HB 458 — Improve Enforcement/Migrant Housing.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 458 Short Title:

458 Mar 19, 2025 SESSION 2025 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH30199-MV-18 Short Title:

RepresentativeRepresentatives Butler.Butler, Harrison, Price, and Morey (Primary Sponsors).

For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.

Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House March 20, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO BETTER ENSURE THE CORRECTION OF MIGRANT HOUSING VIOLATIONS.

and the handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, or gradinggradingprior prior to deliverydeliveryfor for storage of any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state and including the harvesting of Christmas trees, and the harvesting of saltwater crabs;crabs.

*DRH30199-MV-18**H458-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (8) "Person" means an Person.

Upon receipt of an a fully completed application by the Department of Labor of North Carolina, the Department of Labor of North Carolina shall immediatelyimmediatelynotify, notify, in writing, the appropriate local health department;

At the time the Department of Labor of North Carolina conducts a preoccupancy inspection, the Department of Labor of North Carolina shall provide the operator with a copy of the guide for employers on compliance with the Immigration and NationalityNationalityAct, Act, 8 U.S.C.

(d) Except as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section, an operator may allow the migrant housing to be occupied only if the migrant housing has been certified by the Department of Labor of North Carolina or the United States Department of Labor to be in compliancewith all ofthestandardsunderthis Article,exceptArticle, thatexcept anoperatormayallowmigrantthatanoperatormayallowmigrant housing to be occupied on a provisional basis if the operator applied for a preoccupancy inspectionatleast45dayspriortooccupancyandthepreoccupancyinspectionwasnotconducted by the Department of Labor of North Carolina at least four days prior to the anticipated occupancy.

Upon subsequent inspection by the Department of Labor of North Carolina, the provisional occupancy shall be revoked if any deficiencies have not been corrected within the Page 2 DRH30199-MV-18House Bill 458-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 period of time specified by the Department of Labor of North Carolina, or within two days after receipt of written notice provided on-site to the operator.

(1) Who were subject to an annual preoccupancy inspection by the Department ofLaborof Labor of North Carolinaand foundnot to bein onehundred percent (100%) compliance at that inspection.

(4) In response to a referral from a federal, State, county, or local government official or any person with firsthand knowledge of an alleged violation of this Articleor ofan allegedsafetyallegedsafetyor orhealthhazardhealthhazard whom theDepartment of Labor of North Carolina deems to have provided a credible referral.

(2) If the operator named on the application is a limited liability company, a corporation, a partnership, or any other entity properly organized under the laws of this State, or an entity formed in another state but properly doing business within this State, the operator shall certify under the penalty of perjurythatitisthelesseeortheownerofthemigranthousingperjurythatitisthelesseeortheownerofthemigranthousingidentifiedunder identifiedunder subdivision (c)(2) of this section and that neither the operator, nor any precursor in interest, any owner, manager, member, investor, nor anyone in control, in whole or in part, of the operator, and further that none of the foregoing is, at the time of application or during any period for which the DRH30199-MV-18House Bill 458-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 inspection applies, barred by any State or federal authority from participation in temporary foreign agricultural labor programs.

(3) If the migrant housing identified under subdivision (c)(2) of this section has been conveyed to a new applicant owner or lessee, but that migrant housing has been in violation during anyanyprevious previous inspection and the violation remains unresolved to the satisfaction of the Department of Labor, the new operator, whether an individual or an entity, shall certify under penalty of perjury as required by subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection as applicable, and the inspecting authority will prescribe corrective action and applicable time frames as necessary for occupancy of the realty, subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (e) of this section." SECTION 3.

(d1) The Department of Labor of North Carolina shall not provide a preoccupancy inspection to anyanyoperator operator known to the Department to be barred by anyanyState State or federal authority from participation in temporary foreign agricultural labor programs or to be otherwise in violation ofthisArticle.

IftheDepartment ofLaborofNorthof LaborofNorth Carolinadetermines thatanoperatorthat an operator has falsified the affidavit or any information contained in the affidavit required by G.S.

(e) The Commissioner shall report no later than May 1 of each year to the Chairpersons of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Natural and Economic Resources, the Chairpersons of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources, and the Fiscal Research Division regarding the number of annual preoccupancy certifications issued, the number of operators with one hundred percent (100%) compliance at the preoccupancy inspection, the number of postoccupancy inspections conducted by the Department of Labor of North Carolina, the number and type of citations and fines issued, the total number of migrant worker beds in the State, and the identification of operators who fail to apply for or obtain permits to operate migrant housing pursuant to this Article." Page 4 DRH30199-MV-18House Bill 458-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 SECTION 4.

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