Last week, the legislature overrode a veto of Senate Bill 382. While there was much to debate in the bill, do not miss the following wins for business and the people working for them. It’s about people.

Connecting Small Businesses With Afforable Health Care

The legislation contains a change to the current Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) statute to broaden the type of organization that is eligible to offer a health insurance product to its members to include a statewide chamber of commerce or other statewide business league.

Why it matters: This is an incredible step toward the NC Chamber’s years-long efforts to launch a small business health product in North Carolina.

Designed to offer health insurance to small businesses with 2 to 50 employees, we are working to serve a substantial market that suffers from high health insurance costs.
Our 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 and their families.

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

Go deeper: Georgia Chamber of Commerce Chief Experience Officer Morgan Law spoke with us about the success of their organization’s MEWA health plan last year.  Stay tuned, more to come early in 2025.

Removing Red Tape to Rebuild NC

The legislation removed red tape to expedite recovery in Western North Carolina, helping people and business to rebuild. Key provisions include:

1. Temporary Housing Solutions The legislation streamlines the placement and installation of temporary manufactured and modular dwellings and allows homeowners to connect temporary housing units to existing wastewater systems, ensuring access to essential utilities without unnecessary delays.
2. Faster Rebuilding and Recovery Land-disturbing activities are allowed to begin immediately as long as erosion control measures are installed, and a plan can then be submitted within 30 days.  Additionally, the validity of state and local development approvals and permits has been extended to ensure projects delayed by disasters can proceed without costly renewals or reapplications.
3. Critical Infrastructure Improvements Temporary public water systems can be operated for up to 59 days in disaster areas and permits for wastewater management systems are valid for 12 months, with the possibility of a one-time extension. This ensures that displaced residents have access to sanitation while permanent solutions are developed.
4. Simplified Regulatory Framework Delaying the implementation of the updated Building Code provides local governments and builders time to adjust to new requirements without delaying reconstruction. Local governments in disaster-declared counties are prohibited from enforcing tree ordinances on private property more than 10 feet from the property boundary, removing unnecessary obstacles to clearing debris and preparing land for rebuilding.

Hat tip to our friends at the N.C. Home Builders Association for their help in documenting these changes.

Protecting the Balance of the Unemployment Insurance System

The legislation establishes a March sunset for the actions taken in Executive Order 322, issued by Gov. Cooper in October, to increase weekly unemployment insurance benefits statewide in response to Hurricane Helene.

It also prevents a governor from using emergency response powers to waive, modify, suspend, or otherwise fail to carry out the state’s unemployment insurance laws and to remain in compliance with federal law.

The NC Chamber is always vigilant about unemployment policy as we recognize it is your business’ money that is funding this system. Any policy should be carefully considered to maintain the balance, integrity, and solvency of North Carolina’s unemployment system.

What’s Next?

Check out the NC Chamber’s 2025 Legislative Agenda.