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HB 62NORTH CAROLINASession 2025State Billin committee

High Impact

North Carolina bans banks and financial institutions from denying services to farmers over greenhouse gas emissions or fossil-fuel use

Original title: Farmers Protection Act.

Last action · March 17, 2025: Re-ref to the Com on Commerce and Economic Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Neal Jackson and 34 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Would Do

North Carolina makes it unlawful for banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks, and credit unions to deny or cancel financial services to agricultural producers based on greenhouse gas emissions, fossil-fuel fertilizer use, or fossil-fuel machinery use. The measure establishes a rebuttable legal presumption against lenders with environmental, social, or governance commitments related to agriculture, imposes annual compliance reporting under penalty of perjury, and subjects violators to civil penalties and unfair trade practice claims.

Why it matters

The bill creates new legal liabilities and compliance requirements for state-regulated financial institutions while altering the borrowing rights of agricultural producers, with civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation and potential unfair trade practice lawsuits.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Agriculture producers

Agricultural producers gain statutory protection against service denials by lenders based on greenhouse gas emissions or fossil-fuel usage.

Directly affected

Banks and financial institutions

Banks, savings banks, savings and loan associations, and credit unions face restrictions on lending criteria, mandatory annual reporting under oath, and potential civil penalties or unfair trade practice lawsuits.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What reasons are banks prohibited from using to deny financial services to farmers?

Banks cannot deny or cancel services to an based on the producer's greenhouse gas emissions, use of fossil-fuel derived fertilizer, or use of fossil-fuel powered machinery.

What happens if a bank has made an ESG commitment related to agriculture?

There is a that any bank denial or restriction of service to an violates the law, unless the bank proves through clear and convincing evidence that the decision was based solely on documented financial considerations.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

10 actions

Mar 17, 2025House
Re-ref to the Com on Commerce and Economic Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
Mar 17, 2025House
Withdrawn From Com
Mar 12, 2025House
Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
Mar 12, 2025House
Reptd Fav Com Substitute
Feb 25, 2025House
Re-ref Com On Agriculture and Environment
Feb 25, 2025House
Reptd Fav

Show 4 earlier actions

Feb 25, 2025House
Serial Referral To Commerce and Economic Development Stricken
Feb 6, 2025House
Ref to the Com on Judiciary 1, if favorable, Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Commerce and Economic Development, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
Feb 6, 2025House
Passed 1st Reading
Feb 5, 2025HouseIntroduced
Filed

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Extension of Lending Restrictions Across Multiple Financial Entity Types

The bill systematically extends the new anti-discrimination rules beyond standard banks to cover savings and loan associations, savings banks, and credit unions.

North Carolina

Connected Entities

Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund, Administrator, Commissioner and 1 more

OrganizationCivil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund“Fund that receives clear proceeds of civil penalties assessed under the act.”Map →

OrganizationAdministrator“Receives annual reports from credit unions and exercises enforcement authority.”Map →

OrganizationCommissioner“Receives annual compliance attestation forms and brings civil actions for violat”Map →

locationNorth Carolina“State where the legislation is enacted.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.ncleg.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance80
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy75
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz55
Current news / social attention level

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