H 1064

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  1
  HOUSE BILL 1064
 Short Title:   Civil Rights Helpline.  (Public)
 Sponsors:      Representatives Clark, Harrison, Morey, and Greenfield (Primary Sponsors).
  For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
 Referred to:   Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  April 29, 2026
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A CIVIL RIGHTS HELPLINE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF
3     JUSTICE TO RECEIVE, DOCUMENT, AND INVESTIGATE CIVIL RIGHTS
4     COMPLAINTS.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6SECTION 1. Article 1 of Chapter 114 of the General Statutes is amended by adding
7 the following new sections to read:
8 "§ 114-8.8A. Civil rights helpline.
9     The Attorney General shall protect the civil rights of individuals in North Carolina by
10 performing all of the following:
11(1)     Establish and maintain, on a 24-hour basis, a toll-free telephone helpline to
12assist individuals who have been harmed, or whose family members have been
13harmed, in actions arising from the deployment of federal troops or federal
14law enforcement officers to this State, including federal immigration
15enforcement actions.
16(2)     Establish and maintain an associated website where individuals who have
17been harmed, or whose family members have been harmed, can submit online
18civil rights violation claims.
19(3)     Provide resources to impacted individuals on how to access local and state
20government assistance programs and information regarding available legal
21and social assistance. Resources related to school emergency responses,
22school crisis interventions, and other student support programs may also be
23provided.
24(4)     Ensure the helpline referenced in this section has voicemail capabilities.
25(5)     Make translation and disability access services available for individuals using
26the helpline.
27(6)     Advertise the helpline and make materials available to the public to encourage
28reporting by those experiencing or witnessing civil rights violations.
29 "§ 114-8.8B. Reporting.
30     (a)     The Attorney General shall maintain a secure database of all reports received from
31 the helpline and generate an annual public report that includes information the helpline acquires
32 from reporting individuals. The report shall redact all personally identifiable information and
33 publish the report for public viewing.
34     (b)     The report shall include all of the following information:
35(1)     The total number of reports received.
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1(2)      The federal law enforcement agency involved.
2(3)      The number of arrests made, including underlying offense, initial charge, final
3disposition, if available, and amount of time between arrest and disposition.
4(4)     Any patterns or trends observed regarding the federal law enforcement agency
5misconduct, including excessive use of force, racial profiling, or any other
6violations of civil rights under State or federal law.
7(5)     Recommendations for policy or training improvement in response to the
8findings.
9     (c)     All communications received by the helpline or associated website shall remain
10 confidential and are not a public record as defined in G.S. 132-1.
11     (d)     If a civil rights violation is reported, the Attorney General shall investigate the
12 incident and determine if additional actions are warranted.
13 "§ 114-8.8C. Annual hearings.
14     The Attorney General shall convene at least one public hearing each calendar year to present
15 aggregate data and findings from the annual public report as referenced in this Article. The
16 Attorney General shall provide public notice of each hearing."
17SECTION 2. If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, the
18 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect
19 without the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, the provisions of this act are
20 severable.
21SECTION 3. The Department of Justice shall establish the helpline as required under
22 Section 1 of this act no later than 60 days after the effective date of this act. The first report
23 submitted by the Attorney General as required by Section 1 of this act shall occur no later than
24 one year from the date the helpline is established.
25SECTION 4. The Department of Justice shall adopt rules, or amend their rules,
26 consistent with the provisions of this act. The Department may use the procedure set forth in
27 G.S. 150B-21.1 to adopt or amend any rules as required under this act.
28SECTION 5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of
29 Justice the sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) in recurring funds beginning in the
30 2026-2027 fiscal year to be used to implement the provisions of Section 1 of this act.
31SECTION 6. This act becomes effective July 1, 2026.
 Page 2  House Bill 1064-First Edition