morning and welcome to Under the Dome. I’m Ronni Butts. Here’s what’s been happening in North Carolina politics.
First up, a dispatch from Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi.
PARENTS PROTECTION ACT PASSES HOUSE
House lawmakers moved quickly this week to pass a Republican-led Senate bill that limits how gender identity can factor into adoption and abuse decisions.
However, because the House amended the bill, the Senate must approve the changes before it can go to the governor’s desk.
Senate Bill 442, titled the “Parents Protection Act,” bars denying prospective adoptive parents placement of a child because they oppose gender-transition care for that child. It also bars this based on the race, color or national origin of the child.
The bill also states that raising or referring to “a juvenile consistent with the juvenile’s biological sex, or referring to a juvenile consistent with the juvenile’s biological sex” cannot be the basis for filing an abuse or neglect case.
The bill passed the Senate earlier this session with all Republicans in favor. All Democrats opposed it except for Sens. Dan Blue of Wake County, Paul Lowe of Winston-Salem and Gladys Robinson of Greensboro.
Several Democrats questioned the need for the legislation during Senate committee hearings in May, as previously reported by The News & Observer. On Wednesday, several House Democrats also voiced opposition.
Since arriving in the House in early May, the bill had not moved. Thta was until this week, when it was heard Tuesday in both the health and rules committees, then added to Wednesday’s House calendar.
On Wednesday, the amended bill passed again on a largely partisan split — though nine Democrats voted in favor. No Republicans voted against it.
The Senate version of the bill was nearly identical to House Bill 560, a similar Republican-sponsored proposal that stalled since mid-May.
— Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi
SENATE VOTING SESSION TODAY, DEI BILL IN COMMITTEE
Today is Juneteenth, which is a federal holiday and a state holiday for many state employees. The Senate has a voting session today, but the House is finished working for the week.
The Senate also has several committees this morning, including the Senate Judiciary Committee, during which they will take up House Bill 171, which would ban diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in state agencies.
Today’s Senate session will also include the third reading, which is the final Senate vote, on the contentious shrimping bill.
— Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan
MILK CHUGGING CONTEST
North Carolina lawmakers held a bipartisan milk chugging contest outside the N.C. Legislative Building in Raleigh on Wednesday. They hold the contest every legislative long session, usually toward the end of session when tensions are high. The event draws a crowd of onlookers.
It was House vs. Senate. Those who competed include Democratic Rep. Allison Dahle, Republican Rep. Allen Chesser, Republican Rep. Ben Moss, Republican Sen. Danny Britt, Republican Rep. Eddie Settle and Republican Rep. Ralph Hise.
Republican Rep. Jeff McNeely oversaw the contest. The event was sponsored by the NC Dairy Producers Association.
It was a repeat event for at least Dahle and Hise, who have faced off in milk chugging in a previous contest.
The winners? The Senate.
And lawmakers and others were also treated to Howling Cow ice cream after the contest.
— Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan
WHAT ELSE WE’RE WORKING ON
- Be sure to check out Sophia Bailly and Renee Umsted’s coverage of the fishing and shrimping bill that passed a second reading vote in the Senate late Wednesday.
- NC lawmakers could create a religious exemptions policy for school assignments, T. Keung Hui and Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi reported Tuesday.
- The Durham City Council has unanimously voted to approve the budget, which has 8% more funds compared to the current budget. Some of the features of the new budget, which will go into effect on July 1, includes fare-free rides for GoDurham buses and a raise in minimum wage for city workers — the first raise in six years. To read more about the budget, check out Kristen Johnson’s report.
- Millions in federal grants from the National Institutes of Health could be returned to North Carolina universities after Massachusetts District Court Judge William Young ruled the cuts were “void and illegal.” The Trump administration has targeted and slashed funding for research connected to topics relating to diversity, equity and inclusion across the country. The cuts have affected Duke University, UNC Charlotte and UNC Chapel Hill. Brian Gordon and Amber Hazzard have more.
- Under proposed legislation, accessing records and autopsies for deaths that occurred in police custody may become harder to get, Dan Kane reports.
- Lawmakers are considering a bill that would extend the expiration of driver’s licenses by two years. The bill, which has passed two committees, now awaits a vote in the Senate Rules Committee. Richard Stradling reported that the bill seeks to relieve the Department of Motor Vehicles from the backlog of previous appointments. In recent months, DMV lines have continued to grow because of the implementation of REAL ID.
Today’s newsletter was by Ronni Butts, Dawn Vaughan and Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi.
Check your inbox tomorrow for more #ncpol.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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