Rep. Brown files bill in North Carolina House to fund economic progress analyses

A new bill filed by State Rep. Kanika Brown in the North Carolina House seeks to assess economic well-being across the state and inform policy decisions, according to the North Carolina State House.

The bill, filed as HB 548 on March 26 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘NC Economic Progress and Well-Being.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill appropriates $200,000 annually from the General Fund to the Department of Commerce for the 2025-27 fiscal biennium to conduct biannual analyses of economic progress in North Carolina, effective July 1, 2025. The Department is required to report these findings to the General Assembly by January 31 of every odd-numbered year. The analyses will use publicly available data and include interviews with people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Key metrics to be measured include poverty rate, job quality, household income allocation for essentials, cost-burden status for housing and healthcare, and the cost of education relative to income. The goal is to assess economic well-being across the state and ensure policies support security and opportunity in North Carolina.

Of the four sponsors of this bill, Bryan Cohn proposed the most bills (13) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Brown, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2023 to represent the state’s 71st House district, replacing previous state representative Evelyn Terry.