North Carolina 2025 Session Status: In Committee 9 R cosponsors

HB 640 — Public Assistance Verification Enhancements.

Last action — Reptd Fav

  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 April 01, 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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Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 9 sponsors

    0 primary, 9 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (9 R).

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

265 added · 263 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of House Bill 640 adds a requirement for public housing authorities to provide documentation that individuals are on a waiting list for benefits. Additionally, it simplifies a clause regarding the data matching agreement between the Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina State Lottery Commission, clarifying that they will identify households with lottery winnings of $3,000 or more. These changes are important as they help streamline the process for verifying eligibility for public assistance and ensure that beneficiaries are not receiving aid while having substantial lottery earnings.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 640 Short Title:
640 Apr 1, 2025 SESSION 2025 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH30286-MC-165 Short Title:
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ENHANCE VERIFICATION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
Judiciary 2, if favorable, Health, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House April 2, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO ENHANCE VERIFICATION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
The Department shall share the information directly with, or make the information available to, the county department of social services that determined the beneficiary's eligibility.An individual may not be considered homeless to grant a work requirement exemption until and unless the Department (i) verifies that an individual has resided in a public shelter for a period of at least 30 days based on notarized documentation from a public shelter of such fact or (ii) certifies that there is no indoor shelter available and provides notarized documentation from a public housing authority that the individual is on a waiting list for benefits.
The Department shall share the information directly with, or make the information available to, the county department of social services that determined the beneficiary's eligibility.An individual may not be considered homeless to grant a work requirement exemption until and unless the Department (i) verifies that an individual has resided in a public shelter for a period of at least 30 days based on notarized documentation from a public shelter of such fact or (ii) certifies that there is no indoor shelter available and provides notarized documentation from a public housingauthoritythat the individualis on a waiting list for benefits.
(3) Residency status.
*H640-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (3) Residency status.
*DRH30286-MC-165* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (5) Financial resources.
(5) Financial resources.
On at least a monthly basis, the Department of Health and Human Services shall enter into a data matching agreement with the North Carolina State Lottery Commission to identify households with winnings of three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more from the lottery orfromgamblingand,totheextentpermissibleunderfederallaw,treat this data as verified upon receipt.
On at least a monthly basis, the Department of Health and Human Services shall enter into a data matching agreement with the North Carolina State Lottery Commission to identify households with winnings of three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more from the lottery orfromgamblingand,to theextentpermissibleunderfederallaw,treat this data as verified upon receipt.
On at least a monthly basis, the Department of Health and Human Services shall receive and review information concerning individuals in households enrolled in health and medical assistance programs that indicatesa change in circumstances thatmay affect eligibility for these programs, including, but not limited to, potential changes in residency as identified by out-of-state electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card transactions.
On at least a monthly basis, the Department of Health and Human Services shall receive and review information concerning individuals in households enrolled in health and medical assistance programs that indicatesa change in circumstances thatmayaffect eligibilityfor these programs, including, but not limited to, potential changes in residency as identified by out-of-state electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card transactions.
g.
Page 2 House Bill 640-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 g.
On at least a semimonthly basis, the Department of Health and Human Services shall receive and review information from the Department of Page 2 DRH30286-MC-165 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Commerce concerning individuals in households enrolled in health and medical assistance programs that indicates a change in circumstances thatmayaffect eligibility for theseprograms,including, but not limited to, potential changes in employment, income, or assets.
On at least a semimonthly basis, the Department of Health and Human Services shall receive and review information from the Department of Commerce concerning individuals in households enrolled in health and medical assistance programs that indicates a change in circumstances thatmayaffect eligibilityfor theseprograms,including, but not limited to, potential changes in employment, income, or assets.
Unless required under federal law, the Department shall verify all conditions of eligibility for Medicaid prior to enrollment and may not conduct post-enrollment verification without specific authorization set forth in enactments by the General Assembly.
Unless required under federal law, the Department shall verifyall conditions of eligibilityfor Medicaid prior to enrollment and may not conduct post-enrollment verification without specific authorization set forth in enactments by the General Assembly.
(b4) Public Housing.
House Bill 640-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (b4) Public Housing.
DRH30286-MC-165 Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 a.
a.
a.
Page 4 House Bill 640-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 a.
Page 4 DRH30286-MC-165 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 c.
c.
(1) If a review of the information does not result in the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority finding a discrepancy or change in a beneficiary's circumstances that may affect that beneficiary's eligibility to receive medical public assistance benefits, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall take no further action.
(1) If a review of the information does not result in the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authorityfindinga discrepancyor change in a beneficiary's circumstances that may affect that beneficiary's eligibility to receive medical public assistance benefits, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall take no further action.
(2) If a review of the information does result in the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority finding a discrepancy or change in a beneficiary's circumstances that may affect that beneficiary's eligibility for medical public assistance benefits, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall provide written notice to the beneficiary that describes in sufficient detail the circumstances of the discrepancy or change in circumstances that would affect the beneficiary's eligibility for medical public assistance benefits.
(2) If a review of the information does result in the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authorityfindinga discrepancyor change in a beneficiary's circumstances that may affect that beneficiary's eligibility for medical public assistance benefits, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall provide written notice to the beneficiary that describes in sufficient detail the circumstances of the discrepancy or change in circumstances that would affect the beneficiary's eligibility for medical public assistance benefits.
(d) After the expiration of 12 calendar days from the time of mailing the notice required under subsection (c) of this section, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall take one of the following DRH30286-MC-165 Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 actions:actions within 60 days of receiving the public assistance beneficiary's written disagreement:
House Bill 640-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 (d) After the expiration of 12 calendar days from the time of mailing the notice required under subsection (c) of this section, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall take one of the following actions:actions within 60 days of receiving the public assistance beneficiary's written disagreement:
(2) If a beneficiary responds to the notice and disagrees with the information in the notice, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority shall reinvestigate the matter and take one of the following actions:
(2) If a beneficiary responds to the notice and disagrees with the information in the notice, the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authorityshall reinvestigate the matter and take one of the following actions:
If the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority determines that there has been an error and the beneficiary's eligibility to receive medical public assistancebenefits is not affected,thennofurtheractionshall betaken.
If the county department of social services Department of Health and Human Services or public housing authority determines that there has been an error and the beneficiary's eligibilityto receive medical public assistancebenefits is not affected,thennofurtheractionshall betaken.
If, at any time after receiving a beneficiary's response to the notice, the county department of social services Department ofHealthandHumanServices orpublichousingauthority determines that there is a risk of fraud or misrepresentation or inadequate documentation, then the county department of social services may request additional documentation from the beneficiary.
If, at any time after receiving a beneficiary's response to the notice, the county department of social services Department ofHealthandHumanServices orpublichousingauthoritydetermines that there is a risk of fraud or misrepresentation or inadequate documentation, then the county department of social services may request additional documentation from the beneficiary.
Page 6 DRH30286-MC-165
Page 6 House Bill 640-First Edition
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Action History

  1. Reptd Fav

  2. Re-ref Com On Health

  3. Passed 1st Reading

  4. Ref to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Health, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  5. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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0 sponsors · 9 co-sponsors · 170 not signed on

Sponsors (0)

None.

Co-sponsors (9)

Not signed on (170)

170 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 170 →

"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

public-safety housing healthcare labor
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 640?
HB 640 is sponsored by Donna McDowell White (Republican), Bill Ward (Republican), Jeffrey C. McNeely (Republican), Jarrod Lowery (Republican), Keith Kidwell (Republican), Neal Jackson (Republican), Brian Biggs (Republican), Jennifer Balkcom (Republican), and Sarah Stevens (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 640?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced April 01, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 640?
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