2019 Long Session

The North Carolina General Assembly officially started the 2019 Long Session on January 9th with a one day ceremonious session to swear in members for the new term and allow their families time to visit the legislature. The Senate and House both adopted their chamber rules, which govern parliamentary procedures and bill movement. The House voted to reelect Speaker Tim Moore to another term, and the Senate voted to give President Pro Tem Phil Berger another term as their leader. The General Assembly is scheduled to come back to Raleigh on January 30th to start holding committee meetings and taking up legislation.

Below are links to each chambers’ rules, followed by their bill filing deadlines:

House Rules

  • Local bills must be sent to bill drafting by March 6th and introduced by March 28th
  • Study bills must be sent to bill drafting by February 6th and introduced by February 21st
  • Agency bills must be sent to bill drafting by February 13th and introduced by February 28th
  • Public bills must be sent to bill drafting by March 27th and introduced by April 16th
  • Appropriations and Finance bills must be sent to bill drafting by April 3rd and introduced by April 23rd
  • Crossover deadline is May 9th

Senate Rules

  • Local bills must be sent to bill drafting by February 27th and introduced by March 14th
  • Public bills must be sent to bill drafting by March 13th and introduced by April 2nd
  • Crossover deadline is May 9th

In the weeks leading up to January 30th, the General Assembly has been handling many housekeeping items, such as assigning offices and appointing committees.

The following committee appointments have been made:

House Appropriations Senior Chairmen: Rep. Jason Saine, Rep. Donny Lambeth, Rep. Linda Johnson Chairmen: Rep. Dean Arp, Rep. Josh Dobson, Rep. Chuck McGrady, Rep. John Faircloth, Rep. William Brisson

House Finance Senior Chairmen: Rep. Julia Howard, Rep. Mitchell Setzer, Rep. John Szoka

House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Chairman: Rep. David Lewis

Senate Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Chairmen: Sen. Norm Sanderson, Sen. Andy Wells

Senate Appropriations and Base Budget Chairmen: Sen. Harry Brown, Sen. Kathy Harrington, Sen. Brent Jackson

Senate Commerce and Insurance Chairmen: Sen. John Alexander, Sen. Chuck Edwards, Sen. Rick Gunn

Senate Education and Higher Education Chairmen: Sen. Deanna Ballard, Sen. Rick Horner, Sen. Jerry Tillman

Senate Finance Chairmen: Sen. Ralph Hise, Sen. Paul Newton, Sen. Jerry Tillman

Senate Health Care Chairmen: Sen. Dan Bishop, Sen. Joyce Krawiec

Senate Judiciary Chairmen: Sen. Danny Britt, Sen. Warren Daniel

Senate Pensions, Retirement, and Aging Chairmen: Sen. Bill Rabon, Sen. Andy Wells

Senate Redistricting and Elections Chairmen: Sen. Dan Bishop, Sen. Warren Daniel, Sen. Ralph Hise

Senate Rules and Operations Chairman: Sen. Bill Rabon

Senate State and Local Government Chairmen: Sen. John Alexander, Sen. Rick Horner

Senate Transpiration: Chairmen: Sen. Jim Davis, Sen. Tom McInnis

Link to General Assembly Committee Page for full list of committee members

In addition to providing Government Affairs Services, the Nexsen Pruet Public Policy team provides attorneys and clients with a newsletter summarizing the week's activities and conveying the inner workings of the legislative process and state government in Raleigh during the legislative session.