House Bill 1120, titled the Financial Effectiveness and Transparency Act, would redirect $6.75 million in recurring state funding away from Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship beginning in fiscal year 2026-2027 and appropriate that same amount to the Department of Health and Human Services for evidence-based maternal and infant health programs. The bill specifically names programs such as Healthy Beginnings, Safe Sleep NC, and home-visiting services like Nurse-Family Partnership, while also allowing DHHS to select other evidence-based public health programs.
The bill also creates new restrictions and disclosure requirements for crisis pregnancy centers that receive state funds. Before a state agency may fund or contract with such a center, the center must provide detailed financial, staffing, client-service, and material-support information, including revenue and expense budgets, staffing credentials, and counts of services provided. The center must update that information annually, and the state agency must make the records available to the public within 20 business days, with individually identifiable health information redacted. In addition, the bill requires crisis pregnancy centers to provide clients, free of charge, copies of their records within 10 business days of request.
HB1120 would amend Chapter 143C of the General Statutes to bar state funding for crisis pregnancy centers unless they comply with extensive reporting requirements, and it would add a new records-access provision in Chapter 131E requiring crisis pregnancy centers to provide client records on request. It would also shift recurring General Fund dollars from a private nonprofit, Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, to DHHS-administered maternal and infant health programs, changing how those funds are allocated and overseen by the state. The act would take effect July 1, 2026.
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal floor or committee sentiment can be measured from debate or roll call. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to reflect a policy preference for evidence-based public health services and greater transparency around crisis pregnancy centers. The absence of votes or discussion means the public legislative sentiment is not documented here.
The main point of contention is likely the bill’s treatment of crisis pregnancy centers, which would lose direct state funding unless they meet detailed disclosure requirements and would also be subject to mandatory client-record production. Supporters are likely to favor the redirection of funds toward evidence-based maternal and infant health programs and the added transparency for publicly funded centers. Opponents are likely to object to the funding cut, the administrative burden of the reporting rules, and the compelled disclosure of client records, even with health information redacted. The bill also raises broader disputes over whether crisis pregnancy centers should be treated as healthcare providers for regulatory purposes.