House Bill 1064 would create a new civil rights helpline within the North Carolina Department of Justice, under the Attorney General’s authority, to receive, document, and investigate civil rights complaints. The helpline would operate 24 hours a day, be toll-free, and include a companion website for online submissions. It is aimed specifically at individuals who have been harmed, or whose family members have been harmed, by actions arising from the deployment of federal troops or federal law enforcement officers in North Carolina, including federal immigration enforcement actions.
The bill also requires the Department of Justice to provide support resources to affected individuals, such as information about state and local assistance programs, legal and social services, and, where relevant, school emergency response and student support resources. The helpline must include voicemail, translation services, and disability access services, and the Department must advertise the service to encourage reporting of civil rights violations. The Attorney General would be required to investigate reported incidents and determine whether further action is warranted.
HB1064 would amend Chapter 114 of the North Carolina General Statutes by adding new sections establishing a civil rights reporting and response system within the Department of Justice. It would require the Attorney General to maintain a secure database, issue an annual public report with aggregated and redacted information, hold at least one public hearing each year, and adopt any necessary rules to implement the program. The bill also creates a recurring General Fund appropriation of $3 million beginning in fiscal year 2026-2027 to fund implementation, and it makes communications through the helpline and website confidential and not public records.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the available sentiment appears to be procedural rather than contested at this stage. The bill was introduced with multiple sponsors and referred to the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations Committee, suggesting it had initial legislative support sufficient for introduction but no recorded floor action yet. Because there are no transcripts or votes provided, there is no documented public record here of broader support or opposition.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s focus on federal immigration enforcement and federal troop or federal law enforcement deployments, which may be viewed by supporters as a civil rights protection measure and by critics as politically charged or duplicative of existing complaint mechanisms. Another likely issue is the scope of the Attorney General’s investigative role and the confidentiality provisions, especially the requirement for annual public reporting on arrests, agencies involved, and patterns of misconduct. The $3 million recurring appropriation may also draw scrutiny over cost and administrative burden. No specific objections or endorsements are captured in the provided committee materials.