H805 - Prevent Sexual Exploitation/Women and Minors. (SL 2025-84)

Overview: S.L. 2025‑84 (House Bill 805) does the following:

• Provides that the following definitions apply to all administrative rules, regulations, or public policies of North Carolina and its political subdivisions, unless otherwise specified:
  • Biological Sex. – The biological indication of male and female in the context of reproductive potential or capacity, such as sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual's psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender.
  • Boy. – A minor human male.
  • Father. – A male parent.
  • Female. – A term that when used to refer to a natural person, means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing ova (eggs).
  • Gender identity. – A term that means an individual's self‑declared identity that may not align with biological sex and, being a subjective internal sense, shall not be treated as legally or biologically equivalent to sex.
  • Girl. – A minor human female.
  • Male. – A term that when used to refer to a natural person, means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm.
  • Man. – An adult human male.
  • Mother. – A female parent.
  • Woman. – An adult human female.

This section becomes effective January 1, 2026.

• Enacts Article 51A of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes, which is entitled "Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act." This Article does the following:
  • Requires online entity operators to comply with certain age verification and written consent requirements for individuals appearing in pornographic images.
  • Requires online entity operators to establish certain procedures for removing a pornographic image upon request and to prominently display a notice on its website or mobile application that provides instructions on how to request removal of a pornographic image.
  • Prohibits users of online entities from distributing or publishing a pornographic image of an individual to the online entity without that individual's consent.
  • Authorizes the Attorney General to impose civil penalties on online entity operators for violations of this Article.
  • Authorizes civil actions against online entity operators and users of online entities for certain violations of this Article.

This section becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to acts or omissions occurring before, on, or after that date.

• Prohibits State funds from being used to fund surgical gender transition procedures, puberty‑blocking drugs, or cross‑sex hormones for any prisoner incarcerated in the State prison system or the Statewide Misdemeanor Confinement Program or otherwise in the custody of the Department of Adult Correction, or to support the administration of any governmental health plan or government‑offered insurance policy offering surgical gender transition procedures, puberty‑blocking drugs, or cross‑sex hormones to any prisoner incarcerated in the State prison system or the Statewide Misdemeanor Confinement Program or otherwise in the custody of the Department of Adult Correction. This provision does not apply to the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees. This section became effective July 1, 2025. The exemption for the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees expires 30 days after the Memorandum and Order, dated June 10, 2022, or the permanent injunction ordered therein in Kadel v. Folwell, 1:19CV272 is vacated, overturned, or is no longer in force.
• Provides that certain causes of action for malpractice under G.S. 1‑15 arising out of the performance of or failure to perform services while in the course of facilitating or perpetuating gender transition must be commenced within 10 years from the time of discovery by the injured party of both the injury and the causal relationship between the treatment and the injury against the offending medical professional or entity. This section became effective July 29, 2025, and applies to causes of action accruing before, on, or after that date.
• Provides that when the sex of a person is changed on an amended or new birth certificate, the State Registrar will attach the new certificate to the certificate of birth then on file and will preserve both certificates as a multi‑page document. The State Registrar will forward a copy of the new certificate to the register of deeds of the county of birth. The register of deeds of the county of birth will attach the new certificate to the copy of the certificate of birth on file. The register of deeds will preserve both certificates as a multi‑page document. Thereafter, when a certified copy of the certificate of birth of the person is issued, it will be a copy of the multi‑page document. The State Registrar will adopt rules and policies to implement these requirements. This section becomes effective December 1, 2025.

Please note that the summaries for sections 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 of S.L. 2025‑84 can be found in the Education subject area of this publication.

This bill was vetoed by the Governor on July 3, 2025, and that veto was overridden by the General Assembly on July 29, 2025. Except as otherwise provided, this act became effective July 29, 2025.