HB 135 — Misbranding/Cell-Cultured Meat/Western North Carolina Donations.

… (28a) "Qualifying term" means a word, compound word, or phrase that would clearly disclose to a reasonable purchaser of poultry products that a food product is not a cell-culturedpoultry food product.

"cell-cultured," "fake," "lab-grown," or "grown in a lab."lab," "insect," "insect-based," "insect-protein," "lab-created," "lab-grown," "meat free," "meatless," "plant," "plant-based," "vegan," "vegetable," "vegetarian," or "veggie." …." Page 4 House Bill 135-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 SECTION 1.(d) G.S.

labeling of cell-culturedmanufactured-protein food products.

… (e) The label of any cell-culturedmanufactured-protein food product that contains an identifying poultry term shallalsocontaininatleast20-pointfontorthesizeofthesurroundingtype,whicheverisshall also contain in at least 20-point font or the size of the surrounding type, whichever is greater, and in close proximityproximityto to the name of the product, an appropriate qualifying term." SECTION 1.(e) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to products sold or offered for sale on or after that date.

PROHIBIT COMMUNITY COLLEGES, PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES, AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS FROM PURCHASING CELL-CULTUREDMISBRANDED FOODPRODUCTS AND CELL-CULTURED PRODUCTS SECTION 2.(a) G.S.

– The State Board of Education shall prohibitestablish publicpolicies schoolto unitsprevent fromthe purchasingpurchase cell-culturedof a food productsproduct asthat definedis inany G.S.of the following:

a.

Misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.

b.

A cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

Local boards of education shall prohibitestablish localpolicies schoolto administrativeprevent unitsthe frompurchase purchasingof cell-cultureda food productsproduct asthat definedis inany G.S.of the following:

(1) Misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.

(2) A cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

– A charter school shall notestablish policies to prevent the purchase cell-culturedof a food productsproduct asthat definedis inany G.S.of the following:

(1) Misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.

(2) A cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

"(23) Purchasesofmeatandpoultryproducts.–AregionalschoolshallnotpurchasePurchases cell-culturedfoodof productsmeat asand definedpoultry inproducts. G.S.

– A regional school shall establish policies to prevent the purchase of a food product that is any of the following:

a.

Misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.

b.

A cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

Page 4 House Bill 135-Second Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 "c.

Thelaboratoryschool shall notpurchasecell-culturedfoodproductsasdefinedinG.S.establish policies to prevent the purchase of a food product that is (i) House Bill 135-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes or (ii) cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

… (16) To establish policies to prevent the purchase of cell-cultureda food productsproduct asthat definedis inany G.S.of the following:

a.

Misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.

b.

A cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

Each constituent institution shall establish policies to prevent the purchase of cell-cultureda food productsproduct asthat definedis inany G.S.of the following:

(1) Misbranded as a meat or poultry product as prohibited in Articles 49B and 49D of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes.

(2) A cell-cultured food product as defined in G.S.

ESTABLISH AAN VOLUNTARYENVIRONMENTAL DONATIONINVESTMENT PROGRAMASSESSMENT TOON SUPPORTCERTAIN FARMSMEAT, AFFECTEDPOULTRY, BYEGG, HURRICANEAND HELENEDAIRY PRODUCTS AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS SECTION 3.(a) Definitions.Subchapter I of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:

–"Article Unless5K. otherwise provided, the following definitions apply in this section:

(1)"Animal AffectedAgriculture area.and Analogues Environmental Investment Assessment.

–"§ The105-187.100. counties designated before, on, or after the effective date ofthissectionunderamajordisasterdeclarationbythePresidentoftheUnited States under the Stafford Act (P.L.

93-288)Definitions. as a result of Hurricane Helene.

(2)The Department.following definitions apply in this Article:

–(1) TheAgricultural Departmentfood ofanimal. Agriculture and Consumer Services.

(3)– Foundation.A domesticated animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species;

–a Thedomesticated Northanimal Carolinabelonging Foundationto forthe Soilcervid andspecies Waterlimited Conservation,to afallow 501(c)(3)deer nonprofitor corporation.red deer;

(4)and Fund.domestic fowl limited to chickens or turkeys.

–(2) TheAnalogue Westernproduct. North Carolina Farm Relief Fund established in subsection (b) of this section.

SECTION– 3.(b)A Therefood isproduct createdderived theby Westerncombining Northprocessed Carolinaplant Farmproducts, Reliefinsects, Fundor asfungi anwith interest-bearing,food nonrevertingadditives specialto fundapproximate inthe texture, flavor, appearance, or other aesthetic qualities or the Departmentchemical characteristics of Agricultureany andspecific Consumertype Services.of animal agriculture product.

TheThis Stateterm Treasurerincludes shallcell-cultured beproducts. the custodian of the Fund and shall invest its assets in accordance with the provisions of G.S.

147-69.2Page and6 G.S.House Bill 135-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (3) Animal agriculture product.

147-69.3.– A food product that is a dairy product, egg, egg product, meat, meat food product, poultry, or poultry product.

TheThis Departmentterm shalldoes awardnot grantsinclude froman theanalogue Fundproduct. to individual farmers located in the affected area with verifiable crop losses or damage to farm infrastructure due to Hurricane Helene to assist with any of the following priorities:

(1)(4) RemovalCell-cultured ofproduct. debris from stream channels, road culverts, and bridges.

(2)– ReshapeA food product derived by harvesting animal cells and protectartificially erodedreplicating banks.those cells in a growth medium in a laboratory or similar setting to produce tissue.

(3)(5) RepairDairy damagedproduct. drainage facilities.

(4)– EstablishA coverproduct onmanufactured criticallyfor erodinghuman lands.consumption that is derived from the processing of milk.

(5)The Repairterm damagedincludes leveesa andfluid structures.milk product.

House Bill 135-Second Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (6) RepairDietary conservationsupplement. practices.

SECTION3.(c)– TheDepartment,incollaborationwiththeFoundation,shalldevelopAs adefined voluntaryin planG.S. by which retailers may offer consumers the option to round up the amount of their purchases to the nearest dollar or make a greater contribution and remit the collected funds to the Fund.

The105-164.3(55). Department shall develop criteria for the prioritization of funds and requirements for the matching of funds by grant recipients, if any.

A(7) retailerEgg. may retain one percent (1%) of the funds collected by the retailer to offset the costs of participation in the program.

The– FoundationAs maydefined use up to one percent (1%) of the funds in the21 FundU.S.C. for the administration of the program and two percent (2%) of the funds in the Fund for marketing and advertising of the program.

SECTION§ 3.(d)1033(g). This section is effective when it becomes law and expires June 30, 2030.

Any(8) unexpended,Egg unencumberedproduct. funds remaining in the Fund on June 30, 2030, shall revert to the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund established in G.S.

166A-19.42.– As defined in 21 U.S.C.

FARM§ AND1033(f). FORESTRY DISASTER RELIEF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY AUDIT SECTION 4.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services the amount of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year for the Department, in consultation with North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and North Carolina Cooperative Extension, in the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 fiscal years to map damage to agricultural and forestry operations in Western North Carolina using drone and satellite data in order to determine the efficiencyof the State's response to Hurricane Helene.

The(9) DepartmentEnvironmental shallimprovement takeproject. all steps necessary to establish baseline data as soon as possible in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The– DepartmentA shallproject comparethat theis baselineintended data to dataimprove collectedwater asquality, soonincrease assoil possiblehealth, afterreduce theflood beginningrisks, ofreduce thechemical 2026-2027inputs, fiscalincrease year.biodiversity, preserve farmland, or achieve similar ecological goals.

The(10) DepartmentFluid shallmilk reportproduct. its findings to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources no later than February 1, 2027.

SECTION– 4.(b)A Themilk fundsproduct appropriatednormally underconsumed thisin sectionliquid shallform notas reverta butbeverage. shall remain available for purposes consistent with this section until the project is complete.

SEVERABILITY(11) CLAUSEFood ANDproduct. EFFECTIVE DATE SECTION 5.(a) If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part other than the part declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.

SECTION– 5.(b)A Exceptperishable asor otherwisenonperishable provided,product thisthat actis becomesfit effectivefor Octoberhuman 1,consumption. 2025.

PageThis 6term Housedoes Billnot 135-Secondinclude Editiondietary supplements.

(12) Identifying term.

– Any word or phrase that states, indicates, or describes an animal agriculture product, regardless of whether the word is used individually, as a compound word, or as a portmanteau.

a.

An "identifying term" includes all of the following:

1.

A common name for the species of an agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing, including a calf or cow, chicken, goat or kid, hog or pig, poultry, lamb or sheep, or turkey.

2.

A common name for a characteristic of a species of an agricultural food animal subject to slaughter and processing, based on age, breed, or sex.

3.

Any of the terms:

beef or veal;

egg;

broiler, fryer, poulet, or yearling;

cabrito or chevon;

lamb or mutton;

meat;

milk;

or pork.

4.

A common name used to describe a major cut of a meat of an agricultural food animal slaughtered and processed, including a major meat cut specified in 9 C.F.R.

§ 317.344;

a poultry product such as breast, drumstick, giblet, thigh, or wing;

or the common name of an organ or offal, including gizzard, heart, liver, kidney, or tongue.

5.

Any other common name that a reasonable purchaser would immediately associate with a dairy, egg, meat, or poultry product prepared for sale in normal commercial channels, such as bacon, baloney, bologna, bone, brat or bratwurst, brisket, burger or hamburger, butt, butter, cheese, chop, chuck, cold cut, cream, cutlet, filet, flat iron, frank or frankfurter, half-and-half, ham, hock, hot dog, ice cream, jerky, liverwurst, loin, London broil, lunch meat or lunchmeat, New York strip, pepperoni, porterhouse, ribeye, roast, rib or sparerib, salami, sausage, scramble, shank, sirloin, tenderloin, yogurt, or a comparable word or phrase.

House Bill 135-First Edition Page 7 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 b.

An "identifying term" shall not include a product name that is understood by consumers not to be a term for an animal agriculture product or an analogue product.

(13) Label.

– A display of written, printed, or graphic matter placed upon any container storing a food product that is offered for sale or sold at retail, regardless of whether the written, printed, or graphic matter is printed on the container's packaging or a sticker affixed to the container.

This does not include a nutrition facts panel or ingredients list required by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

(14) Meat.

– As defined in 9 C.F.R.

§ 301.2.

(15) Meat food product.

– Any product capable of use as human food that is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep,swine, goat,bison,fallowdeer,orreddeer.

Forpurposesofthissection, the following are considered meat food products:

a.

Primal and subprimal cuts of meat.

b.

Ground meat.

c.

Sliced deli meat.

d.

Sausage.

e.

Bacon.

f.

Ham.

g.

Jerky.

h.

Corned beef.

i.

Smoked parts.

j.

Rendered fats.

k.

Edible offal.

(16) Milk.

– The lacteal secretion practically free from colostrum obtained by the milking of one or more cows, goats, or other lactating animals.

(17) Poultry.

– As defined in 21 U.S.C.

§ 453(e).

(18) Poultry product.

– As defined in 21 U.S.C.

§ 453(f).

For purposes of this section, the following are considered poultry products:

a.

Whole poultry.

b.

Primal cuts of poultry.

c.

Ground poultry.

d.

Sliced deli poultry.

e.

Sausage.

f.

Bacon.

g.

Jerky.

h.

Smoked parts.

i.

Rendered fats.

j.

Edible offal.

(19) Prepared food.

– As defined in G.S.

105-164.4L.

(20) Protein group.

– The type of protein from which an animal agriculture product was derived or which an analogue product approximates or is intended to approximate.

A meat food product or poultryproduct shall be classified based on the animal from which the meat was derived, and an analogue to a meat foodproductorpoultryproductshallbeclassifiedbasedonthespecificanimal protein approximated or intended to be approximated.

(21) Trade associations.

– All of the following organizations:

a.

North Carolina Cattleman's Association.

b.

North Carolina Dairy Producers Association.

c.

North Carolina Deer and Elk Farmers Association.

Page 8 House Bill 135-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 d.

North Carolina Egg Association.

e.

North Carolina Pork Council.

f.

North Carolina Poultry Federation.

g.

North Carolina Sheep Producers Association.

"§ 105-187.101.

Environmental investment assessment imposed.

(a) Levy and Rate.

– An environmental investment assessment (EIA) of five cents (5¢) is imposed on each item of an animal agriculture product or an analogue product sold at retail if the article bears an identifying term on the product's label.

For purposes of this Article, the term "item" refers to an item that is identified by a universal product code or other identifier representing the item and that is used to retrieve the sales price of the item.

(b) Environmental Investment Assessment – The EIA imposed bythis Article is intended to be passed on to the purchaser of an item to which the EIA is imposed and borne by the purchaser instead of by the retailer.

A retailer must collect the EIA due on an item when sold at retail.

A retailer must record the protein group to which any animal agriculture product or analogue product belongs and report this information to the Department of Revenue when it remits the collected EIAs to the Department.

If the retailer cannot determine the protein group to which an animal agriculture product or analogue product belongs, the retailer shall consult with the trade association with which the product would be most closely identified.

The trade association shall make the determination of whether the product should be subject to the assessment and notify the Department.

(c) The retailer may retain one percent (1%) of the gross proceeds of the EIAs it collects for the retailer's administrative costs.

The EIA is a debt from the purchaser to the retailer until paid and is recoverable at law by the retailer in the same manner as other debts.

A retailer is considered to act as a trustee on behalf of the State when it collects the EIA from the purchaser on an applicable sale.

The EIA must be stated and charged separately on the invoices or other documents of the retailer given to the purchaser at the time of the sale except for either of the following:

(1) Vending machine sales.

(2) Where a retailer displays a statement indicating the sales price includes the tax.

"§ 105-187.102.

Administration.

Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the EIA imposed by this Article shall be collectedand administered in thesamemanner as theStatesalesandusetaxes imposedbyArticle 5 of this Chapter.

The provisions of Article 9 of this Chapter that are not inconsistent with this Article,includingadministration, auditing,makingreturns,promulgationof rules and regulations by the Secretary, additional taxes, assessments and assessment procedure, imposition and collection of taxes and the lien thereof, and penalties, are made a part of this Article and shall be applicable thereto.

"§ 105-187.103.

Exemptions and refunds.

(a) The EIA imposed by this Article does not apply to any of the following:

(1) Sales the State cannot constitutionally tax.

(2) Products of a farm sold in their original state by the producer of the products if the producer is not primarily a retail merchant.

(3) Prepared food.

(4) Products containing ingredients from more than one protein group.

(5) Meat food products or poultry products with a nonmeat or nonpoultry component other than seasoning, brine solution, or vinegar, or analogue products to such meat food products or poultry products.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the exemptions and refunds allowed in Article 5 of this Chapter do not apply to sales of items subject to assessment under this Article.

"§ 105-187.104.

Use of EIA proceeds.

House Bill 135-First Edition Page 9 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (a) Two percent (2%) of the net proceeds of the EIAs shall be retained bythe Department of Revenue for its administrative costs.

(b) Of the remaining funds, each quarter, the Secretary shall credit the net proceeds of the EIAs collected under this Article to the trade associations proportionate to the amount of funds collected from the sale of products in each protein group.

(c) Two percent (2%) of the funds credited to each trade association pursuant to this section shall be used for the costs of administering the grant program authorized by this section.

The remainder of the funds credited to the trade associations may be used only to implement environmental improvement projects on the farms of constituent members of the trade associations.

Each trade association shall develop (i) an application process bywhich constituent members may apply for funds for environmental improvement projects and (ii) a process for evaluating applications.

In developing their processes, the trade associations shall consider the size of the operations applying for funds and strive to award equal amounts of funding to small and large operations.

Any funds credited to the trade associations that are not awarded by a trade association for 18 months shall be remitted to the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund." SECTION 3.(b) This section becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to products sold on or after that date.

SEVERABILITY CLAUSE AND EFFECTIVE DATE SECTION 4.(a) If any section or provision of this act is declared unconstitutional or invalid by the courts, it does not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part other than the part declared to be unconstitutional or invalid.

SECTION 4.(b) Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective October 1, 2025.

Page 10 House Bill 135-First Edition