North Carolina 2025 Session Status: In Committee 18 R cosponsors

HB 144 — Elect State Board of Education/Superintendent as State Board of Education Chair.

Last action — Reptd Fav Com Substitute

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 17, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 18 sponsors

    3 primary, 15 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (18 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill proposes electing members of the State Board of Education and making the Superintendent its chair.

House Bill 144 aims to amend the North Carolina Constitution to allow voters to elect members of the State Board of Education. Additionally, it designates the Superintendent of Public Instruction as the chair of the Board, with changes taking effect in 2028 if approved by voters.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

43 added · 43 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revision to House Bill 144 includes clarifications regarding the process for revising electoral districts and the election apportionment. Specifically, the language now clearly defines the types of districts being discussed and emphasizes that these changes will be voted on by the public in a statewide election set for November 2026. This matters because it ensures that residents have a direct say in how their voting districts are drawn, which can significantly affect representation in government.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 2 HOUSE BILL 144 Committee Substitute Favorable 5/19/26 Short Title:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 144 Short Title:
Representatives Blackwell, Torbett, Biggs, and Willis (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
February 18, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA TO ELECT MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, TO MAKE THE SUPERINTENDENTOFPUBLIC INSTRUCTIONTHECHAIROFTHESTATEBOARD OF EDUCATION AS AN EX OFFICIO MEMBER, AND TO REQUIRE THAT VACANCY APPOINTMENTS BE FILLED AS PROVIDED BY LAW.
Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House February 18, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA TO ELECT MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION, TO MAKE THE SUPERINTENDENTOFPUBLIC INSTRUCTIONTHECHAIROFTHESTATEBOARD OF EDUCATION AS AN EX OFFICIO MEMBER, AND TO REQUIRE THAT VACANCY APPOINTMENTS BE FILLED AS PROVIDED BY LAW.
(c) Revising the representative districts and the apportionment of Representatives among those districts and containing no other matter;
*H144-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (c) Revising the representative districts and the apportionment of Representatives among those districts and containing no other matter;
or *H144-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (d) Revising the districts for the election of members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States and the apportionment of Representatives among those districts and containing no other matter,matter;
or (d) Revising the districts for the election of members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States and the apportionment of Representatives among those districts and containing no other matter,matter;
"[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST A constitutional amendment providing for the following changes to the State Board of Education, beginning January 1, 2028:
"[ ] FOR [ ] AGAINST A constitutional amendment providing for the following changes to the State Board of Education, beginning January 1, 2026:
Page 2 House Bill 144-Second Edition
Page 2 House Bill 144-First Edition
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Action History

  1. Reptd Fav Com Substitute

  2. Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  3. Withdrawn From Com

  4. Re-ref to the Com on Education - K-12, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  5. Passed 1st Reading

  6. Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  7. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 15 co-sponsors · 161 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (15)

Not signed on (161)

161 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 161 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

elections education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 144?
HB 144 is sponsored by Jeff Zenger (Republican), Bill Ward (Republican), Charles W. Miller (Republican), Jeffrey C. McNeely (Republican), Jarrod Lowery (Republican), Donnie Loftis (Republican), Neal Jackson (Republican), Frank Iler (Republican), Kyle Hall (Republican), Brian Echevarria (Republican), Celeste C. Cairns (Republican), Jerry "Alan" Branson (Republican), Jennifer Balkcom (Republican), David Willis (Republican), Brian Biggs (Republican), John A. Torbett (Republican), Hugh Blackwell (Republican), and Mike Clampitt (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 144?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 17, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 144?
Track HB 144 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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