North Carolina HB 1115: Retirement Allowance Beneficiary Flexibility.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1115

Short Title: GSC Advance Health Care Planning Documents. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Davis.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Judiciary 1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 30, 2026
*H1115-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE GENERAL STATUTES REGARDING HEALTH CARE 2
POWERS OF ATTORNEY, ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES, AND 3
ADVANCE INSTRUCTIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT BASED, IN 4
PART, ON PROPOSALS IN THE UNIFORM HEALTH-CARE DECISIONS ACT, AS 5
RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
8
PART I. FINDINGS 9
SECTION 1. The General Statutes Commission, pursuant to its charge under 10
G.S. 164-13, finds that the adoption of certain proposals in the 2023 Uniform Health-Care 11
Decisions Act would improve the laws of this State. Among these proposals is simplifying 12
execution requirements for health care powers of attorney, advance health care directives ("living 13
wills"), and advance instructions for mental health treatment. 14
The Commission further finds that House Bill 349, 2025 Regular Session, would 15
simplify execution requirements for health care powers of attorney and advance health care 16
directives ("living wills"), two of the three documents for which the General Statutes 17
Commission recommends simplifying execution requirements. In addition to making technical 18
corrections, this act in its entirety provides for all recommendations of the General Statutes 19
Commission resulting from its consideration of the 2023 Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act. 20
Parts II and III of this act would ensure the enactment of all of the Commission's 21
recommendations if House Bill 349 does or does not become law. 22
23
PART I-A. EXPLAIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A HEALTH CARE POWER 24
OF ATTORNEY AND OTHER ADVANCE HEALTH CARE PLANNING DOCUMENTS 25
SECTION 1A.(a) G.S. 32A-15 reads as rewritten: 26
"§ 32A-15. General purpose of this Article. 27
... 28
(c) This Article is intended and shall be construed to be consistent with the provisions of 29
Article 23 (Advance Directive For A Natural Death ("Living Will")) of Chapter 90 of the General 30
Statutes provided that in Statutes. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Article 31
and Article 23 of Chapter 90, 90 of the General Statutes, the provisions of Article 23 of Chapter 32
90 of the General Statutes control. No conflict between these Chapters exists when either a health 33
care power of attorney or a declaration provides that the declaration is subject to decisions of a 34
health care agent. If no declaration has been executed by the principal as provided in G.S. 90-321 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1115-First Edition
that expressly covers the principal's present condition and if the health care agent has been given 1
the specific authority in a health care power of attorney to authorize the withholding or 2
discontinuing of life-prolonging measures when the principal is in such that condition, the 3
measures may be withheld or discontinued as provided in the health care power of attorney upon 4
the direction and under the supervision of the attending physician, as G.S. 90-322 shall does not 5
apply in such this case. Nothing in this Article shall be construed to authorize authorizes any 6
affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to permit the natural process of 7
dying. 8
(d) This Article is intended and shall be construed to be consistent with the provisions of 9
Part 3A (Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act) of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General 10
Statutes. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Article and Part 3A of Article 11
16 of Chapter 130A, the provisions of Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General 12
Statutes control." 13
SECTION 1A.(b) Article 3 of Chapter 32A of the General Statutes is amended by 14
adding a new section to read: 15
"§ 32A-15.1. Combining health care planning documents. 16
(a) A health care power of attorney may be combined with any other advance health care 17
planning document, such as: 18
(1) An advance directive for a natural death ("living will") prepared pursuant to 19
Article 23 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes. 20
(2) An advance instruction for mental health treatment prepared pursuant to Part 21
2 of Article 3 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes. 22
(b) A health care power of attorney that is combined with other advance health care 23
planning documents shall be clearly titled as combined, and each type of advance health care 24
planning document within it shall also be individually titled." 25
SECTION 1A.(c) G.S. 32A-16(1), (1a), (7), and (8) are recodified as 26
G.S. 32A-16(1d), (1f), (1), and (4b), respectively. 27
SECTION 1A.(d) G.S. 32A-16, as ame