North Carolina legislation · 2025-2026 Session
North Carolina S1046: A.I. in Environmental Permitting.
Status: In committee, May 4, 2026
What the bill says
An act to promote the use of artificial intelligence as a decision-support tool in the review and drafting of environmental permits.
From the introduced text:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A DECISION-SUPPORT TOOL IN THE REVIEW AND DRAFTING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS. The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: SECTION 1. Legislative Findings. - The General Assembly makes the following findings: (1) Environmental permitting by the Department of Environmental Quality is a critical function of State government that protects public health, the environment, and the economy of North Carolina. (2) Advances in artificial intelligence, including large language model systems and retrieval-augmented generation tools, offer significant potential to assist agency staff in the drafting and review of environmental permits by accelerating routine tasks, improving consistency, and reducing processing times. (3) The use of artificial intelligence as a permit drafting and permit review tool, subject to independent human review and decision-making by agency staff exercising professional judgement, is consistent with the principles of government efficiency. (4) A joint initiative between the Environmental Management Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality to use artificial intelligence tools for environmental permitting will benefit permit applicants, regulated entities, State employees, and the general public. SECTION 2. Joint Program. - Article 7 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read: "§ 143B-279.22. Artificial Intelligence in Environmental Permitting. (a) Definitions. - The following definitions apply in …
Sponsors
- Jarvis, Steve (R, 30) · primary sponsor
- Lee, Michael V. (R, 7)
- Moffitt, Timothy D. (R, 48)
Latest actions
- : Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
- : Passed 1st Reading
- : Filed
Subjects: BUDGETING, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMN., ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, PUBLIC, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, COMMISSIONS, ENVIRONMENT, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Common questions
- What is S1046?
- S1046 is a bill in the North Carolina Legislature (2025-2026 Session): A.I. in Environmental Permitting.
- What does S1046 do?
- In its own words: An act to promote the use of artificial intelligence as a decision-support tool in the review and drafting of environmental permits.
- What is the status of S1046?
- In committee as of May 4, 2026. Latest action: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate (May 4, 2026).
- Who sponsored S1046?
- Jarvis, Steve (R, 30), with 2 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S1046?
- On the North Carolina Legislature website: https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S1046
Source: official North Carolina record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.