North Carolina HB 770: Freedom to Work/OLB Reform.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 770

Short Title: Est. Procedure/Complex Family Financial Cases. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Stevens.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 2, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules,
Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 7, 2025
*H770-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE FOR COMPLEX FAMILY FINANCIAL CASE 2
DISPOSITION. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. Chapter 50 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 5
to read: 6
"Article 6. 7
"Complex Family Financial Cases. 8
"§ 50-110. Definitions. 9
The following definitions shall apply in this Article: 10
(1) Chief hearing officer. – A hearing officer designated by the Chief Justice of 11
the North Carolina Supreme Court who determines which cases are designated 12
as complex family financial cases, assigns all cases designated as complex 13
family financial cases, and prepares any required reports. 14
(2) Complex family financial case. – Any claim or claims approved for hearing 15
as a complex family financial case as provided for by this Article. Claims 16
eligible for hearing as a complex family financial case are equitable 17
distribution, alimony, post separation support, child support, or any 18
combination of those claims. 19
(3) Hearing officer or complex family financial hearing officer. – An individual 20
who has been appointed pursuant to this Article to hear and enter orders in 21
complex family financial cases. 22
"§ 50-111. Complex family financial hearing officer. 23
(a) Complex family financial hearing officers shall be employees of the Administrative 24
Office of the Courts and shall be appointed by the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme 25
Court. The Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court shall designate one hearing officer 26
as chief hearing officer. 27
(b) To serve as a hearing officer or chief hearing officer, the individual must meet the 28
following minimum qualifications: 29
(1) Attorney licensed in North Carolina and in good standing with the North 30
Carolina State Bar. 31
(2) Substantial involvement handling complex family financial cases during the 32
10 calendar years prior to the year of application, including the following: 33

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 770-First Edition
a. Average at least 600 hours per year handling complex family financial 1
cases. 2
b. No less than 400 hours handling complex family financial cases in any 3
one year. 4
(3) During the five calendar years prior to the application: 5
a. Completed at least 45 hours of continuing legal education credits in 6
family law, nine of which may be in related fields, including taxation, 7
trial advocacy, evidence, negotiation, including training in mediation, 8
arbitration, and collaborative law, real property, estate planning and 9
probate law, trusts, business organizations, employee benefits, 10
bankruptcy, and immigration law. Only nine hours will be recognized 11
for attendance at an extended negotiation or mediation training course. 12
Parenting coordinator training will not qualify for family law or related 13
field hours. 14
b. A minimum of six hours continuing legal education must have been 15
completed in each of those five years. 16
(4) Satisfactory peer review by 10 lawyers or judges who are identified by the 17
applicant. The identified individuals must have personal knowledge of the 18
competence and qualification of the applicant in handling complex family 19
financial matters at the pretrial, trial, and posttrial level. All identified 20
individuals must be licensed and in good standing to practice law in the State 21
of North Carolina. No identified individual may be related by blood or 22
marriage to the applicant nor be a colleague at the applicant's place of 23
employment at the time of the application. 24
(c) A hearing officer and the chief hearing officer shall receive the annual salary set forth 25
in the Current Operations Appropriations Act for business court judges and the chief business 26
court judge, and reimbursement on the same basis as State employees generally by G.S. 138-6(a), 27
provided that no travel allowance be paid for travel within a hearing officer's county of residence. 28
The Administrative Office of the Courts may also reimburse a hearing officer, in addition to the 29
above funds for travel, for travel and subsistence expenses incurred for professional education. 30
(d) In lieu of merit and other increment raises paid to regular State employees, a hearing 31
officer shall receive as longevity pay an annual amount equal to four and eight-tenths percent 32
(4.8%) of the annual salary set forth in the Current Operations Appropriations Act payable 33
monthly after five years of service, nine and six-tenths percent (9.6%) after 10