North Carolina HB 568: Asheville Deannexation.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025

SESSION LAW 2025-28
HOUSE BILL 568

*H568-v-5*
AN ACT MAKING OMNIBUS AMENDMENTS TO LAWS PERTAINING TO THE NORTH
CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.1. Article 16 of Chapter 95 of the General Statutes is amended by
adding a new section to read:
"§ 95-136.2. Third-party subpoenas to the Department.
(a) The Commissioner, any current employee, or any former employee of the Department
may only be required to appear and testify regarding an occupational safety and health inspection
under one of the following circumstances:
(1) An enforcement proceeding is brought under this Article.
(2) An action is filed in which the Department is a party.
(3) The Commissioner consents in writing to waive the exemption provided by
subsection (b) of this section.
(4) A court finds all of the following:
a. The information sought is essential to the underlying case.
b. There are no reasonable alternative means for acquiring the
information.
c. A significant injustice would occur if the requested testimony was not
available.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Commissioner, any current
employee, and any former employee of the Department may not be subpoenaed to appear or
testify for an inquiry into any occupational safety and health inspection.
(c) Any written report, citation, or investigative finding issued by the Department
pursuant to an occupational safety and health inspection shall be admissible in any judicial or
administrative civil proceeding to the same extent as if the author were available to testify, unless
the court finds the document clearly lacks indicia of reliability or would result in manifest
injustice.
(d) This section does not apply to a subpoena requesting only documents or other
records."
SECTION 1.2. G.S. 150B-21.5 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(c1) OSHA Standard. – The Occupational Safety and Health Division of the Department
of Labor is not required to publish a notice of text in the North Carolina Register or hold a public
hearing when it proposes to adopt a rule that concerns an occupational safety and health standard
that is identical to a federal regulation promulgated by the Secretary of the United States
Department of Labor. The Division shall file the rule with the Commission for the purpose of
receiving written objections to the rule in accordance with G.S. 150B-21.3(b2)."
SECTION 1.3.(a) G.S. 95-135(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) Every official act of the Commission shall be entered of record and its hearings and
records shall be open to the public. The Commission is authorized and empowered to make such
procedural rules as are necessary for the orderly transaction of its proceedings. Unless the

Page 2 Session Law 2025-28 House Bill 568
Commission adopts a different rule, the proceedings, as nearly as possible, shall be in accordance
with the Rules of Civil Procedure, G.S. 1A-1. The Commission may order testimony to be taken
by deposition in any proceeding pending before it at any stage of such proceeding. Any person,
firm or corporation, and its agents or officials, may be compelled to appear and testify and
produce like documentary evidence before the Commission. Only upon motion of a respondent,
the Commission shall permit the complainant and respondent to obtain prehearing discovery in
accordance with the methods provided in Rule 26(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, including,
but not limited to, testimony taken by deposition, production of documents, and compelling
persons to appear. Witnesses whose depositions are taken under this section, and the persons
taking such depositions, shall be entitled to the same fees as are paid for like services in the courts
of the State."
SECTION 1.3.(b) This section shall apply to citations issued on or after the effective
date of this act.
SECTION 1.4. G.S. 130A-385(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e) In cases where death occurred due to an injury received in the course of the decedent's
employment, the Chief Medical Examiner shall forward to the Commissioner of Labor a copy of
the medical examiner's report of the investigation, including the location of the fatal injury and
the name and address of the decedent's employer at the time of the fatal injury. The Chief Medical
Examiner shall forward this report within 30 days of receipt of the information from the medical
examiner. Upon written request by the Commissioner of Labor, the Chief Medical Examiner
shall provide the finalized autopsy report within five months of the date of the request."
SECTION 1.5. G.S. 95-36.3(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c) The Commissioner of Labor, with the written approval of the Attorney General as to
legality, shall have power to adopt, alter, amend or repeal appropriate rules of procedure for
selection of the arbitrator or panel and for conduct of the arbitration proceedings in accordance
with this Article: Provided, however, that such rules