N.C. Legislature Overrides Veto of State Record Keeping Bill

RALEIGH, N.C.—Lawmakers in North Carolina voted Tuesday to override a gubernatorial veto on a bill that would require record-keeping at the state level for pornography productions. 

During a session today, the Republican supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly delivered a veto override with relative ease. The Carolina Journal reports that the House voted 72-48, and the Senate voted 30-19, in a resolution that overrides the gubernatorial veto, making the legislation in question state law. The record-keeping requirements become law starting December 1, 2025, and are being retroactively applied.

House Bill (HB) 805, which was vetoed earlier this month by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, mandates state-level record-keeping rules that would directly conflict with existing record-keeping rules at the federal level.

The federal record-keeping requirement for porn production is 18 U.S. Code § 2257 and is enforced by the U.S. Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

However, HB 805, dubbed the “Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act," seeks to capitalize on culture war issues, like claims of rampant sexual exploitation of women and children, to regulate this. HB 805 is additionally loaded with measures that define a biological binary in state law and prohibit state funds for gender affirming care for individuals in state correctional facilities, among other elements. 

Adult industry stakeholders are alarmed at HB 805's implementation. Mike Stabile, director of public policy for adult industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition, told AVN that he is extremely concerned.

"This is a calculated and purposeful attack on the adult industry, using a strategy that right-wing religious groups have floated for years: undermining the legality of the industry by denying us the fundamental protections of contract law," Stabile said. "We’re looking to understand the immediate and practical applicability to adult businesses inside and outside of North Carolina, as well as looking at potential challenges to the law."

Similarly, attorney Corey Silverstein said that the North Carolina state legislature enacted "overreaching legislation." He added, "A legal challenge is all but inevitable. But in the meantime, North Carolina has positioned itself as the single most hostile state in the country toward content creators, adult platforms, and the broader industry."

Silverstein concluded, "I’m advising every company and individual with ties to the adult industry to consult legal counsel immediately if they operate in or have any connection to North Carolina."

Larry Walters, another adult industry attorney, expressed sentiments that this violates the First Amendment rights of content creators in North Carolina and abroad.

Walters observed, "This exceedingly hostile law will create chaos for performers, producers, and online platforms. It's over-the-top consent form requirements exceed any current legal obligations or industry standards and likely render a significant amount of adult content in violation of the law."

Fellow attorney Allan Gelbard is just as concerned as his colleagues. Gelbard notes that HB 805 is "the latest example of the race to undermine the First Amendment as a result of the [wider] Christian nationalist agenda."
 
"It can be attacked in the courts just like 2257 was, but that will be a long, slow slog with the current state of the judiciary," Gelbard frets.