North Carolina House Bill 574

House Bill 574
North Carolina General Assembly
Long title AN ACT TO PROTECT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS IN ATHLETICS.
Citation
Territorial extent	North Carolina
Enacted by	North Carolina House of Representatives
Enacted	April 19, 2023
Enacted by	North Carolina Senate
Enacted	June 20, 2023
Vetoed by	Roy Cooper
Vetoed	July 5, 2023
Veto overridden	August 16, 2023
Effective	August 16, 2023
Legislative history
First chamber: North Carolina House of Representatives
First reading	April 6, 2023
Second reading	April 19, 2023
Voting summary	73 voted for 39 voted against 7 absent 1 present not voting
Third reading	April 19, 2023
Second chamber: North Carolina Senate
Received from the North Carolina House of Representatives	April 20, 2023
First reading	April 20, 2023
Second reading	June 20, 2023
Voting summary	31 voted for 17 voted against 2 absent
Third reading	June 20, 2023
Final stages
Finally passed both chambers	June 26, 2023
Reconsidered by the North Carolina House of Representatives after veto	August 16, 2023
Voting summary	74 voted for 45 voted against 1 absent
Reconsidered by the North Carolina Senate after veto	August 16, 2023
Voting summary	27 voted for 18 voted against 5 absent
Summary
Prohibits transgender North Carolinian women from competing in women's sports.
Status: In force

North Carolina House Bill 574 (HB 574), also known as the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, is a 2023 law in the state of North Carolina that prohibits transgender North Carolinian women from competing in women's K-12 or collegiate sports. ^[1] It was vetoed by Governor Roy Cooper on July 5, 2023, but was overridden by the North Carolina General Assembly on August 16, becoming law immediately. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Only two transgender girls out of 180,000 student athletes in North Carolina are known to have been approved to compete in women's sports prior to the passage of House Bill 574. ^{[5] [6]}

Provisions

House Bill 574 prohibits transgender women from competing in sports in K-12 schools and colleges or universities, applying to both public and private schools. ^[3] It achieves this by restricting sports to biological sex, instead of gender. ^[7] Transgender women who compete in sports in states without a similar ban are still allowed to compete in North Carolina. ^[3]

Reactions

Support

The Alliance Defending Freedom applauded the legislature for overriding Governor Cooper's veto. ^[8] State Senator Kevin Corbin, a Republican, referred to it as "common sense." ^[9]

Opposition

Equality North Carolina opposed House Bill 574 along with multiple other transgender-related bills, referring to it as the "slate of hate." ^[10] Governor Cooper stated in reference to the overrides of his vetoes that the bills were "the wrong priorities" and pushed "political culture wars." ^[11]

See also

• LGBTQ rights in North Carolina
• Transgender people in sports

References

1. Moore, Sarah. "Bill passes through state Senate and House that restricts transgender athletes". Elon News Network. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
2. Lu, Jazper (2023-07-13). "Gov. Copper's vetoes on bills impacting LGBTQ+ youth are expected to be overridden. Here's what they might do". The Duke Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
3. Lu, Jazper; Long, Andrew (2023-08-16). "NC General Assembly overrides veto, bars trans women and girls from competing in sports 'designated for females'". The Duke Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
4. Migdon, Brooke (2023-08-16). "North Carolina Legislature overrides vetoes of bills targeting transgender health care, athletes". The Hill. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
5. Killian, Joe (2023-04-20). "N.C. House passes transgender sports ban". NC Newsline. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
6. Childress, Greg (2023-06-22). "Bill banning transgender girls from school sports teams headed to Gov. Roy Cooper's desk". NC Newsline. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
7. Crumpler, Rachel (2023-08-17). "Transgender youth will face more restrictions after veto overrides". North Carolina Health News. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
8. Perchick, Michael; Price, Jamiese (2023-08-16). "NC Legislature overrides 6 governor vetoes, putting measures into law". ABC 11. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
9. Childress, Greg (2023-06-20). "NC Senate approves bill to ban transgender women from playing on female sports teams". NC Newsline. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
10. Vinueza McClellan, Hannah (2023-08-23). "New bills impacting LGBTQ+ students in N.C." EdNC. Retrieved 2025-07-04.
11. Gallagher, Dianne (2023-08-16). "North Carolina legislature overrides governor's veto of 3 bills targeting transgender youth". CNN. Retrieved 2025-07-04.