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HB 569

An Act amending the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, further providing for title of act; and adding provisions relating to coroners.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Scott Barger and 18 co-sponsors

Raises the statewide minimum wage to $15/hour (Sept 4, 2023) and allows higher local rates, boosting worker pay and prompting employer cost changes.

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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 569

Summary — HB 569, “Working Families Act”

Note: This summary describes the Working Families Act (HB 569) content provided, which focuses on multiple family- and workforce-oriented policy changes (child care subsidies, child tax credit, minimum wage, housing/homebuyer support, and paid family leave). Effective dates and numeric values below are taken from the bill text.

Purpose

The bill is a multipronged package intended to reduce costs for working families, increase income support, expand housing assistance for public servants, raise the minimum wage, and establish a paid family leave program with employer cost-offset grants.

Key provisions

  • Child care copayments

    • Lowers parent copayments for subsidized child care from 10% to 7% of gross family income.
    • Effective July 1, 2023 (per bill language).

  • Child tax credit

    • Re‑enacts a state child tax credit similar to the former statute. Credit amounts vary by filing status and adjusted gross income (tables in the bill set graduated credit amounts and phaseouts).
    • Credit can be refundable when it exceeds tax liability.
    • Effective for taxable years beginning on or after Jan 1, 2023.

  • Minimum wage

    • Raises the statewide minimum wage to $15.00 per hour, effective Labor Day (Sept 4, 2023, per text).
    • Explicitly allows local governments to set a higher local minimum wage (employers within that locality must pay the higher rate).

  • Property tax homestead “circuit breaker”

    • Increases the income eligibility threshold used to calculate the homestead tax deferral/limitation (the bill raises the percentage used in the statutory table; text shows an adjustment from prior 150% toward a higher threshold — see bill for exact table language).
    • Effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2023.

  • Homebuyers’ assistance for public servants

    • Directs the Housing Finance Agency to create a program (under the Homeownership Assistance Fund) providing assistance to first-time homebuyers who are employed full-time as “public servants” (definitions include teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, active duty/veterans).
    • Assistance may be structured as reimbursement or direct assistance (bill directs Agency to set program terms).

  • Paid family leave and employer grant fund

    • Establishes the “North Carolina Paid Family Leave Insurance Act” to provide paid family leave benefits to qualifying workers (text in bill creates the program and associated rules).
    • Creates an Employer Grant Fund to offset employer costs associated with the paid leave program and appropriates funds for that purpose.

Who is affected

  • Working families and parents (lower child-care costs; child tax credit).
  • Low- and moderate-income homeowners (circuit-breaker changes).
  • First-time homebuyers employed as public servants (access to HFA assistance).
  • Employees earning minimum wage (higher base pay); localities and employers where local minimums are adopted.
  • Employers required to participate in paid leave (but could receive grants/offsets).
  • Public water systems / ratepayers are not part of this bill (other HB 569 variants address other topics in other states).

Fiscal, timing, and implementation notes

  • Several provisions are retroactive or have immediate past effective dates in the bill text (child tax credit and minimum wage provisions reference 2023 effective dates).
  • The bill authorizes appropriations (for example, to fund employer grants); the bill text directs the Housing Finance Agency to operate new programs subject to available funds.
  • The bill does not contain a consolidated fiscal analysis in the excerpt provided; state-level budget impacts would include higher wage costs to employers, costs to fund paid leave benefits and employer grants, and reduced state revenue net effects (from refundable tax credits and increased household incomes), and savings to families via lower child-care copays.

Status

  • Provided status: Passed First Reading (per materials). Actual procedural history may vary by chamber/session — consult the official legislative calendar or bill-tracking service for current status and amendments.

For exact statutory language, credit tables, and program implementation details (eligibility, benefit levels, administrative rules, and appropriation amounts), refer to the full bill text and committee reports.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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