The legislature convened this week for one of its last sessions before newly elected legislators and administration officials take office next year.

First and foremost, we recognize that there is much more to be done on Helene recovery and the NC Chamber will continue to advocate for federal and state leaders to prioritize funding resources for small business.

The focus this week centered around a jam-packed Senate Bill 382. While there was much to debate in the legislation, the NC Chamber’s attention, beyond hurricane recovery, was on three key components.

Small Business Health Product

In a major win for small businesses across the state, the legislation contains a change to the current Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement statute to broaden the type of organization that is eligible to offer a health insurance product to its members to a statewide chamber of commerce or statewide business league in addition to the current vertical trade, professional, and industry associations that can offer a health insurance product today.

The legislation includes several guardrails to ensure legitimacy, solvency, and robust coverage and the product will be licensed and regulated by the Department of Insurance.

Once live, this will create the opportunity to offer health insurance to small businesses with 2 to 50 employees, a substantial market that suffers from incredibly high health insurance costs. This product will fill a need in the small business health insurance market and give business owners the opportunity to grow their business while providing high-quality benefits to their employees.

Child Care Measures

We were also pleased to see the continuation of funding for child care stabilization grants. The funds are expected to be exhausted by March of 2025 and both chambers are working with a group of child care stakeholders to find sustainable solutions that will address the child care crisis facing this state. The NC Chamber Foundation is in the process of studying viable systemic solutions and scalable programs currently in operation in North Carolina. That data will no doubt help to inform this discussion.

Tying the two issues together, licensed child care facilities will benefit from the legislation enabling a small business health care product. While some larger child care providers or those affiliated with nonprofit organizations may offer healthcare benefits, it remains a significant challenge for many in the licensed child care industry. Learn more in this 2023 Workforce Study conducted by the Child Care Services Association.

Protecting the Balance of the Unemployment Insurance System

Finally, the legislation forbids a governor from using emergency response powers to waive, modify, suspend, or otherwise fail to implement the state’s unemployment insurance laws. This measure was in response to Executive Order 322, issued by Gov. Cooper in October to increase weekly benefits statewide in response to Hurricane Helene. The NC Chamber is always vigilant about unemployment policy as we recognize it is your business that is funding this system. Any policy should be carefully considered to maintain the balance, integrity, and solvency of North Carolina’s unemployment system.