House Bill 357 / SL 2025-58 (=H719)
HB 357 enacts the Continuing Care Retirement Communities Act and replaces the prior Article 64 of Chapter 58 with a new Article 64A governing continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) in North Carolina. The bill creates a comprehensive licensing and oversight framework for providers that offer continuing care, including for-profit and nonprofit operators, and places regulation under the North Carolina Department of Insurance. It defines key industry terms, sets out legislative findings focused on protecting older adults who invest significant savings in these communities, and authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt rules to implement the new law.
The act establishes a tiered approval process for new CCRCs and expansions, including permits to accept deposits, start-up certificates, preliminary certificates, permanent licenses, and continuing care at home licenses. It requires detailed applications, market and feasibility studies, actuarial studies, disclosure statements, escrow protections for entrance fees and deposits, and periodic financial and occupancy reporting. The bill also regulates advertising, contract terms, transfers of ownership or control, third-party management, operating reserves, corrective action plans, examinations, and enforcement actions such as suspension, revocation, civil liability, criminal penalties, and delinquency proceedings. It also adds resident rights provisions, including the right to organize residents' councils and attend semiannual meetings, and it updates sales tax law to clarify the tax treatment of sales by continuing care providers to residents.
HB 357 substantially revises North Carolina law governing continuing care retirement communities by repealing the prior statutory article and replacing it with a more detailed regulatory structure in Chapter 58. It expands the Department of Insurance’s oversight authority over licensing, financial monitoring, escrow handling, disclosure requirements, and enforcement, while also creating new obligations for providers regarding resident communications, financial reserves, and approval of major transactions. The bill also amends the sales tax statute to reference the new definitions in Article 64A for continuing care providers, continuing care, and residents, and it applies prospectively to offenses and contracts issued, renewed, or amended on or after December 1, 2025.
The available record shows no committee transcript and no recorded votes, but the bill was enacted and signed into law, indicating clear legislative and executive support. The act itself states that it was recommended by the Department of Insurance, suggesting the measure was viewed as a technical and consumer-protection update to an existing regulatory scheme rather than a controversial policy shift. Overall, the bill appears to have been treated as a comprehensive modernization of oversight for a specialized senior housing and care industry.
No formal committee debate or vote record is provided, so specific points of contention are not documented in the available materials. Based on the text, the most likely areas of concern would be the bill’s extensive regulatory requirements, including commissioner approval for deposits, financing, leases, ownership changes, and management contracts; mandatory escrow and reserve requirements; detailed disclosure obligations; and the Department’s authority to restrict or revoke licenses. Providers may view these provisions as burdensome, while residents and consumer advocates would likely favor them because they are designed to protect entrance fees, ensure financial viability, and reduce the risk of insolvency or service failure.