North Carolina HB 861: Taxpayer Accountability/Pregnancy Centers.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 861

Short Title: Taxpayer Accountability/Pregnancy Centers. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cervania, Crawford, 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 10, 2025
*H861-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT ENHANCING TAXPAYER ACCOUNTABILITY BY REQUIRING THE 2
ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMPETITIVE GRANT PROCESS, PERFORMANCE 3
STANDARDS, AND ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR 4
PREGNANCY CENTERS. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. Funds appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health 7
and Human Services, Division of Public Health, for each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium 8
for Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship (CPCF), a nonprofit corporation, are subject to the 9
following requirements: 10
(1) The CPCF shall establish a competitive grant process for awarding the grants 11
authorized by subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(3) of Section 9H.11 of S.L. 12
2023-134. The plan for administering the competitive grant process shall 13
include all of the following: 14
a. A request for application (RFA) process to allow pregnancy centers 15
located in this State to apply for and receive a grant authorized by this 16
section on a competitive basis. The RFA application shall include at 17
least all of the following components: 18
1. An explanation of the applicant's operations and staff, 19
including all of the following: 20
I. The hours of operation. 21
II. The full name, official position, credentials, specialties, 22
and salaries of all staff and volunteers. 23
III. Required qualifications, trainings, and credentials for 24
all employees, volunteers, contractors, and consultants. 25
IV. An explanation of the application process for 26
employees, volunteers, and consultants, including 27
whether the application requires a disclosure about 28
religious beliefs and if any answer or failure to answer 29
will disqualify an applicant. 30
V. What vendors and materials are used for training 31
employees, consultants, and volunteers. 32
VI. Whether licensed health care providers are required to 33
be on-site during operating hours and, if so, an 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 861-First Edition
explanation of the requirement and what arrangements 1
are made if the requirement cannot be met. 2
VII. Whether any employees, contractors, or volunteers are 3
unlicensed health care providers. 4
VIII. Whether ultrasounds are performed on-site and, if so, 5
the qualifications of those performing and interpreting 6
the ultrasounds. 7
IX. Whether testing for sexually transmitted diseases is 8
performed on-site and, if so, the names and 9
qualifications of those performing such testing. 10
2. The specific activities, services, and programs provided by the 11
applicant during any part of the year. 12
3. A description of all medical equipment, the purposes of the 13
equipment, and funding sources for all of the equipment. 14
4. An explanation of the applicant's best practices with respect to 15
the use of medical equipment and the provision of any medical 16
testing, medical procedures, or counseling services. 17
5. A description of the applicant's advertising and marketing 18
practices. 19
b. A plan to evaluate the effectiveness, including measurable impact or 20
outcomes, of the activities, services, and programs for which the grant 21
funds are being requested. 22
c. A plan to monitor compliance with applicable law and the grant 23
agreement, with respect to the grantee's expenditure of grant funds. 24
d. A plan to detect fraud and abuse by grantees. 25
(2) No later than July 1 of each year, beginning July 1, 2026, the CPCF shall 26
announce the recipients of the competitive grant awards and allocate funds to 27
the grantees for the respective grant period pursuant to the amounts designated 28
under subsection (a) of this section. After awards have been granted, the CPCF 29
shall submit a report to the Department of Health and Human Services, the 30
Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the Joint 31
Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services, and the 32
Fiscal Research Division on the grant awards that includes at least all of the 33
following information: 34
a. The identity and a brief description of each grantee and each activity, 35
service, and program offered by the grantee. 36
b. The amount of funding awarded to each grantee. 37
c. The number of persons served by each grantee, broken down by 38
activity, service, and program. 39
d. The number of persons served by the Circle of Care Program. 40
e. A copy of each grantee's RFA application. 41
(3) The CPCF may not use more than ten percent (10%) of the total amount of 42
funds allocated by this section for the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium and not more 43
than fifteen