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Bill

HB 48

Department of family services-confidentiality amendments.

2025 Regular Session

HB 48 raises the unemployment benefit cap to up to $450/week (for claims filed after March 2, 2025) and provides a one-year employer UI tax credit tied to Q4 2024 payroll.

H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4
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Bill Summary · HB 48

Summary — HB 48: Increase Unemployment Insurance Maximum Benefit / 2025 Unemployment Insurance Tax Credit

Status: Regular Message Sent to Senate (introduced Aug 15, 2025)
Subjects: Employment; Governor; Unemployment Insurance; Tax Credits; Executive Orders

Main purpose

HB 48 (N.C.) (2025) has three related objectives:
1. Clarify the legal limits on the Governor’s authority to expand unemployment insurance (UI) by executive order.
2. Ratify specified parts of a recent executive order (Executive Order No. 322) taken in response to the Helene disaster.
3. Change UI program parameters: increase the statutory maximum weekly benefit and provide a one‑year employer tax credit tied to 2024 fourth‑quarter UI payroll contributions.

Key provisions

  • Executive‑order authority (G.S. §1):

    • Declares that any Governor executive order purporting to expand UI benefits (whether paid with State or federal funds) is void ab initio unless the Governor acts under authority expressly granted by a General Assembly statute or by Congress.
    • Ratifies Sections 1–4 of Executive Order No. 322 (issued Oct 16, 2024) and specifies that those ratified sections will terminate March 1, 2025 (consistent with S.L. 2024‑51).

  • Increase in maximum weekly UI benefit (amendment to G.S. 96‑14.2(a)):

    • Original introduced text raised the statutory cap from $350 to $400 per week.
    • A later committee substitute (reported favorable 2/11/25) increased the cap to $450 per week.
    • The benefit increase applies to claims filed on or after March 2, 2025.

  • 2025 employer tax credit (addition to G.S. 96‑9.2):

    • Authorizes a one‑year tax credit for employers against required contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund for calendar year 2025.
    • The credit amount equals the employer’s contributions attributable to wages paid in Q4 2024, as reported on the employer’s report filed on or before Jan 31, 2025.
    • If the employer already remitted those contributions with the Jan 31 filing, the credit is applied to the contributions due on the April 30, 2025 report.
    • Employers must file the report to claim the credit; any excess credit after application is treated as an overpayment and refundable under existing law.

Who is affected

  • Unemployed workers: potential increase in the weekly maximum benefit (up to $400 or, in the committee substitute, $450), improving benefit amounts for higher‑wage claimants.
  • Employers: reduced UI contribution cost in 2025 via a one‑time credit tied to Q4 2024 payroll; timing and cash‑flow effects depend on filing/remittance behavior.
  • State UI trust fund and state finances: higher benefit caps and the employer credit both affect UI fund inflows/outflows and fiscal planning (see “Potential impacts” below).
  • Executive/legislative relations: clarifies and restricts the Governor’s unilateral authority to expand UI benefits by executive order.

Procedural / timing notes

  • The benefit cap change is explicitly made applicable to claims filed on or after March 2, 2025.
  • The tax credit is limited to contributions for calendar year 2025 and relies on employer reporting by Jan 31, 2025 (with application mechanics noted for April 30, 2025 filings).
  • The bill also ratifies specified sections of EO No. 322 and confirms their termination date (March 1, 2025).

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Fiscal: raising the maximum weekly benefit increases potential UI benefit outlays; the employer tax credit will reduce employer contributions collected into the UI Fund in 2025 — together these could reduce net balances in the UI trust fund and affect future tax rates or solvency measures.
  • Legal/constitutional: Section 1(a) addresses separation of powers by restricting use of executive orders to expand UI absent explicit statutory or federal authorization; this provision could prompt legal review or debate about emergency powers.
  • Administrative: the Department of Commerce / Division of Employment Security would need to implement the new cap for applicable claims and process employer credits/refunds under the amended contribution rules.

Effective date

  • Unless otherwise provided, the act is effective when it becomes law. Specific provisions set applicability dates (notably claims on/after March 2, 2025 for the benefit cap change).

If you want, I can:
- Produce a short fiscal impact checklist describing where to expect costs or savings and what agencies would need to model; or
- Draft a one‑page explainer for employers summarizing how to claim the 2025 UI tax credit.

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

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