A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require that party designations on official ballots be printed in bold and twelve‑point font size, to raise the threshold amount that triggers the FORTY‑EIGHT‑Hour Report, with automatic adjustments for inflation, under campaign finance laws, and to waive the forty‑eight‑Hour reporting requirement for candidates who are unopposed during a primary election.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑165.5(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Except as provided in this section, each official ballot shall contain all the following elements:
…
(4)	Party designations in partisan ballot items. Party designations shall be printed in (i) bold and (ii) a font no less than 12‑point in size.
…."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑278.9(a)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(2)	48‑Hour Report. – A political committee, political party or affiliated party committee that receives a contribution or transfer of funds shall disclose within 48 hours of receipt a contribution or transfer of two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more received before an election but after the period covered by the last report due before that election. The disclosure shall be by report to the State Board identifying the source and amount of the funds. The State Board shall specify the form and manner of making the report, including the reporting of in‑kind contributions. Effective for each odd‑numbered calendar year beginning in 2025, the dollar amount of the reporting threshold established by this subdivision shall be increased based on the Consumer Price Index as provided in G.S. 163‑278.13(b). The revised amount shall remain in effect for two calendar years until the next adjustment is made. The State Board shall publish the revised amount in the North Carolina Register and shall notify the Revisor of Statutes who shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision. However, the requirements of this subdivision shall not apply to any candidate campaign committee, as defined by G.S. 163‑278.38Z, in a primary election in which the candidate is unopposed on that ballot."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑278.9A(a)(3) reads as rewritten:
"(3)	48‑Hour Report. – A referendum committee that receives a contribution or transfer of funds shall disclose within 48 hours of receipt a contribution or transfer of two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more received before a referendum but after the period covered by the last report due before that referendum. The disclosure shall be by report to the State Board of Elections identifying the source and amount of such funds. The State Board of Elections shall specify the form and manner of making the report, including the reporting of in‑kind contributions. Effective for each odd‑numbered calendar year beginning in 2025, the dollar amount of the reporting threshold established by this subdivision shall be increased based on the Consumer Price Index as provided in G.S. 163‑278.13(b). The revised amount shall remain in effect for two calendar years until the next adjustment is made. The State Board shall publish the revised amount in the North Carolina Register and shall notify the Revisor of Statutes who shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision."
SECTION 4.  The waiver of the reporting requirement under Section 2 of this act is effective for candidates unopposed in primary elections held on or after January 1, 2023. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.