Environmental Resources, Board of; created.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Richard Stuart

Provides $30 million to recapitalize NC Housing Trust Fund and creates ongoing revenue via small portions of deeds fees and excise tax remittances to fund affordable and workforce

Left in Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

SB 446 — Expand Workforce Housing (North Carolina) — Summary

Status & timeline
- Introduced: 2025 (first edition filed March 25, 2025).
- Senate: Passed first reading; referred through committee process.
- Effective date (as written): July 1, 2025.

Purpose
- Recapitalize and create recurring funding for the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund (HTF) to expand workforce and affordable housing production and preservation across the State.

Key provisions
1. One‑time appropriation
- Appropriates $30,000,000 in nonrecurring General Fund money to the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund for FY 2025–2026 (G.S. 122E‑3 purposes).

New/recurring revenue streams for the HTF

Amends G.S. 161‑11.5 (register of deeds fee remittances): directs 1.5% of the $6.20 remitted portion of certain register of deeds fees to the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund.
Amends G.S. 105‑228.30 (real estate transfer excise tax distribution): requires the Department of Revenue to credit an amount equal to 33% of the county remittances (the State’s share of the conveyance excise tax) to the Housing Trust Fund; the remainder continues to the General Fund.

Legislative findings and intent

Reaffirms HTF’s role (created in 1987; administered by NC Housing Finance Agency) as the State’s most flexible affordable housing resource (homeownership, rentals, supportive housing, rehab, emergency repairs).
Notes declining historic levels of State investment and the disproportion between housing need and available units.

Who is affected
- Primary beneficiaries: low‑ and moderate‑income households, families needing affordable rental or homeownership opportunities, and communities served by HTF‑funded projects.
- Administrative/financial actors: NC Housing Finance Agency (HTF administrator), State Treasurer, Department of Revenue, county registers of deeds, county finance officers.
- State budget: one‑time $30M General Fund outlay in FY25‑26 and ongoing revenue flows from modified fee/tax remittances.

Fiscal and programmatic impacts
- One‑time nonrecurring cost: $30 million (reverts if unexpended at FY end).
- The bill establishes ongoing revenue sources for the HTF, but does not provide an explicit annual dollar total; impact depends on deed‑fee volume and real estate transfer activity.
- The bill cites HTF performance metrics (example: every $1M spent historically assists ~108 households, generates ~$5.169M in real estate value, supports ~110 jobs, and yields ~$455K in state/local revenue).

Procedural notes
- The act amends two existing statutes (G.S. 161‑11.5 and G.S. 105‑228.30) and provides an appropriation section.
- Effective July 1, 2025 (start of the State fiscal year), so recurring allocations would begin after that date subject to administrative implementation.

Bottom line
SB 446 provides an immediate $30 million recapitalization for North Carolina’s Housing Trust Fund and establishes statutory changes to generate recurring revenue (via a small share of register of deeds fees and a portion of excise tax remittances) to support ongoing affordable and workforce housing investments statewide.