New NC laws starting Dec. 1 cover driving, crime, exploitation and guns
Key Takeaways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- New law bars heavy trucks from left lanes and requires drivers to lower tinted windows
- Online porn sites must verify age and consent and remove images within 72 hours
- New NC laws let private school staff carry firearms with permission and training.
North Carolina has multiple new laws taking effect Dec. 1, from allowing employees to carry guns in private schools, to regulating what lanes truck drivers can use, to cracking down on sexual exploitation online.
Some of the legislation passed the Republican-majority General Assembly earlier this year and was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. But Republicans were able to overturn some of those vetoes with a handful of votes from Democrats.
Here are the major new laws as of Dec. 1, what they do and how the votes happened.
Guns can be carried at private schools
- House Bill 193: allows employees and volunteers at private schools to carry firearms and stun guns on school grounds if they have written permission from the school’s board of trustees or administrative director, have a concealed handgun permit and completed a training course. The law also allows people attending religious services to carry a gun if the private school is connected to a place of worship.
- Republican bill supporters cited a shooting at a religious school as the impetus behind the new law. Opponents argued it made schools less safe, and when Stein vetoed the bill, he said “we should keep (guns) out of our schools unless they are in the possession of law enforcement.”
- The new law also increases felony penalties for assaults on executive, legislative or court elected officials as well as adding local elected officials to the list.
- The vote fell along party lines in the Senate, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats against it. Republicans have a supermajority in the Senate.
- In the House, the vote also fell along party lines, with the exception of one Democrat, Rep. Shelly Willingham, who voted in favor of the bill. Stein’s veto was overturned, and the bill became law. Willingham is a former law enforcement officer.
Iryna’s Law, passed after light-rail fatal stabbing, takes effect
- House Bill 307, “Iryna’s Law,” is named for Iryna Zarutska, the woman killed on a Charlotte light-rail train in August, which brought a national spotlight on public safety.
- Stein signed the bill into law after passed with some bipartisan support.
- Mecklenburg County officials say they need more funding in order to implement the law, which includes stricter bail rules for many violent offenses, a new protocol for judges and magistrates ordering mental health evaluations and funding for additional prosecutors, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Driving laws focus on heavy trucks in left lanes, tinted windows
- Senate Bill 391: Parts of the Department of Transportation omnibus bill are effective Dec. 1, including a limit on heavy trucks traveling in the left lane of highways and requirements to roll down tinted windows.
- The bill passed with near-unanimous support and was signed into law by Stein.
- A motor vehicle having a gross weight rating of 26,001 pounds or heavier is banned from driving in the left-most lane of a highway with six or more lanes, unless drivers are entering or exiting the highway, avoiding a hazard or passing another vehicle. Vehicles of that weight require a commercial driver’s license to operate.
- Another new part of the law is for drivers with tinted windows. If a police officer approaches a car with tinted windows, the driver must roll down the driver-side window, or if the officer approaches on the passenger side, the driver must roll down the passenger window.
Sexual exploitation ban, fines for pornographic websites
- A provision in House Bill 805, “Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors,” requires pornographic websites to verify the age of a user as 18 or older as well as obtain written consent from every individual who appears in images and written consent for each sexual act depicted in each image. The law also requires a process to remove the images, employees designated to remove images and a prominent notice on websites about how to request removals, which must be done within 72 hours.
- Civil penalties for violating the law could be up to $10,000 per day.
- It’s part of a bill that also dealt with the definition of genders, suing health care providers who perform gender-affirming care, and procedures for objecting to books or lessons in school. Stein vetoed the bill, which was overturned by the General Assembly with all Republicans and one Democratic vote.
The General Assembly website includes a full list of other new laws effective Dec. 1 that were part of legislation passed in 2025.
This story was originally published November 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan
The News & Observer