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Bill Summary · SB 703

SB 703 — "Update 1987 Rates/Organs and Disfigurement"

Status: Passed 1st Reading (Introduced Feb 21, 2025)
Subject areas: Cost‑of‑living; Employment; Insurance; Public; Workers’ Compensation

Purpose / Intent

SB 703 amends North Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Act to modernize several fixed benefit caps in the statutory “schedule of injuries,” increase the statutory minimum weekly compensation, and require automatic annual adjustments of specified maximums tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The stated aim is to update benefit levels that originated in 1987 and to provide ongoing cost‑of‑living increases.

Key provisions

  • Amends G.S. 97‑29 (total incapacity rates):

    • Clarifies weekly total disability pay remains 66 2/3% of average weekly wages.
    • Raises the statutory minimum weekly benefit from $30.00 to $50.00.
    • Directs the North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC), beginning July 1, 2026, to increase the statutory maximum compensation annually based on the year‑over‑year percentage change in the June Consumer Price Index (BLS) — only when that percentage change is positive. Adjustments are rounded to the nearest dollar.

  • Amends G.S. 97‑31 (schedule of injuries — fixed awards and disfigurement):

    • Raises the maximum award for “serious facial or head disfigurement” from $20,000 to $56,000.
    • Raises the maximum award for “serious bodily disfigurement” (where no other schedule entry applies) from $10,000 to $28,000.
    • Raises the maximum award for “loss of or permanent injury to an important external or internal organ” (where no other schedule entry applies) from $20,000 to $56,000.
    • Each of these statutory maximums will be subject to the same annual CPI‑based upward adjustment beginning July 1, 2026, with rounding to the nearest dollar.

  • Effective dates:

    • The specific amendments to G.S. 97‑29 and G.S. 97‑31 take effect July 1, 2026. The act otherwise takes effect when enacted.

Who is affected

  • Injured workers eligible for scheduled awards or total disability benefits: higher minimums and increased caps should raise potential awards.
  • Employers and workers’ compensation insurers: likely increased liability exposure and upward pressure on premiums and reserves as statutory caps rise and then grow with CPI.
  • North Carolina Industrial Commission: administrative responsibility to compute and apply annual CPI adjustments and implement new maximums.

Implementation / Administrative notes

  • Annual adjustments use the June CPI (Bureau of Labor Statistics) year‑over‑year percent change, applied only if positive and rounded to the nearest dollar.
  • The NCIC is the designated body to implement the annual increases.
  • No offsetting budget or funding mechanism is specified in the text; fiscal impacts (insurer premiums, employer costs) would occur through the workers’ compensation system.

Net effect

SB 703 modernizes long‑outdated statutory benefit caps, provides an immediate increase to minimum weekly benefits, and establishes an automatic, CPI‑linked mechanism to preserve benefit value over time — with foreseeable cost consequences for employers and insurers.

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

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