AN ACT to require that party designations on official ballots be printed in italics and ten‑point font size, to raise the threshold amount that triggers the FORTY‑EIGHT‑Hour Report, with automatic adjustments for inflation, under campaign finance laws, and to waive the forty‑eight‑Hour reporting requirement for candidates who are unopposed during a primary election.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑165.5(a) reads as rewritten:

(a)      Except as provided in this section, each official ballot shall contain all the following elements:

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(4)        Party designations in partisan ballot items. Party designations shall be printed in (i) italics and (ii) a font no less than 10‑point in size.

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SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑278.9 reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑278.9.  Statements filed with Board.

(a)        Except as provided in G.S. 163‑278.10A, the treasurer of each candidate and of each political committee shall file with the Board under certification of the treasurer as true and correct to the best of the knowledge of that officer the following reports:

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(2)        48‑Hour Report. – A political committee, political party or affiliated party committee that receives a contribution or transfer of funds shall disclose within 48 hours of receipt a contribution or transfer of one two thousand dollars ($1,000) ($2,000) or more received before an election but after the period covered by the last report due before that election. The disclosure shall be by report to the State Board identifying the source and amount of the funds. The State Board shall specify the form and manner of making the report, including the reporting of in‑kind contributions. The State Board shall increase the dollar amount of the reporting threshold effective each election cycle beginning the period from January 1 of an odd‑numbered year through December 31 of the next even‑numbered year based on the Consumer Price Index as provided in G.S. 163‑278.13(b). The State Board shall set the revised threshold in October of the even‑numbered year, publish the revised threshold in the North Carolina Register, and notify the Revisor of Statutes who shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision.

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(a1)      Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any candidate campaign committee, as defined by G.S. 163‑278.38Z, in a primary election in which the candidate is unopposed on that ballot.

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SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑278.9A reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑278.9A.  Statements filed by referendum committees.

(a)        The treasurer of each referendum committee shall file under verification with the Board the following reports:

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(3)        48‑Hour Report. – A referendum committee that receives a contribution or transfer of funds shall disclose within 48 hours of receipt a contribution or transfer of one two thousand dollars ($1,000) ($2,000) or more received before a referendum but after the period covered by the last report due before that referendum. The disclosure shall be by report to the State Board of Elections identifying the source and amount of such funds. The State Board of Elections shall specify the form and manner of making the report, including the reporting of in‑kind contributions. The State Board shall increase the dollar amount of the reporting threshold effective each election cycle beginning the period from January 1 of an odd‑numbered year through December 31 of the next even‑numbered year based on the Consumer Price Index as provided in G.S. 163‑278.13(b). The State Board shall set the revised threshold in October of the even‑numbered year, publish the revised threshold in the North Carolina Register, and notify the Revisor of Statutes who shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision.

(a1)      Subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any candidate campaign committee, as defined by G.S. 163‑278.38Z, in a primary election in which the candidate is unopposed on that ballot.

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SECTION 4.  The State Board of Elections shall not adjust the thresholds imposed by G.S. 163‑278.9(a)(2) and G.S. 163‑278.9A(a)(3), as enacted by this act, until October 2024, effective for the election cycle beginning January 1, 2025.

SECTION 5.  Section 1 of this act shall apply to elections held on or after January 1, 2024. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.