Senate Bill 750, titled “Restore the American Dream,” is an affordable housing funding bill that would expand support for workforce and low-income housing in North Carolina by recapitalizing the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund. The bill appropriates $30 million in nonrecurring General Fund money for fiscal year 2025-26 and states that the money must be used for the purposes authorized under Chapter 122E of the General Statutes, which includes a range of housing activities such as homeownership assistance, rental housing, supportive housing, new construction, rehabilitation, and emergency repairs.
In addition to the one-time appropriation, the bill creates recurring revenue streams for the Housing Trust Fund by changing the distribution of certain state-collected fees and taxes. It reduces the General Fund share of register of deeds fees under G.S. 161-11.5 and directs 1.5% of those fees to the Housing Trust Fund. It also changes the distribution of the state’s real property transfer excise tax under G.S. 105-228.30 so that 33% of the Department of Revenue’s share is credited to the Housing Trust Fund rather than the General Fund. The bill takes effect July 1, 2025.
The bill’s impact on state law is to amend two revenue-distribution statutes and to provide a direct appropriation to the Housing Trust Fund. As a result, state and local revenue flows would shift modestly away from the General Fund and toward affordable housing programs, while counties would continue to receive their existing share of the real estate transfer tax. The Housing Finance Agency, which administers the fund, would gain both immediate funding and an ongoing funding source intended to make the fund more sustainable.
The general sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly supportive of affordable housing investment. The findings section emphasizes the scale of housing need in North Carolina, the economic benefits of housing stability, and the idea that the Housing Trust Fund produces a strong return on investment through jobs, tax revenue, and leveraged private capital. No committee transcripts or votes were provided, so there is no recorded debate or roll-call history in the supplied materials.
The main point of contention likely concerns the funding mechanism rather than the policy goal itself. By redirecting portions of existing fee and tax revenues, the bill would reduce amounts otherwise flowing to the General Fund, which could raise budgetary concerns for lawmakers focused on state revenue priorities. Supporters, by contrast, would likely emphasize the urgency of the affordable housing shortage and the bill’s use of dedicated, recurring funding to address it.
The bill would amend G.S. 161-11.5 and G.S. 105-228.30 to divert a portion of existing state-collected revenues to the North Carolina Housing Trust Fund, while also appropriating $30 million in one-time General Fund money for the 2025-26 fiscal year. It would increase the fund’s ongoing revenue base and reduce the share of certain fees and excise tax proceeds credited to the General Fund, thereby strengthening state housing finance capacity and supporting housing assistance programs administered by the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
The bill is framed in strongly favorable terms, with findings that stress the severity of North Carolina’s affordable housing shortage and the economic value of housing investment. The absence of committee discussion or votes means there is no recorded opposition or support in the provided history, but the bill’s language suggests a clear pro-housing, pro-investment sentiment from its sponsors.
The likely area of disagreement is fiscal rather than policy-based: the bill would redirect revenue from the General Fund to the Housing Trust Fund, which may concern lawmakers wary of reducing flexible state revenues. Supporters are likely to argue that the dedicated funding is justified by the scale of housing need and the fund’s demonstrated leverage and return on investment, while skeptics may question whether recurring earmarks are the best use of existing tax and fee collections.