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HB 500

NC Adopt Equal Rights Amendment.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Eric Ager and 47 co-sponsors

NC HB 500 ratifies the federal ERA, directing the governor to certify and transmit ratification to federal officials, extending protection against sex discrimination.

Passed 1st Reading
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Bill Summary · HB 500

HB 500 — NC Adopt Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) — Summary

Status: Introduced March 14, 2025; Passed 1st Reading (filed March 14, 2025; first read March 24, 2025); referred to Rules (March 26, 2025). Sponsor: Rep. Grier von Haefen (primary sponsors listed in edition: von Haefen, Cunningham, Price, Prather).

Purpose / Intent

HB 500 is a state resolution by the North Carolina General Assembly to ratify and affirm the federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States Constitution. The bill expresses the Legislature’s intent that the ERA — which declares equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex — be recognized as an amendment to the U.S. Constitution and directs formal transmittal of North Carolina’s ratification to federal officials.

Key provisions

  • Ratification: The General Assembly “ratifies and affirms the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America” (the ERA text proposed by Congress).
  • ERA text referenced (as proposed by Congress):
    • Section 1 — “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
    • Section 2 — Grants Congress power to enforce the article by appropriate legislation.
    • Section 3 — Provided, in the congressional proposal, that the amendment “shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.”
  • Certification / Transmittal: Directs the Governor to forward a certified copy of the ratification to the Archivist of the United States, the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and the Speaker of the U.S. House, and each member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation.
  • Effective date: The act becomes effective when it becomes law.

Who or what would be affected

  • Federal-level: If the ERA is recognized as part of the U.S. Constitution, its text would be a federal constitutional provision enforceable against the United States and the states — potentially affecting federal and state laws, policies, and court decisions addressing sex discrimination.
  • North Carolina residents and state agencies: A federally recognized ERA would provide an additional constitutional basis for challenging state laws, regulations, and practices that treat persons differently on account of sex.
  • Courts and litigants: Could increase or change the legal arguments and remedies in sex-discrimination litigation brought in federal or state courts.

Procedural / Legal context and important notes

  • Article V process: Ratification by three-fourths of the States is the final state-step under Article V. HB 500 is North Carolina’s exercise of that ratification power.
  • Background: The bill’s text notes that Virginia’s ratification (January 27, 2020) was the 38th state ratification. However, legal issues persist nationally about the ERA’s ratification timeline and whether Congress’s seven‑year ratification deadline (and some states’ later rescissions) affect validity. Courts, Congress, or the Archivist of the United States may play a role in resolving those questions.
  • Significance: The bill is a formal state ratification and a political/constitutional statement of support for a federal prohibition on sex‑based discrimination. Whether and when the ERA will be officially certified as the 28th Amendment depends on federal-level legal and administrative determinations beyond the North Carolina Legislature’s action.

Where the bill stands

  • Introduced March 14, 2025; first reading occurred March 24, 2025; referred to the Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House on March 26, 2025. Further committee or floor action will determine final enactment. If enacted, the Governor forwards the certified ratification as directed.

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

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