AN ACT to REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO PREPARE A BIENNIAL REPORT ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AFFORDABILITY, AND FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY IN NORTH CAROLINA.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 143B‑434.02.  Biennial report on economic opportunity, affordability, and family economic security.

(a)        Report. – The Department of Commerce shall prepare and publish a biennial report on economic opportunity, affordability, and family economic security in North Carolina.

(b)        Purpose. – The report required by this section shall supplement traditional measures of economic activity by providing the General Assembly and the public with information on statewide and county‑level economic conditions affecting individuals, families, and communities.

(c)        Data. – The report shall include data for the State and, to the extent practicable, for each county. In preparing the report, the Department shall use existing federal, State, and other publicly available data to the maximum extent practicable and may consult with institutions of higher education, research organizations, and other relevant entities.

(d)       Required Metrics. – At a minimum, the report shall include all of the following:

(1)        Hardship indicators, including the poverty rate, child poverty, deep poverty, and the supplemental poverty rate, if available at the relevant level of analysis.

(2)        Work and earnings indicators, including labor force participation, employment, unemployment, the share of jobs that pay wages sufficient to meet basic household needs, and the share of jobs that provide employer‑sponsored health insurance or other commonly available employment benefits, to the extent that data is available.

(3)        Household affordability indicators, including the share of household income spent on housing, food, child care, and health care, including premiums and other major out‑of‑pocket costs to the extent that data is available.

(4)        Cost‑burden indicators, including the percentage of households that are cost‑burdened with respect to housing, child care, and health care costs, to the extent that data is available.

(5)        Education and workforce preparation indicators, including the cost of postsecondary education relative to income and the cost of workforce training and credentialing programs relative to income, to the extent practicable.

(6)        Community and regional opportunity indicators, including persistent poverty counties or census tracts, concentrated poverty census tracts, and the number of people living in areas of persistent or concentrated poverty.

(7)        Other county‑level indicators of economic opportunity, business formation, or workforce access that the Department determines are appropriate and supported by reliable public data.

(e)        Methodology. – Each report shall identify the data sources used, describe the methodology applied, and note any material limitations affecting interpretation of the report.

(f)        Submission. – The Department shall submit the report required by this section to the Joint Legislative Economic Development and Global Engagement Oversight Committee, the Fiscal Research Division, and the General Assembly no later than January 31 of each odd‑numbered year. The Department shall also publish the report on its website.

SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Commerce the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) in recurring funds beginning in the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used to implement this act.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2026.