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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
SESSION LAW 2025-20
HOUSE BILL 91
*H91-v-5*
AN ACT TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF THE TE RM "ARMED FORCES" OF THE
UNITED STATES TO INC LUDE THE NEWLY ESTAB LISHED UNITED STATES
SPACE FORCE, TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES TO RELEVANT STATUTES
RELATED TO THE MILIT ARY, TO EXTEND THE L OOKBACK PERIOD FOR
CERTAIN LATE APPLICATIONS FO R PROPERTY TAX EXEMP TION, AND TO
ALLOW THE RELEASE OF TAXES LEVIED AGAINST CERTAIN PROPERTY.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
PART I. "ARMED FORCES" TO INCLUDE UNITED STATES SPACE FORCE
SECTION 1.1. G.S. 17C-10.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 17C-10.1. Certification of military service members and veterans with law enforcement
training and experience.
…
(g) As used in this section, the following terms mean:
(1) Branches of military service. – The United States Armed For ces: Air Force;
Army; Marine; Marine Corps; Navy; Space Force; active, reserve, Air/Army
National Guard components; and the Coast Guard.
…."
SECTION 1.2. G.S. 58-58-335 reads as rewritten:
"§ 58-58-335. Definitions.
As used in this Part:
…
(1a) "Armed Forces" means all components of the United States Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
…."
SECTION 1.3. G.S. 116-143.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116 -143.3. Tuition of qualifying federal services members and their spouses and
dependents.
(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
…
(2) Armed Forces. – The United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine
Corps, Space Force, and Navy; the North Carolina National Guard; and any
reserve component of the foregoing.
…."
SECTION 1.4. G.S. 116-235 reads as rewritten:
"§ 116-235. Board of Trustees; additional powers and duties.
…
(b) Students. –
(1) Admission of Students. – The School shall admit students in accordance with
criteria, standards, and procedures established by the Board of Trustees. To be
eligible to be considered for admission, an applicant must be either a legal
Page 2 Session Law 2025-20 House Bill 91
resident of the State, as defined by G.S. 116-143.1(a)(1), or a student whose
parent is an active duty member of the Armed Forces, as defined by
G.S. 116-143.3(2), G.S. 116-143.3(a)(2), who is abiding in this State incident
to active military duty at the time the application is submitted, provided the
student shares the abode of that parent; eligibility to remain enrolled in the
School shall terminate at the end of any school year during which a student
becomes a nonresident of the State. The Board of Trustees shall ensure,
insofar as possible without jeopardizing admission standards, that an equal
number of qualified applicants is admitted to the program and to the
residential summer institutes in science and mathematics from each of North
Carolina's congressional districts. In n o event shall the differences in the
number of qualified applicants offered admission to the program from each of
North Carolina's congressional districts be more than two and one -half
percentage points from the average number per district who are offered
admission.
…."
SECTION 1.5. G.S. 143B-1224 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-1224. Definitions.
As used in this Part the terms defined in this section shall have the following meaning:
…
(2) "Armed Forces" means the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air
Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard, including their reserve components.
…."
PART II. CONFORMING CHANGES
SECTION 2.1. G.S. 1-82 reads as rewritten:
"§ 1-82. Venue in all other cases.
In all other cases the action must be tried in the county in which the plaintiffs or the
defendants, or any of them, reside at its commencement, or if none of the defendants reside in
the State, then in the county in which the plaintiffs, or any of them, r eside; and if none of the
parties reside in the State, then the action may be tried in any county which the plaintiff designates
in the plaintiff's summons and complaint, subject to the power of the court to change the place
of trial, in the cases provided by statute; provided that any person who has resided on or been
stationed in a United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, or Air Force
installation or reservation within this State for a period of one (1) year or more next preceding
the institution of an action shall be deemed a resident of the county within which such installation
or reservation, or part thereof, is situated and of any county adjacent to such county where such
person stationed at such installation or reservation lives in such adjacent county, for the purposes
of this section. The term person shall include military personnel and the spouses and dependents
of such personnel."
SECTION 2.2. G.S. 14-395 is repealed.
SECTION 2.3. G.S. 45-21.12A reads as rewritten:
"§ 45-21.12A. Power of sale barred during periods of military service.
…
(d) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section:
(1) Military service. –
a. In the case of a member of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard:
…."
SECTION 2.4. G.S. 47-81.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 47-81.2. Before United States Army, etc., officers, and other service members.
House Bill 91 Session Law 2025-20 Page 3
In all cases where instruments and writings have been proved or acknowledged before any
commissioned officer of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force,
or Coast Guard or any officer of the United States Merchant Marine having the rank of lieutenant,
senior grade, or higher, such proofs or acknowledgments, where valid in other respects, are
hereby ratified, confirmed and declared valid. All proofs or acknowledgments made by any
military personnel authorized by the Congress of the United States are hereby ratified, confirmed,
and declared valid and shall not require the affixation of a seal where valid in other respects."
SECTION 2.5. G.S. 50-18 reads as rewritten:
"§ 50 -18. Residence of military personnel; payment of defendant's travel expenses by
plaintiff.
In any action instituted and prosecuted under this Chapter, allegation and proof that the
plaintiff or the defendant has resided or been stationed at a United States Army, Navy, Marine
Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, or Air Force installation or reservation or any other location
pursuant to military duty within this State for a period of six months next preceding the institution
of the action shall constitute compliance with the residence requirements set forth in this Chapter;
provided that personal service is had upon the defendant or service is accepted by the defendant,
within or without the State as by law provided.
…."
SECTION 2.6. G.S. 50A-351 reads as rewritten:
"§ 50A-351. Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
…
(18) Uniformed service. – Service which includes (i) the active and reserve
components of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space
Force, or Coast Guard of the United States; Guard; (ii) the Merchant Marine,
the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, or the commissioned
corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United
States; or (iii) the National Guard."
SECTION 2.7. G.S. 88B-25 reads as rewritten:
"§ 88B-25. Exemptions.
The following persons are exempt from the provisions of this Chapter while engaged in the
proper discharge of their professional duties:
…
(4) Commissioned medical or surgical officers of the United States Army, Air
Force, Navy, Marine, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard.
…."
SECTION 2.8. G.S. 115C-12 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C-12. Powers and duties of the Board generally.
The general supervision and administration of the free public school system shall be vested
in the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall establish all needed rules
and regulations for the system of free public schools, subject to laws enacted by the General
Assembly. In accordance with Sections 7 and 8 of Article III of the North Carolina Constitution,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, as an elected officer and Council of State member, shall
administer all needed rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education through the
Department of Public Instruction. The powers and duties of the State Board of Education are
defined as follows:
…
(18) Duty to Develop and Implement a Uniform Education Reporting System,
Which Shall Include Standards and Procedures for Collecting Fiscal and
Personnel Information. –
…
Page 4 Session Law 2025-20 House Bill 91
f. The State Board of Education shall develop a process for local school
administrative units to annually identify enrolled military -connected
students using the Uniform Education Reporting System. The
identification of military-connected students shall not be used for the
purposes of determini ng school achievement, growth, and
performance scores as required by G.S. 115C-12(9)c1. The
identification of military -connected students is not a public record
within the meaning of G.S. 132-1 and shall not be made public by any
person, except as permitte d under the provisions of the Family
Educational and Privacy Rights Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. For
purposes of this section, a "military -connected student" means a
student enrolled in a local school administrative unit who has a parent,
step-parent, s ibling, or any other person who resides in the same
household serving in the active or reserve components of the United
States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space
Force, or National Guard. Beginning in the 2016 -2017 school year,
and ann ually thereafter, the identification of military -connected
students for all local school administrative units shall be completed by
January 31 of each school year.
…."
SECTION 2.9. G.S. 143B-1311 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B-1311. Membership.
…
(b) The voting members of the Commission shall be appointed as follows:
(1) Thirteen members appointed by the Governor, consisting of:
…
h. One person who is a resident of North Carolina with a long -term
connection to the State and who is a current or retired memb er of a
reserve component of the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Space
Force, or Marines Marine Corps and who is involved in a military
affairs organization or involved in military issues through civic,
commercial, or governmental relationships.
…."
SECTION 2.10. G.S. 163-258.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-258.2. Definitions.
As used in this Article:
…
(6) "Uniformed service" means any of the following:
a. Active and reserve components of the United States Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps, Space Fo rce, and Coast Guard of the United
States.Guard.
…
(7) "Uniformed-service voter" means an individual who is qualified to vote and
is one of the following:
a. A member of the active or reserve components of the United States
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Co rps, Space Force, or Coast Guard
of the United States who is on active duty.
…."
House Bill 91 Session Law 2025-20 Page 5
PART III. RELIGIOUS PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
SECTION 3.1.(a) An owner of property claiming an exemption from taxation under
G.S. 105-278.3 may file a late application in accordance with G.S. 105-282.1(a1) which,
notwithstanding the calendar year restriction under that subsection, may apply to property taxes
levied by the county or municipality during the five calendar years immediately preceding the
effective date of this section. Notwithstanding G.S. 105-380 and G.S. 105-381, if a late
application submitted in accordance with this section is approved, the taxes levied against the
property covered by that application for up to the five calendar years immediately preceding the
effective date of this section shall be released, provided, however, that no taxpayer may receive
a refund of taxes previously paid under this section.
SECTION 3.1.(b) This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to
applications submitted on or after that date.
PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 4.1. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes
law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of June, 2025.
s/ Rachel Hunt
President of the Senate
s/ Timothy Reeder, MD
Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives
s/ Josh Stein
Governor
Approved 9:40 a.m. this 26th day of June, 2025