North Carolina HB 1186: Equipping Law Enforcement for Better Drug Detection.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1186

Short Title: Equipping Law Enf. for Better Drug Detection. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Chesser, Pyrtle, Rhyne, and Rubin (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 2, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and
Operations of the House
May 5, 2026
*H1186-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT DIRECTING THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLABORATORY TO ESTABLISH 2
AND IMPLEMENT A PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE PARTICIPATING LAW 3
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITH NEW DRUG-DETECTING TECHNOLOGY TO 4
IMPROVE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE INVESTIGATIONS AND REDUCE THE 5
RISK OF FALSE ARRESTS. 6
Whereas, law enforcement agencies in North Carolina currently utilize various 7
presumptive field drug tests that vary significantly in their accuracy and reliability, as well as 8
their risks to officer safety due to handling of unknown substances; and 9
Whereas, new research from the Quattrone Center at University of Pennsylvania Law 10
School indicates that traditional "colorimetric" field drug test packets, which are commonly used 11
in North Carolina, are prone to false positives that can lead to the wrongful arrest of innocent 12
individuals and misdirection of valuable police resources; and 13
Whereas, the use of error-prone testing methods undermines community trust and 14
reduces public cooperation with law enforcement, which is essential for solving crimes and 15
ensuring public safety; and 16
Whereas, new technology exists that may more accurately and safely identify 17
potential controlled substances in the field, and some of these devices can analyze new synthetic 18
substances that escape colorimetric field tests altogether; and 19
Whereas, law enforcement officers deserve access to the most advanced, safe, and 20
effective drug-detecting technology available to combat the fentanyl crisis and emerging 21
synthetic substances; and 22
Whereas, reducing the risk of false positives is a critical priority for maintaining the 23
integrity of the criminal justice system, protecting the due process rights of all citizens, and 24
focusing key law enforcement resources on true offenders; and 25
Whereas, for these reasons, the State of North Carolina should establish a pilot 26
program to identify the advanced field drug testing tools that will best serve the needs of law 27
enforcement through superior accuracy, safety, and reliability; Now, therefore, 28
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 29
SECTION 1. Establishment. – The North Carolina Collaboratory (Collaboratory) 30
shall establish and implement a pilot program to support law enforcement, improve controlled 31
substance investigations, and reduce the risk of false arrests by providing participating law 32
enforcement agencies with new field drug-detecting technology and measuring the impact of that 33
technology on all of the following: 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1186-First Edition
(1) Case clearance. 1
(2) Law enforcement officer safety. 2
(3) Controlled substance testing accuracy. 3
(4) Identifying new or novel substances. 4
(5) Drug organization investigations. 5
(6) Cost-effectiveness. 6
SECTION 2. Program Requirements. – The pilot program required by this act shall 7
do, at a minimum, all of the following: 8
(1) Provide participating law enforcement agencies with drug-detection devices 9
meeting the requirements set forth in this subdivision to use in place of 10
color-based field drug tests for detecting suspected controlled substances. 11
Drug-detection devices provided under the pilot program shall meet all of the 12
following requirements: 13
a. Be portable or field-deployable. 14
b. Does not use, depend on, or interpret any visible color change or 15
visually observed chemical reaction as the primary basis for controlled 16
substance identification, such as reagent pouches, spot tests, test strips, 17
crystal or precipitate formation, and technology-assisted interpretation 18
of a color reaction. Drug-detection device indicators such as indicator 19
lights or interface colors are not disqualifying under this 20
sub-subdivision. 21
c. Shall generate and electronically retain a digital analytical signature of 22
the sample sufficient for independent audit and program evaluation. 23
d. Shall compare the analytical signature to an updatable electronic 24
reference library to generate an objective identification result, and 25
shall indicate "no match/unknown," or an equivalent indicator, when 26
no acceptable match is found. 27
e. Shall include a reference library that is capable of being updated on a 28
recurring basis to incorporate new and emerging controlled 29
substances. 30
f. Shall record, at a minimum, the result, the associated analytical 31
signature, the date and time, and a device identifier. 32
g. Shall support evaluator access to test records and u