Chiropractic Abuse of Costs.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 1023

Short Title: Chiropractic Abuse of Costs. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Burgin (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S1023-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT THE NORTH CAR OLINA STATE BOARD OF 2
CHIROPRACTIC EXAMINE RS MAY CHARGE AS COS TS IN DISCIPLINARY 3
ACTIONS AND TO REQUIRE ACCURATE MINUTES FOR OFFICIAL MEETINGS. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 90-157.4 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 90-157.4. Civil penalty; disciplinary costs. 7
… 8
(d) If a licensee is found to have violated any provisions of this Article or any rule adopted 9
by the Board, the Board may charge the costs of a disciplinary proceeding, proceeding if the 10
disciplinary action results in a disposition other than complete exoneration of the licensee. The 11
total cumulative costs under this subsection, including reasonable attorneys' fees, meeting costs, 12
investigative fees, and any other costs, shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) charged 13
to that licensee. For the purposes of this section, the term "disciplinary action " includes any 14
investigation, informal evidentiary re view, settlement conference, negotiation, probable cause 15
hearing, disciplinary review committee meeting, full Board meeting, or any combination of those 16
types of proceedings. 17
(d1) Any provision in an informal settlement, consent order, final agency decision, or other 18
dispositive document in which the licensee consents to pay costs in an amount greater than two 19
thousand dollars ($2,000) is void and unenforceable against the licensee. 20
(e) If the Board imposes a civil penalty under this section, the party against whom the 21
civil penalty has been assessed may file a petition for judicial review under Article 4 of Chapter 22
150B of the General Statutes." 23
SECTION 2. G.S. 90-144 reads as rewritten: 24
"§ 90-144. Meetings of the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. 25
(a) The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall meet at least once a 26
year at such time and place as the Board shall determine and advertise. 27
(b) The Board is a public body, as that term is defined in Article 33C of Chapter 143 of 28
the General Statutes, and shall keep full and acc urate minutes of all official meetings in 29
conformity with all of the following: 30
(1) Except as provided in G.S. 143-318.18, t he contents of the treasurer 's, 31
director's, and attorney's reports and each committee report shall be 32
summarized. 33
(2) Except as provided in G.S. 143-318.18, for any matter that comes before the 34
Board in an open session or in which the chair invites comments, the minutes 35
shall include the names of persons making public comments and a summary 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 1023-First Edition
of those comments, including any rationale or justification offered in support 1
or opposition to the matter under discussion. 2
(3) For any motion disposed of by the Board's vote, the minutes shall include the 3
motion verbiage and the corresponding vote of each member of the Board. 4
(4) The Board shall publish a draft version of the minutes within 15 business days 5
after each meeting and the final version immediately upon approval of those 6
minutes. 7
(c) Applicants for licensure under this Article shall comply with G.S. 90-143(b)." 8
SECTION 3. The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall adopt 9
rules to implement this act. 10
SECTION 4. This act becomes effective October 1, 2026, and applies to disciplinary 11
actions, as that term is defined by Section 1 of this act, on or after that date. 12