North Carolina bill proposes expanded support, higher pay for disability services

State Rep. Sarah Crawford has introduced a new bill focused on enhancing services, supports, and protections for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout North Carolina, per the North Carolina State House.

Filed as HB 1147 on April 30 in the 2025 regular session, the bill appears under the short title: ‘IDD Omnibus.’

Outlined below is our interpretation based on the actual bill text, which may include explanatory context to clarify some provisions.

This legislation calls for comprehensive reforms to strengthen services and supports for North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It proposes increasing Medicaid reimbursement so that direct care workers earn no less than $18 per hour, adding at least 1,000 Innovations waiver slots alongside a required 10-year strategy to address unmet needs, and updating the Medicaid buy-in program for workers with disabilities by removing limits on unearned income and assets. The bill also allocates funds to study and potentially establish a Medicaid community activities and employment service, launches a state rental assistance initiative, sets out a five-year housing subsidy plan, and provides state matching to secure federal vocational rehabilitation funding. Provisions in the bill prohibit the use of prone restraints in schools, impose stricter requirements for parent notification, mandate teacher training related to seclusion and restraint, call for the creation of a public discipline data dashboard, expand scholarships and grants for special education, and instruct the formation of an Office of Accessible Transportation and Mobility. Most appropriations and several components are scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026.

Among the four sponsors, Zack Hawkins filed the most bills—64—during the 2025 regular session.

Proposed legislation in North Carolina proceeds through a multi-step process before enactment. After a lawmaker files a bill, it is referred to a committee, then must be read three times in each chamber. If changes are made by either chamber, both must approve the revised version. Once approved in identical form by both chambers, the bill goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 days if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without signing.

Find additional information about pending bills and other legislative actions here.

Crawford earned her BA from North Carolina State University in 2003.

A member of the Democratic Party, Crawford was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2023, representing the 66th House district and succeeding Ben Moss.