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SB 712

State Board of Education – Membership – Educational Support and Administrator Members

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Ben Brooks

The bill excludes income from specified caregiver jobs from NC taxable income and allocates $165 million annually to subsidize child care for eligible caregiver families.

Hearing 2/21 at 9:30 a.m.
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Bill Summary · SB 712

SB 712 — Caring for Our Caregivers Act (summary)

Status: Passed 1st Reading
Introduced: February 21, 2025
Primary sponsors (NC edition): Senators Chitlik and Bradley

Purpose

To provide tax and child-care supports for front‑line “caregiver” workers by (1) excluding income earned in specified caregiver/public‑safety occupations from North Carolina taxable income and (2) funding subsidized child care for families that include qualifying caregiver workers. The act is titled the “Caring for Our Caregivers Act.”

Key provisions

  • Income tax change

    • Amends North Carolina tax law (G.S. 105‑153.5(b)) to add a new subdivision that treats income earned for work performed in specified caregiver and related public‑safety occupations as excluded from taxable income (i.e., an income tax exclusion for those jobs). Occupations listed include:
    • Firefighters
    • Emergency medical services personnel (emergency medical responder, paramedic, rescue squad members)
    • Emergency management workers
    • 9‑1‑1 call center workers
    • Sworn law enforcement officers (with arrest powers)
    • Child care workers
    • Public school unit employees
    • Probation or parole officers
    • Corrections officers
    • The text also republishes/clarifies the income tax rate schedule; the tax‑exclusion provision is effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

  • Child care subsidy appropriation

    • Appropriates $165,000,000 recurring from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Child Development and Early Education.
    • Funds are for subsidized child care services for families that include a “qualifying caregiver worker.” The Division must give priority to child care workers when awarding subsidies.
    • Definition of “qualifying caregiver worker”: employed in‑state at least 30 hours per week in one of the enumerated occupations and with household annual income not exceeding $125,000.
    • Subsidy provision becomes effective July 1, 2025.

Who is affected

  • Directly: workers in the listed occupations (potentially lower state income tax liability and access to prioritized child‑care subsidies for eligible families).
  • Administratively: DHHS/Division of Child Development and Early Education will administer subsidies and eligibility; State tax officials will implement the statutory income exclusion.
  • Fiscal impact: recurring General Fund appropriation of $165 million for child care subsidies; the bill may also affect state income tax revenues through the new exclusion (amount not specified in the bill text).

Implementation & timeline

  • Tax exclusion: effective for taxable years beginning Jan 1, 2025.
  • Child‑care subsidy program: funds effective July 1, 2025.
  • Bill status: Passed first reading (per file). Further committee action and floor votes required for final enactment.

Notes

  • The bill text includes a list of covered occupations and an income cap ($125,000 household) for subsidy eligibility.
  • The summary above reflects the North Carolina edition titled “Caring for Our Caregivers Act.” Other documents attached to the file reference unrelated SB 712 measures from other states (different subjects); those are not part of this NC bill.

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

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