FILED SENATE
May 2, 2024
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 840
SESSION 2023 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS35326-MGa-158
Short Title: Funds for Lactation Cnslt. Programs at HBCUs. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Murdock and Salvador (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO SUPPORT LACTATION CONSULTANT
3 TRAINING PROGRAMS AT NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL
4 STATE UNIVERSITY AND JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6 SECTION 1.(a) The following definitions apply in this section:
7 (1) Historically Black College or University or HBCU. – An institution of higher
8 education that was founded to educate Black citizens who were historically
9 restricted from attending predominantly white institutions of higher
10 education.
11 (2) Lactation consultants. – Educators or counselors trained in breast feeding or
12 chest feeding practices, lactation care, and lactation services.
13 (3) Lactation services. – The clinical application of scientific principles and a
14 multidisciplinary body of evidence for evaluation, problem identification,
15 treatment, education, and consultation to childbearing families regarding
16 lactation care and services.
17 (4) Maternity care services. – Health care related to an individual's pregnancy,
18 childbirth, or postpartum recovery.
19 (5) Preceptor. – A person who is certified by the International Board of Lactation
20 Consultant Examiners or another national or international accrediting
21 organization as having met the requirements to supervise lactation
22 consultants-in-training during the training period.
23 SECTION 1.(b) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of
24 Governors of The University of North Carolina the sum of five hundred thousand dollars
25 ($500,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to be used for the purposes of
26 recruiting, training, and retaining a diverse workforce of lactation consultants in North Carolina
27 by supporting the infrastructure and sustainability of lactation consultant training programs at
28 two of the State's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. These funds shall be distributed
29 equally between North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and Johnson C. Smith
30 University to cover costs incurred by each university for administering a lactation training
31 program, including, but not limited to:
32 (1) Leasing or other costs for teaching facilities or approved clinical training sites.
33 (2) Student aid or scholarships.
34 (3) Compensation for lactation consultant training program teachers and
35 preceptors.
*DRS35326-MGa-158*
 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2023
1 SECTION 1.(c) The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority
2 Health and Health Disparities, shall provide technical assistance to North Carolina Agricultural
3 & Technical State University and Johnson C. Smith University with respect to the following:
4 (1) Developing culturally appropriate training content for the lactation consultant
5 training programs funded by State appropriations.
6 (2) Recruiting persons from historically marginalized populations to enroll in the
7 lactation consultant training programs offered at these universities.
8 (3) Recruiting historically underutilized providers to serve as teachers and
9 preceptors in the lactation consultant training programs offered at these
10 universities.
11 (4) Identifying rural and medically underserved areas of the State experiencing a
12 shortage of lactation consultants in order to recruit program graduates to work
13 in these areas.
14 SECTION 1.(d) By May 1, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services,
15 Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, shall evaluate and submit a report to the Joint
16 Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Joint Legislative
17 Education Oversight Committee on the benefits received by the State as a result of funding the
18 lactation consultant training programs at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State
19 University and Johnson C. Smith University. The report shall include at least all of the following
20 information and recommendations:
21 (1) The total number of lactation consultants who received training at one of the
22 programs funded by this section, broken down by (i) race and ethnicity and
23 (ii) chosen work site, such as hospital, provider office, or community-based
24 organization.
25 (2) A review of the prenatal and postpartum experiences of patients who received
26 lactation consultant services from a health care professional who graduated
27 from one of the programs funded by this section. The review shall address
28 patients' experiences relative to the following:
29 a. Health insurance coverage for maternity care services, including
30 telehealth lactation consultant services.
31 b. Contributing factors to population-based disparities in breast feeding
32 and chest feeding outcomes, including bias and discrimination toward
33 patients who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.
34 c. Patient satisfaction with the services received from these lactation
35 consultants.
36 d. Breast feeding or chest feeding initiation and duration rates of patients
37 who received services from these lactation consultants.
38 SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2024.
Page 2 DRS35326-MGa-158