AN ACT to amend the north carolina constitution to provide that the governor does not have statewide emergency powers which permit him to rule by decree for an indefinite period of time, to protect the constitutional rights of the people during a state of emergency, to trigger a special session of the north carolina general assembly upon the calling by the governor of a STATEWIDE state of emergency, to restore the actual intent of the emergency MANAGEMENT act, and to require general assembly approval of emergency measures lasting more than two weeks.

Whereas, the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of North Carolina guarantee inalienable rights of the people such as the right to peacefully assemble, freedom of religion, and several other rights; and

Whereas, Article I, Section 6 of the North Carolina Constitution guarantees the separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches; and

Whereas, Article I, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution provides that All power of suspending laws or the execution of laws by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people, is injurious to their rights and shall not be exercised.; and

Whereas, Article I, Section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution guarantees all people the equal protection of the law; and

Whereas, Article I, Section 21 of the North Carolina Constitution provides that Every person restrained of his liberty is entitled to a remedy to inquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the restraint if unlawful, and that remedy shall not be denied or delayed.; and

Whereas, Article II, Section 1 of the North Carolina Constitution provides that all legislative power of the State shall be vested in the General Assembly; and

Whereas, the Governor only has those emergency powers expressly granted by the General Assembly in the Emergency Management Act, G.S. 166A‑19, et. seq., which is statutory only and cannot be used to indefinitely suspend rights guaranteed to the people under the federal and State constitutions and which requires approval of the Council of State before most gubernatorial measures can be implemented; and

Whereas, during the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Governor of North Carolina used a state of emergency to rule by decree for over a year; and

Whereas, the Governor, through executive orders, deprived people of the enjoyment of many constitutional rights, such as the right to peacefully assembly, to worship freely, to educate their children, and to be gainfully employed to earn a living and pay their bills; and

Whereas, this abuse of power by the Governor threw thousands of people out of work, closed many businesses (while leaving others open without explanation), implemented curfews, implemented mandates, closed churches, closed schools, prohibited the gathering of 10 or more persons, required people to stay home, and other abuses; and

Whereas, these orders deprived people of work and livelihoods, caused many businesses to fail, often resulting in the destruction of people's lifetime work and dreams, deprived children of their education and kept them separated from friends, harmed the mental health of thousands, and did incalculable additional damage to the State and its people; and

Whereas, the irreparable damage done by the Governor was not based on science but upon the whims of the Governor in violation of the North Carolina Constitution which vests all legislative power of the State in the General Assembly and which protects the fundamental rights of the people; and

Whereas, these executive orders were in violation of the Emergency Management Act, which requires the consent of the Council of State before the Governor can take such actions; and

Whereas, the Governor did not provide the scientific basis for many executive orders issued under the guise of fighting COVID‑19 and the Governor never cited any constitutional authority for these actions; and

Whereas, these actions by the Governor, which severely damaged the State and its people, were without benefit and did not have the claimed effect against COVID‑19; and

Whereas, other states that did not shut down or which took actions far less draconian and of much shorter duration than the Governor took in North Carolina did just as well or better against COVID‑19 than experienced in this State; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Section 5 of Article III of the North Carolina Constitution is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

(10a)  Limitation.  Nothing in this section, Article, or Constitution shall be construed to empower the Governor with emergency powers beyond those expressly granted to the Governor, as prescribed by law passed by the General Assembly. Emergency powers granted to the Governor shall be strictly construed and may not be used to infringe on or deny the rights of the people guaranteed in this Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. No actions by the Governor exercising emergency powers prescribed by law may last more than two weeks unless ratified by a joint resolution passed by a majority of the members of each house of the General Assembly present and voting in an emergency session convened as provided under Section 11 of Article II of this Constitution.

SECTION 1.(b)  Section 11 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

(3)      Emergency sessions.  Upon the declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor, the General Assembly shall go into an emergency session beginning seven days after the effective date of the statewide state of emergency, Sundays and State and federal holidays excepted.

SECTION 1.(c)  The amendments set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at the statewide general election to be held on November 3, 2026, which election shall be conducted in accordance with the laws governing elections at that time. The question to be used in the voting systems and ballots shall be:

[ ] FOR          [ ] AGAINST

Constitutional amendment to limit, under a state of emergency, both the scope of executive action by the Governor with respect to Constitutional rights and the length executive actions by the Governor remain valid unless ratified by the General Assembly.

SECTION 1.(d)  The State Board of Elections shall certify the results of the referendum conducted under subsection (c) of this section. If a majority of votes cast on the question are in favor of the amendments set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the Secretary of State shall enroll the amendments among the permanent records of that office. If a majority of votes cast on the question are against the amendments set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the amendments shall have no effect.

SECTION 1.(e)  If the certification from the State Board of Elections under subsection (d) of this section reflects that a majority of votes cast on the question are in favor of the amendments set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the amendments set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this section are effective upon certification.

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 166A‑19.20 reads as rewritten:

§ 166A‑19.20.  Gubernatorial or legislative declaration of state of emergency.

(a)        Declaration. – A state of emergency may be declared by the Governor or by a resolution of the General Assembly, if either of these finds that an emergency exists.

(b)        Emergency Area. – An executive order or resolution declaring a state of emergency shall include a definition of the area constituting the emergency area.

(c)        Expiration of States of Emergency. – A state of emergency declared pursuant to this section shall expire as follows:

(1)        If not a statewide emergency area, when it is rescinded by the authority that issued it.

(2)        If a statewide emergency area, 30 seven calendar days after issuance without a concurrence of the Council of State. A declaration of emergency may not be continued without the concurrence of the Council of State. If the Council of State concurs with the declaration of emergency, the declaration of emergency shall expire 60 14 calendar days after issuance, unless the General Assembly extends the declaration of emergency by enactment of a general law. If the General Assembly does not extend the declaration of emergency by enactment in accordance with this subdivision, the Governor shall not issue a substantially similar declaration of emergency arising from the same events that formed the basis to issue the initial declaration of emergency that was not extended.

(c1)      Effect of Failure of Concurrence of the Council of State. – If the concurrence of the Council of State fails with the issuance or continuation of a declaration of emergency under subdivision (c)(2) of this section, the Governor shall not issue the same or any other substantially similar declarations of emergency based on the same emergency.

(c2)      Multiple Declarations to Avoid Concurrence of Council of State. – If the Governor declares more than one state of emergency based on the same emergency that would extend the application of the emergency area, when combined, to more than two‑thirds of the counties in the State, the Governor shall obtain the concurrence of the Council of State in accordance with subdivision (c)(2) of this section for each declaration of emergency.

(d)       Exercise of Powers Not Contingent on Declaration of Disaster Type. – Once a state of emergency has been declared pursuant to this section, the fact that a declaration of disaster type has not been issued shall not preclude the exercise of powers otherwise conferred during a state of emergency.

(e)        Extra Session; Emergency Transportation Expenditures. – The General Assembly considers a determination by the Secretary of Transportation under G.S. 136‑44.2E(f) that anticipated emergency expenses will exceed the funds in the Transportation Emergency Reserve within the meaning of the term extraordinary occasions, and therefore the Governor is authorized to convene the General Assembly in Extra Session under Section 5(7) of Article III of the North Carolina Constitution. The General Assembly strongly urges the Governor to convene the General Assembly in Extra Session within 14 days of notice by the Secretary under G.S. 136‑44.2E(f) for the purpose of appropriating funds from the Savings Reserve to the Emergency Reserve to address the transportation needs of the State necessitated by a major disaster.

SECTION 2.(b)  This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to states of emergency declared on or after that date.

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.