Bill > S557

This bill modifies how North Carolina categorizes economic distress across different state agencies and programs. Specifically, the bill requires most state departments and entities to stop using the current "development tier designations" (a system that ranks counties based on economic indicators) by July 1, 2027, with the exception of the Department of Commerce and entities using these designations for economic development purposes. Each affected agency (including departments of Agriculture, Environmental Quality, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and others) must independently develop new criteria to replace the current tier system, and must report their proposed new criteria to their respective legislative oversight committees by July 1, 2026. The bill also modifies the existing tier designation system by expanding the number of tier two counties from 40 to 50, adding a new provision that automatically ranks counties with population density over 750 people per square mile in the lowest tier, and requiring more detailed reporting on rural and low-wealth census tracts in tier three areas. Agencies may continue using the last published development tier designations until they develop replacement criteria or until July 1, 2027. The changes aim to create more nuanced and potentially more accurate methods of identifying and addressing economic distress across different state programs.

https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S557