North Carolina 2025 Session Status: Passed Senate 7 R cosponsors

SB 554 — Farmers Protection Act.

Last action — Passed 1st Reading

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

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced March 25, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

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

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

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

Prognosis

Advancing 58% · moderate confidence

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    1 primary, 6 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (7 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

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

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

69 added · 53 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revised version of Senate Bill 554 clarifies the penalty for violations, specifically stating that it will be set at $10,000 for each instance. This change is important because it makes the penalties more straightforward and ensures that those who violate the law face a predictable, enforceable consequence. Additionally, the bill now specifies when it will take effect, enhancing its applicability to offenses committed after it becomes law.

→
Previous
Latest
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 S 2 SENATE BILL 554 Judiciary Committee Substitute Adopted 5/6/25 Short Title:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 S 1 SENATE BILL 554 Short Title:
Senators B.
Newton and Barnes (Primary Sponsors).
March 26, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ENACT THE FARMERS PROTECTION ACT TO PREVENT DISCRIMINATION IN FINANCING AGAINST FARMERS.
Rules and Operations of the Senate March 26, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ENACT THE FARMERS PROTECTION ACT TO PREVENT DISCRIMINATION IN FINANCING AGAINST FARMERS.
(a) For purposes of this section, an "agriculture producer" is defined as follows:
(a) Definitions.
"A person or other entity engaged in the production of crops or livestock for commercial purposes." (b) Prohibition.
– The following definitions apply in this section:
(1) Agriculture producer.
– A person engaged in the growing of crops or livestock production for retail consumption.
(2) ESG commitment.
– A bank's decision either to join an initiative or organization whose purpose is any environmental, social, or governance goal or to otherwise commit to any environmental, social, or governance goal.
(b) Prohibition.
(c) Enforcement.
(c) ESG Commitment.
– The Commissioner shall monitor for compliance with this section as part of its recurring examinations of banks and may take enforcement actions against any banks that violate this section." SECTION 2.
– If a bank has made any ESG commitment related to agriculture, there is a rebuttable presumption that the bank's denial or restriction of a service to an agriculture producer violates this section.
A bank may overcome this rebuttable presumption by demonstrating, through clear and convincing evidence, that its denial or restriction of a service was based solely on documented financial considerations rather than an ESG commitment.
(d) Annual Report.
– By January 1 of each year, a bank shall attest, under penalty of perjury, on a form prescribed by the Commissioner, whether the bank is in compliance with this section.
(e) Enforcement.
– If a bank violates this section, the Commissioner may bring a civil action to seek an injunction or civil penalty.
A court may assess a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per violation.
The clear proceeds of a civil penaltyassessed under this section shall be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund in accordance with G.S.
115C-457.2.
(f) Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practice.
– A violation of this section is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under G.S.
75-1.1." SECTION 2.
(1) Defamation:
*S554-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (1) Defamation:
*S554-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (1) Defamation:
(1) Defamation:
The Administrator has the enforcement authority described in G.S.
A credit union shall submit the annual report described in G.S.
53C-6-21(c)." SECTION5.
53C-6-21(d) to the Administrator, and the Administrator has the enforcement authority described in G.S.
53C-6-21(e)." SECTION5.
Page 2 Senate Bill 554-Second Edition
Page 2 Senate Bill 554-First Edition
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (3)

Action History

  1. Passed 1st Reading

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

  3. Passed 2nd Reading

  4. Passed 3rd Reading

  5. Special Message Sent To House

  6. Special Message Received From Senate

  7. Reptd Fav Com Substitute

  8. Com Substitute Adopted

  9. Re-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

  10. Reptd Fav

  11. Withdrawn From Com

  12. Re-ref to Judiciary. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate

  13. Reptd Fav

  14. Re-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

  15. Reptd Fav

  16. Re-ref Com On Judiciary

  17. Withdrawn From Com

  18. Re-ref to Agriculture, Energy, and Environment. If fav, re-ref to Judiciary. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate

  19. Passed 1st Reading

  20. Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

  21. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 172 not signed on · 11 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (6)

Not signed on (172)

172 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 172 →

"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

Votes

Second Reading

Passed 36 Yea · 11 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 71102
Republican 29001
Total 361103
% of votes cast 72%22%0%6%
How each member voted (50)
Member Party Vote
Caleb Theodros Democratic Not Voting
Dan Blue Democratic Yea
DeAndrea Salvador Democratic Nay
Gale Adcock Democratic Yea
Gladys A. Robinson Democratic Yea
Graig Meyer Democratic Nay
Jay J. Chaudhuri Democratic Nay
Joyce Waddell Democratic Yea
Julie Mayfield Democratic Nay
Kandie D. Smith Democratic Not Voting
Lisa Grafstein Democratic Nay
Michael Garrett Democratic Nay
Mujtaba A. Mohammed Democratic Yea
Natalie S. Murdock Democratic Nay
Paul A. Lowe, Jr. Democratic Yea
Sophia Chitlik Democratic Nay
Sydney Batch Democratic Nay
Terence Everitt Democratic Nay
Val Applewhite Democratic Nay
Woodson Bradley Democratic Yea
Amy S. Galey Republican Yea
Benton G. Sawrey Republican Yea
Bill Rabon Republican Yea
Bob Brinson Republican Yea
Bobby Hanig Republican Yea
Brad Overcash Republican Yea
Brent Jackson Republican Yea
Carl Ford Republican Yea
Chris Measmer Republican Yea
Dana Jones Republican Yea
Danny Earl Britt, Jr. Republican Yea
David W. Craven, Jr. Republican Yea
Eddie D. Settle Republican Yea
Jim Burgin Republican Yea
Kevin Corbin Republican Yea
Lisa S. Barnes Republican Not Voting
Mark Hollo Republican Yea
Michael A. Lazzara Republican Yea
Michael V. Lee Republican Yea
Norman W. Sanderson Republican Yea
Paul Newton Republican Yea
Phil Berger Republican Yea
Ralph Hise Republican Yea
Steve Jarvis Republican Yea
Timothy D. Moffitt Republican Yea
Todd Johnson Republican Yea
Tom McInnis Republican Yea
Vickie Sawyer Republican Yea
W. Ted Alexander Republican Yea
Warren Daniel Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

finance environment agriculture
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 SB 554?
SB 554 is sponsored by Benton G. Sawrey (Republican), Norman W. Sanderson (Republican), Timothy D. Moffitt (Republican), Bobby Hanig (Republican), Bob Brinson (Republican), Lisa S. Barnes (Republican), and Paul Newton (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 554?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced March 25, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track SB 554?
Track SB 554 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 554

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 554

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →