North Carolina HB 515: North Carolina Economic Abuse Prevention Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 515
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/29/25

Short Title: North Carolina Economic Abuse Prevention Act. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 26, 2025
*H515-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ENACT THE NORTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC ABUSE PREVENTION ACT. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1.(a) The General Assembly finds that survivors of domestic violence 4
and the children of domestic violence survivors undergo multiple forms of abuses, including 5
monetary abuse, and that survivors of domestic violence need multiple pathways to remedy 6
coerced debt and to repair credit reports. Therefore, it is the public policy of this State to provide 7
remedies for economic abuse against domestic violence survivors. 8
SECTION 1.(b) The General Statutes are amended by adding a new Chapter to read: 9
"Chapter 1H. 10
"Economic Abuse Prevention Act. 11
"§ 1H-1. Short title. 12
This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the North Carolina Economic Abuse 13
Prevention Act. 14
"§ 1H-2. Definitions. 15
The following definitions apply to this Chapter: 16
(1) Abuse. – As defined in G.S. 50C-1(1). 17
(2) Adequate documentation. – Documentation that identifies a particular debt, or 18
portion thereof, as coerced debt, describes the circumstances under which the 19
coerced debt was incurred, and takes the form of any of the following: 20
a. A police report indicating the debtor was a victim of domestic violence 21
or elder abuse. 22
b. A Federal Trade Commission identity theft report indicating that the 23
debtor has been the victim of identity theft that identifies a particular 24
debt, or portion thereof, as coerced, but not as identity theft. 25
c. A court order issued under Chapter 50 or Chapter 50B of the General 26
Statutes stating that the debtor incurred debts as a result of abusive 27
coercion from any of the following: 28
1. A current or former spouse. 29
2. An individual with whom the debtor has a child in common. 30
3. An individual with whom the debtor is or was in a dating 31
relationship. 32
4. A current or former resident of the debtor's household. 33
d. A sworn written certification from a qualified third-party professional 34
based on information they received while acting in a professional 35
capacity. This documentation shall be signed by a qualified third-party 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 515-Second Edition
professional and display the letterhead, address, and telephone number 1
of the office, institution, center, or organization, as appropriate, that 2
engages or employs, whether financially compensated or not, the 3
qualified third-party professional, or, if the qualified third-party 4
professional is self-employed, the documentation shall display the 5
letterhead, address, and telephone number of the qualified third-party 6
professional. 7
(3) Claim. – A right to payment for any debt, excluding secured debt, whether or 8
not that right is liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, 9
unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, or equitable. 10
(4) Claimant. – A person or an entity who has or purports to have a claim against 11
a debtor arising from coerced debt, or that person's or entity's successor or 12
assignee. This definition includes a debt collector or a debt buyer. The term 13
does not include a person who caused the claim described in subdivision (3) 14
of this section to arise through duress, intimidation, threat of force, force, 15
fraud, or undue influence perpetrated against the debtor. 16
(5) Coerced debt. – A particular debt, or portion thereof, for personal, family, or 17
household use in the name of a debtor who is a victim of domestic violence as 18
defined in G.S. 50B-1, or a victim of domestic abuse as defined in 19
G.S. 14-32.3(a), or a current or former child in foster care as defined in 20
G.S. 131D-10.2, incurred as a result of duress, intimidation, threat of force, 21
force, or undue influence. 22
(6) Debtor. – A person who owes or is otherwise liable for coerced debt. 23
(7) Fraud. – An initial fraudulent act that is perpetrated against the debtor. 24
(8) Immediate family member. – As defined in G.S. 53-244.030(13). 25
(9) Person. – A natural person. 26
(10) Qualified third-party professional. – Any of the following who also has a 27
degree, certificate, or license from an accredited program for counseling 28
domestic violence victims: 29
a. Any agent of a domestic violence or sexual assault program, as defined 30
in G.S. 8-53.12. 31
b. A board-certified psychiatrist or psychologist. 32
c. A licensed marriage and family therapist. 33
d. A licensed professional clinical counselor. 34
e. A clinical social worker or a domestic violence professional. 35
f. A social worker or caseworker employed by a county department of 36
social services for the purposes described in G.S. 108A-100 or 37
G.S. 7B-100. 38
g. A noncredentialed domestic violence worker.