AN ACT to establish a civil rights helpline within the department of justice to receive, document, and investigate civil rights COMPLAINTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 1 of Chapter 114 of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new sections to read:

§ 114‑8.8A.  Civil rights helpline.

The Attorney General shall protect the civil rights of individuals in North Carolina by performing all of the following:

(1)        Establish and maintain, on a 24‑hour basis, a toll‑free telephone helpline to assist individuals who have been harmed, or whose family members have been harmed, in actions arising from the deployment of federal troops or federal law enforcement officers to this State, including federal immigration enforcement actions.

(2)        Establish and maintain an associated website where individuals who have been harmed, or whose family members have been harmed, can submit online civil rights violation claims.

(3)        Provide resources to impacted individuals on how to access local and state government assistance programs and information regarding available legal and social assistance. Resources related to school emergency responses, school crisis interventions, and other student support programs may also be provided.

(4)        Ensure the helpline referenced in this section has voicemail capabilities.

(5)        Make translation and disability access services available for individuals using the helpline.

(6)        Advertise the helpline and make materials available to the public to encourage reporting by those experiencing or witnessing civil rights violations.

§ 114‑8.8B.  Reporting.

(a)        The Attorney General shall maintain a secure database of all reports received from the helpline and generate an annual public report that includes information the helpline acquires from reporting individuals. The report shall redact all personally identifiable information and publish the report for public viewing.

(b)        The report shall include all of the following information:

(1)        The total number of reports received.

(2)        The federal law enforcement agency involved.

(3)        The number of arrests made, including underlying offense, initial charge, final disposition, if available, and amount of time between arrest and disposition.

(4)        Any patterns or trends observed regarding the federal law enforcement agency misconduct, including excessive use of force, racial profiling, or any other violations of civil rights under State or federal law.

(5)        Recommendations for policy or training improvement in response to the findings.

(c)        All communications received by the helpline or associated website shall remain confidential and are not a public record as defined in G.S. 132‑1.

(d)       If a civil rights violation is reported, the Attorney General shall investigate the incident and determine if additional actions are warranted.

§ 114‑8.8C.  Annual hearings.

The Attorney General shall convene at least one public hearing each calendar year to present aggregate data and findings from the annual public report as referenced in this Article. The Attorney General shall provide public notice of each hearing.

SECTION 2.  If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application and, to this end, the provisions of this act are severable.

SECTION 3.  The Department of Justice shall establish the helpline as required under Section 1 of this act no later than 60 days after the effective date of this act. The first report submitted by the Attorney General as required by Section 1 of this act shall occur no later than one year from the date the helpline is established.

SECTION 4.  The Department of Justice shall adopt rules, or amend their rules, consistent with the provisions of this act. The Department may use the procedure set forth in G.S. 150B‑21.1 to adopt or amend any rules as required under this act.

SECTION 5.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Justice the sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) in recurring funds beginning in the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used to implement the provisions of Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2026.