NC Economic Progress and Well-Being.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 1046

Short Title: NC Economic Progress and Well-Being. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Cohn, R. Pierce, and Rubin (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 28, 2026
*H1046-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO PREPARE A BIENNIAL 2
REPORT ON ECONOMIC O PPORTUNITY, AFFORDAB ILITY, AND FAMILY 3
ECONOMIC SECURITY IN NORTH CAROLINA. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. Article 10 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by 6
adding a new section to read: 7
"§ 143B-434.02. Biennial report on economic opportunity, affordability, and family 8
economic security. 9
(a) Report. – The Department of Commerce shall prepare a nd publish a biennial report 10
on economic opportunity, affordability, and family economic security in North Carolina. 11
(b) Purpose. – The report required by this section shall supplement traditional measures 12
of economic activity by providing the General Asse mbly and the public with information on 13
statewide and county -level economic conditions affecting individuals, families, and 14
communities. 15
(c) Data. – The report shall include data for the State and, to the extent practicable, for 16
each county. In preparing t he report, the Department shall use existing federal, State, and other 17
publicly available data to the maximum extent practicable and may consult with institutions of 18
higher education, research organizations, and other relevant entities. 19
(d) Required Metrics. – At a minimum, the report shall include all of the following: 20
(1) Hardship indicators, including the poverty rate, child poverty, deep poverty, 21
and the supplemental poverty rate, if available at the relevant level of analysis. 22
(2) Work and earning s indicators, including labor force participation, 23
employment, unemployment, the share of jobs that pay wages sufficient to 24
meet basic household needs, and the share of jobs that provide 25
employer-sponsored health insurance or other commonly available 26
employment benefits, to the extent that data is available. 27
(3) Household affordability indicators, including the share of household income 28
spent on housing, food, child care, and health care, including premiums and 29
other major out-of-pocket costs to the extent that data is available. 30
(4) Cost-burden indicators, including the percentage of households that are 31
cost-burdened with respect to housing, child care, and health care costs, to the 32
extent that data is available. 33
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 1046-First Edition
(5) Education and workforce preparation indi cators, including the cost of 1
postsecondary education relative to income and the cost of workforce training 2
and credentialing programs relative to income, to the extent practicable. 3
(6) Community and regional opportunity indicators, including persistent poverty 4
counties or census tracts, concentrated poverty census tracts, and the number 5
of people living in areas of persistent or concentrated poverty. 6
(7) Other county-level indicators of economic opportunity, business formation, or 7
workforce access that t he Department determines are appropriate and 8
supported by reliable public data. 9
(e) Methodology. – Each report shall identify the data sources used, describe the 10
methodology applied, and note any material limitations affecting interpretation of the report. 11
(f) Submission. – The Department shall submit the report required by this section to the 12
Joint Legislative Economic Development and Global Engagement Oversight Committee, the 13
Fiscal Research Division, and the General Assembly no later than January 31 of e ach 14
odd-numbered year. The Department shall also publish the report on its website." 15
SECTION 2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 16
Commerce the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) in recurring funds beginning in 17
the 2026-2027 fiscal year to be used to implement this act. 18
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2026. 19