House Bill 91 / SL 2025-20
HB 91 updates North Carolina law to recognize the United States Space Force in a wide range of statutes that define or reference the “Armed Forces,” “uniformed service,” or military service. The bill makes conforming changes across laws dealing with law enforcement certification, insurance, tuition benefits, school admissions, venue, foreclosure protections during military service, notarization/acknowledgment rules, family law residency rules, professional licensing exemptions, public education reporting, military affairs commissions, and absentee voting for uniformed-service voters.
In addition to the military-related updates, the bill creates a property tax relief provision for certain religious property owners. It allows late applications for exemption under the religious property tax exemption statute to reach back up to five prior calendar years, and if approved, authorizes release of taxes levied on the property for those years. The bill does not authorize refunds of taxes already paid, and the late-application relief applies to applications submitted on or after the effective date.
The bill amends numerous North Carolina General Statutes to add the Space Force to existing military definitions and to ensure those provisions apply consistently to Space Force members, their families, and related institutions. It affects statutes in criminal justice, education, civil procedure, family law, elections, and military-related consumer protections, while also correcting or updating cross-references in the law. Separately, it changes property tax administration by expanding the lookback period for late-filed religious property tax exemption applications and permitting release of assessed taxes for up to five prior years, subject to the bill’s limits.
The available record shows no committee transcript debate or recorded votes, and the bill ultimately passed and was ratified into law. The overall apparent sentiment is neutral to favorable, as the measure largely consists of technical and conforming updates to reflect the Space Force’s inclusion in state law, along with a targeted tax-relief provision for qualifying religious property owners. The lack of recorded opposition in the provided materials suggests the bill was not notably controversial in the legislative process reflected here.
The main substantive policy issue in HB 91 is the religious property tax exemption provision. Supporters would likely view the five-year late-application lookback as a fairness measure for qualifying religious property owners who missed filing deadlines, while potential critics could object to the retroactive release of taxes for prior years, even though refunds of taxes already paid are prohibited. The military-related sections appear largely noncontroversial and technical, focused on updating statutory definitions and ensuring Space Force members are treated consistently with other service branches.