Text of NC H 502 (2025)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H D HOUSE BILL DRH10240-NB-65 Short Title: Gender-Affirming Rights Act. (Public) Sponsors: Representative Dahle. Referred to: *DRH10240-NB-65* A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 AN ACT TO REPEAL THE PROHIBITION OF GENDER TRANSITION PROCEDURES ON 2 MINORS ACT AND THE EXPENDITURE OF STATE FUNDS ON THOSE 3 PROCEDURES. 4 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5 6 PART I. REPEAL PROHIBITION OF GENDER TRANSITION PROCEDURES 7 SECTION 1.(a) Article 1N of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is repealed. 8 SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 143C-6-5.5 is repealed. 9 10 PART II. GENDER-AFFIRMING RIGHTS ACT 11 SECTION 2. Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 12 to read: 13 "Article 1O. 14 "Gender-Affirming Rights Act. 15 "§ 90-21.160. Short title. 16 This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "Gender-Affirming Rights Act." 17 "§ 90-21.161. Definitions. 18 The following definitions apply in this Article: 19 (1) Gender-affirming care. – A service or product that a health care professional 20 prescribes or provides to an individual to support and affirm the individual's 21 gender identity. Gender-affirming care includes treatment for gender 22 dysphoria. Gender-affirming treatment can be prescribed to Two Spirit, 23 transgender, nonbinary, and other gender diverse individuals. 24 (2) Health care professional. – A professional licensed or certified under this 25 Chapter or Chapter 90B of the General Statutes who provides face-to-face 26 health care services or telehealth services to patients in this State. 27 (3) LGBTQ. – Individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, 28 gender nonconforming, queer, or question their sexual orientation or gender 29 identity and expression. 30 "§ 90-21.162. Gender freedom; fundamental rights; findings. 31 The North Carolina General Assembly finds the following: 32 (1) Every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about 33 the individual's own gender and related gender-affirming health care. 34 H.B. 502 Mar 24, 2025 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 Page 2 DRH10240-NB-65 (2) The North Carolina Constitution guarantees that all persons are created equal, 1 including life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the 2 pursuit of happiness. 3 "§ 90-21.163. Limitation; local governments. 4 A unit of local government or other political subdivision of the State shall not regulate an 5 individual's right to freely exercise the fundamental rights set forth in this section in a manner 6 that is more restrictive than that set forth in this Article. 7 "§ 90-21.164. Health care professional training. 8 (a) In addition to any continuing education requirements, health care professionals 9 licensed under this Chapter and Chapter 90B of the General Statutes shall take continuing 10 education or professional development hours of instruction on cultural competency or specialized 11 clinical training focusing on LGBTQ patients. 12 (b) The continuing education under this section shall provide, at a minimum, information 13 and skills to enable a health care professional to care effectively and respectfully for LGBTQ 14 patients, including all of the following: 15 (1) How to use cultural information and terminology to establish clinical 16 relationships. 17 (2) Training that improves the understanding and application, in a clinical setting, 18 of relevant data concerning health disparities and risk factors. 19 (3) Training that outlines the legal obligations associated with treatment. 20 (4) Best practices for collecting, storing, using, and keeping confidential 21 information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. 22 (5) Best practices for training support staff regarding treatment. 23 (6) Training that improves the understanding of the intersections between systems 24 of oppression and discrimination and improves the recognition that LGBTQ 25 patients may experience these systems in varying degrees of intensity. 26 (7) Training that addresses underlying cultural biases aimed at improving the 27 provision of nondiscriminatory care for LGBTQ patients." 28 29 PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE 30 SECTION 3. This act is effective when it becomes law. 31